April 16, 2010

Brown University Athletics Colloquium: The Impact of Concussions - Protecting Athletes at All Levels

Providence, Rhode Island - Brown University, a leader in sports concussion research, will host a colloquium to educate and provide information to coaches, athletes and parents on brain injuries, titled "The Impact of Concussions: Protecting Athletes at All Levels," on Monday evening, April 26 at the Salomon Lecture Center on the Brown campus.

The colloquium will start with a showing of the HBO Special on the effects of sports related concussions have on players, starting at 6:30 p.m., followed by the panel discussion at 7:00 p.m., led by moderator MaryLou McMillan, Senior Director for Planning & Projects, Office of the Vice President for Campus Life & Student Services at Brown.

Among the topics to be discussed are: Early detection and treatment of concussion; post-concussion effects; the science of impact and concussion and what it tells us about prevention in sports; policy and response by athletic organizations.

The colloquium assembles a panel of medical experts in the field of concussion study, as well as professional and collegiate athletes at the pinnacle of their sports:

Dr. Robert Cantu - One of the nation's top sports concussion specialists, and clinical professor of Neurosurgery and co-director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University School of Medicine; Co-director of the Neurological Sports Injury Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital; Chairman, Department of Surgery, and Director of Sports Medicine, Emerson Hospital, Concord, MA.

Chris Nowinski - The co-founder and president of the Sports Legacy Institute, Chris Nowinski is a former Harvard football player and WWE professional wrestler, who was forced to retire from a series of concussions in 2003. His book, Head Games: Football's Concussion Crisis, describes his challenging recovery from post-concussion syndrome. He is a Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University School of Medicine, and serves on the National Football League Players Association Mackey/White TBI Research Committee.

Prof. J.J. Trey Crisco, Ph.D. - Professor of Orthopedic Research and Director Bioengineering Laboratory, Department of Orthopedics, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital. Dr. Crisco's work in the biomechanics of injuries led to the development of a telemetry system for measuring head acceleration in athletes. Dr. Crisco is currently using that system, Head Impact Telemetry (HIT), to study impact and concussions in football and men's and women's ice hockey.

Sean Morey - Former Brown standout and Pro Bowl special teams player for the Seattle Seahawks, who is co-chair of the NFL Player's Association Mackey/White Traumatic Brain Injury Committee. He recently agreed to donate his brain to the Boston University School of Medicine's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE).

Alyssa Blood - A junior on the Brown women's basketball team and a former member of the English National Team, who has halted her playing career due to concussions.