Author biographies

This special topic of the Journal of Sport and Health Science (JSHS) focused on Emerging concussion research wa edited by Dr Thomas A. Buckley. It includes 1 guest editorial, 1 review article, and 6 original articles. Below, we prese the biographies of the guest editor and the main authors.

Dr Thomas A. Buckley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology at the University of Delaware. Dr Buckley leads the Concussion Research Lab and is the cosite primary investigator on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) Concussion Assessment, Research and Education (CARE) Consortium project, and has also received funding from the National Institute of Health, the DoD, the U.S. Naval Research Office, the U.S. Army Research Office, as well as other public and private. Dr Buckley’s current research emphasis is on persistent post-concussion deficits as well as the effects of early exposure to collision sports on neurological health.

Dr Zachary Y. Kerr is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at the University of North Carolina (UNC), and serves as core faculty with the Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center, the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes, and the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center. His research focuses on the evaluation of injury prevention strategies related to concussion and exertional heat stroke, with a focus on injury surveillance and survey research, and the epidemiology and prevention of injury across the lifespan, including youth sport participants to former professional athletes. Through Dr Kerr’s collaborations with numerous injury prevention, athletic training, and sports medicine experts, he has published nearly 200 research articles. In 2018, he was the recipient of the New Investigator Award, awarded by the American College of Sports Medicine.

Dr Matthew B. Hudson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology at the University of Delaware. Dr Hudson received his PhD in applied physiology and kinesiology from the University of Florida in 2011 and completed his post-doctoral training in the Department of Medicine at Emory University in 2013. His research focuses on extracellular vesicles in neuromuscular and neurological disorders and pathologies, including utilizing extracellular vesicles as biomarkers and therapeutics. Dr Hudson has over 40 publications, several book chapters, and numerous patent applications. He has received grants from the United States Department of Energy, Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, and the Mosley Foundation. Dr Hudson is also the co-founder of Extrave Bioscience, LLC., a biotech company focused on extracellular vesicle therapeutics and biomarkers.

Dr David R. Howell is the Lead Researcher at Children’s Hospital Colorado Sports Medicine Center, and an Assistant Professor and the Assistant Director of Clinical Research in the Department of Orthopedics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He received his PhD in 2014 from the University of Oregon and completed a post-doctoral research at Boston Children’s Hospital in 2017. Primarily, his lab investigates the topics of pediatric concussion and human movement analysis. He has authored over 130 publications in peer-reviewed journals within the topics of sports medicine, biomechanics, neuroscience, rehabilitation, and pediatric medicine. He received the New Investigator Award from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association in 2019, and from the American College of Sports Medicine in 2020.

Dr Jessie R. Oldham is a post-doctoral researcher at The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr Oldham received her PhD in applied physiology from the University of Delaware in 2018. During her doctoral career, she was a finalist for the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) Foundation Doctoral Student Award, an American Kinesiology Association Scholar, and the University of Delaware Exercise Science Outstanding Graduate Student Award winner. As a postdoc, Dr Oldham was recently awarded a Thrasher Research Fund Early Career Award to advance her work on concussion and subsequent injury in adolescents. Her research interests primarily focus on the effects of sport-related concussion on postural control and the relationship to subsequent musculoskeletal injury.

Dr Julianne D. Schmidt completed her bachelor’s in Athletic Training at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, CA. She then completed her master’s degree and PhD at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She began her current position at the University of Georgia (UGA) in 2013 where she serves in the areas of athletic training and biomechanics. Dr Schmidt co-directs the UGA Concussion Research Laboratory and the Biomechanics Laboratory. Dr Schmidt’s research has focused on the entire spectrum of the injury continuum by addressing concussion prevention, injury mechanisms, evaluation, and management. She strives to make sports safer by reducing the risk of neurotraumatic injuries to the brain and simultaneously aims to improve post-injury outcomes.

Landon B. Lempke is a doctoral candidate at the University of Georgia working towards a PhD in kinesiology and biomechanics, and will start a post-doctoral researcher position at Boston Children’s Hospital in the Division of Sports Medicine in summer 2021. He completed his bachelor’s degree in athletic training at Illinois State University in 2016, and completed his master’s degree in kinesiology and athletic training at the University of Virginia in 2017. His research interests are in reaction time and human movement assessments following concussion, as well as improving concussion-related healthcare practices. His overarching research goals aim to mechanistically examine neurophysiological factors that may predispose individuals to the heightened musculoskeletal injury risk following concussion.

Dr Terese L. Chmielewski is a Physical Therapist/Research Scientist at TRIA Orthopaedic Center in Minneapolis, MN, and an Affiliate Associate Professor in the Rehabilitation Science Graduate Program at University of Minnesota. She completed her undergraduate and graduate physical therapy degrees at College of St. Scholastica, a sports physical therapy fellowship at American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, AL, and a PhD in biomechanics and movement science at the University of Delaware. Dr Chmielewski has co-authored book chapters, monographs, and over 70 peer-reviewed articles on the prevention and rehabilitation of sports injuries. She has received grants from National Institutes of Health and National Football League (NFL) Charities, Excellence in Research awards from American Academy of Sports Physical Therapy, and Excellence in Education/Teaching awards from American Academy of Sports Physical Therapy and Academy of Orthopedic Physical Therapy. She serves on the Board of Directors for Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy.

Dr Kathryn L. Van Pelt received her PhD in kinesiology from the University of Michigan in 2018 along with an master’s degree in clinical research design and statistical analysis. Currently, Kathryn is a post-doctoral versity of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging through the National Institute of Aging (NIA)-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Translational Research Training Program. Kathryn uses surveys, athlete statistics, and neuroimaging to better understand post-concussion outcomes. In particular, she is interested in identifying concussion risk factors and understanding the impact of concussion on an individual’s mental health and athletic performance.