Big Ten–Ivy League Traumatic Brain Injury Research Collaboration
Oct 10, 2018, 11:14 AM
The Big Ten-Ivy League Traumatic Brain Injury Research Collaboration is a multi-institutional research effort whose mission is to better understand the causes and effects of sport-related concussion and head injuries. Collaborations and publications are continuing to emerge from the participants.
The Big Ten-Ivy League Traumatic Brain Injury Research Collaboration is a multi-institutional research effort whose mission is to better understand the causes and effects of sport-related concussion and head injuries.
Collaborations and publications are continuing to emerge from the participants. The sixth annual TBI Summit was held in July in Philadelphia with a record 150 attendees representing all 22 institutions. There were 19 poster presentations—also a record. The 2019 TBI Summit will be held July 16-17 in Rosemont, Illinois.
A feature study of the TBI Collaboration is the Ivy League-Big Ten Epidemiology of Concussion Study. Started in the Ivy League in 2013, this multi-site, prospective, observational study seeks to characterize the epidemiology of concussions among student athletes. The study now includes 16 Ivy League and Big Ten institutions.
A recent publication in JAMA demonstrates the rigor and potential of this significant study. The Ivy League has analyzed its conference-specific football data, which led to the support of an experimental rule in football that reduced concussions by moving the kickoff line from the 35- to the 40-yard line, and the touchback line from the 25- to the 20-yard line. The two seasons under this experimental kickoff rule have seen a 68 percent reduction in concussions in kickoffs. The research study team includes Doug Wiebe and Bernadette D’Alonzo, University of Pennsylvania; Carolyn Campbell-McGovern, The Ivy League; and Margot Putukian at Princeton University.
To read the full publication, go to: Association Between the Experimental Kickoff Rule and Concussion Rates in Ivy League Football.
Additional TBI Collaboration and Epi Study publications of interest:
- Yang J, Peek-Asa C, Noble JM, Torner J, Schmidt P, Cooper M, Big Ten–Ivy League Traumatic Brain Injury Research Collaboration Data Collection Working Group. Common data elements collected among universities for sport-related concussion studies. Injury Epidemiology. 2018; 5:2.
- Campbell-McGovern C, D'Alonzo BA, Cooper M, Putukian M, Wiebe DJ.Ivy League-Big Ten epidemiology of concussion study. Injury Prevention. Published online first: 29 April 2018. doi:10.1136/injuryprev-2018-042831.
- Ivy League Experimental Kickoff Rule Leads to Significant Decrease in Concussions