Purdue Neurotrauma Group available to discuss efforts to make football safer and reduce concussions

Eric Nauman. (Purdue University photo)
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — With football training camps beginning and the safety of the sport – namely, the effect it has on concussions and CTE – being debated around the country, members of the Purdue Neurotrauma Group are available to discuss their research into making the sport safer for players of all ages.

Professors Eric Nauman and Thomas Talavage can speak about research into the potential health effects of repeated head impacts.  

“Americans innovate. That is what we are best at,” said Nauman, a professor of mechanical engineering. “Over the last 10 years what we have done at Purdue is prove that this problem can be solved if there are people willing to adopt new technologies. Then we can get back to the true beauty of the game where each play is a rapid-fire chess match and get away from the brutality.” 

Talavage is a professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering and co-director of the Purdue MRI Facility.

They are leading the Purdue Neurotrauma Group, which has been studying brain changes in high school football players since 2009. The group is a collaborative neurotrauma research team that combines expertise in clinical diagnosis and care, biomechanics, and neuroimaging. Its mission is to identify the mechanisms that lead to traumatic brain injury in athletes, soldiers and victims of blunt-force impacts, and to develop early-detection methods, protective systems, and directed therapies to provide the fastest recovery possible.

Nauman and Talavage can also discuss:

* The lasting effects of repeated blows to the head, with medical imaging evidence showing players may not fully heal from season to season.

* A Concussion Neuroimaging Consortium made up of eight institutions to garner support and funding for research into the neurological effects of contact sports.  

Writer: Tim Doty, 765-496-2571, doty2@purdue.edu 

Sources: Eric Nauman, 765-494-8602, enauman@purdue.edu

Thomas M. Talavage, 765-494-5475. tmt@purdue.edu