Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and GHRI study concussion effects from NFL
Concussions remain a growing concern among followers of the National Football League. With concussion lawsuits unfolding and continuing revelations of former players suffering from brain trauma, the need to study the effects of common football-related collisions and the human brain are very much in the news—and on the minds of the League, media, players, fans, and medical researchers.
Seattle, known for the earth-shaking fervor of its “12th Man” football fans, has become ground zero in the National Football League for another reason: It’s among the leaders of research into brain trauma. Dr. Eric B. Larson, Vice President for Research, Group Health, and Executive Director & Senior Investigator, Group Health Research Institute, comments on our role in one Paul Allen-funded study in Bloomberg News.
Says Dr. Larson, “I still have this notion that it’s just not a good idea to go out and give yourself a concussion,” Larson said. “To put it another way, I have three sons and I’m glad they’re not professional football players.”
Studying the issue
In 2013, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation awarded a $2.37-million grant to help Seattle-area researchers embark on an important research effort designed to investigate the lasting effects of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in people — an area that has long been filled with question marks for physicians and scientists. The grant, awarded over two years to the University of Washington (UW) and the Allen Institute for Brain Science, will help fill in the gaps about the unknown lasting structural and biological effects of TBI.
The team of researchers will analyze brain tissues from a robust sample set, the well-known Seattle-based Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study, zeroing in on what goes wrong in the brain after a TBI and if there are any corresponding disorders and complications.
Learn more
- News release: Allen Foundation drives traumatic brain injury study forward
- Bloomberg News: Seahawks Smash Brains as Team Owner Pays to Dissect Them
- Seattle Times: Hawks owner Paul Allen funds research into brain injuries
