Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) – Football brains

Chris Nowinski, Ph.D., is co-founder and CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to solving the sports concussion crisis through education, policy, and research. He is also a co-founder of the BU CTE Center. He earned his Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience at Boston University School of Medicine. Chris’ interest in brain trauma stems from personal experience. An All-Ivy defensive tackle for the Harvard University football team, after graduation, he began working for the life sciences consulting firm Trinity Partners, LLC. Chris suffered a serious concussion in June 2003, but due to a lack of understanding, was not honest about his symptoms and continued to work out for five weeks while symptomatic. He developed post-concussion syndrome and was forced to retire. It wasn’t until he visited the renowned neurosurgeon, Dr. Robert Cantu, that Chris was first exposed to medical research that revealed to him that concussions and brain trauma were misunderstood in the sports world. His book: Head Games: Football’s Concussion