Concussion expert with Pa. ties gets genius grant
LATROBE, Pa. – A University of North Carolina professor who received a $500,000 genius grant for his research on sports-related concussions has ties to the Pittsburgh Steelers and western Pennsylvania.
Kevin Guskiewicz, 45, graduated from high school in Latrobe, about 45 miles east of Pittsburgh, a community that is also home to St. Vincent College, where the Steelers hold training camp. Guskiewicz was a graduate assistant trainer for the team while getting his master’s degree at the University of Pittsburgh in the 1990s, and he later earned his doctorate at the University of Virginia.
Guskiewicz told the Latrobe Bulletin that his research as chair of the department of Exercise and Sports Science at the University of North Carolina has made him an adviser to the National Football League on head, neck and spinal injuries and chair of an NFL panel on safety equipment and rules.
Guskiewicz was one of the first researchers to identify the dangers and long-term effects of concussions, findings the NFL at first attacked.
“They were a big industry but I knew I was right and I knew my integrity was at stake,” said Guskiewicz, who has studied football players at UNC for his research and is also on the NCAA’s concussion committee.
Guskiewicz said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell “knew we could make a difference protecting players. When you know you’re right and your integrity is intact, stay the course and good things will come.”
Guskiewicz learned of the grant from the Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation last month.
,,,(equals)
Information from: Latrobe Bulletin