IBR: Celebrating 65 Years of Innovation in Behavioral Science

For 65 years, the Institutes for Behavior Resources, Inc. (IBR) has been a beacon of innovation, applying behavioral science to improve lives and address some of society’s most pressing challenges.

A Visionary Beginning

In 1960, Dr. Joseph V. Brady—a pioneering behavioral scientist and research psychologist with the U.S. Army at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research—founded the originally named Institute for Behavioral Research.

Dr. Brady’s groundbreaking studies bridged the gap between behavior and physiology. His research established biological principles that shaped the modern understanding of stress, behavior, and pharmacology.

Among his many achievements:

• He developed the standard test still used today to evaluate new medications for anxiety.

• He identified how environmental stress influences both physiological and behavioral disorders.

• He trained the first non-human primates to travel into space for NASA, proving that trained behaviors could be successfully performed in orbit—a landmark demonstration of the safety of human spaceflight.

A Mission with Lasting Impact

Dr. Brady’s vision for IBR was to apply behavioral science to solve socially significant problems. Over his 45 years as president, IBR became a hub of transformative research and compassionate application.

One of his most enduring legacies is IBR’s behaviorally based addiction treatment program. What began as a mobile van serving people in recovery has grown into a six-story treatment center in Baltimore. Today, it serves over 600 patients, primarily those overcoming opioid addiction—a living embodiment of IBR’s mission to use science in the service of humanity.

A New Generation of Leadership

In 2005, as Dr. Brady entered his mid-80s, he passed the torch to Dr. Steven Hursh, whose career closely paralleled his own. Like Dr. Brady, Dr. Hursh served as an Army research psychologist, culminating in his appointment as Director of the same division at Walter Reed once led by Dr. Brady.

After retiring from the Army in 1995, Dr. Hursh was asked to consolidate decades of scientific literature on sleep and fatigue into a practical model. His work led to the development of the SAFTE (Sleep, Activity, Fatigue, and Task Effectiveness) model, which became the scientific core of the SAFTE-FAST software—initially supported by the U.S. Department of Defense.

When Dr. Hursh became IBR’s president, he brought SAFTE to IBR, expanding its research applications to civilian transportation. Under his leadership, IBR developed a user-friendly version of SAFTE-FAST that revolutionized fatigue risk management across industries.

Today, over 60 organizations worldwide rely on SAFTE-FAST to forecast and manage fatigue. Over the past decade, its use in aviation and other sectors has expanded tenfold, reflecting IBR’s commitment to combining rigorous science with real-world solutions.

Continuing the Legacy

From Dr. Brady’s early explorations of behavior under stress to Dr. Hursh’s biomathematical models predicting human performance, IBR’s mission has remained steadfast: to apply behavioral science in service of people and society.

As IBR celebrates its 65th anniversary, it stands not only as a tribute to its founders and researchers but also as a living example of how science—anchored in compassion—can create lasting change.

IBR: 65 years of science, service, and solutions to Shape a Better World.