TORONTO, Sept. 16, 2011 − As NHL training camps open tomorrow and the hockey season approaches for all ages, the issue of sport concussion is likely to remain in the news.
YorkUniversity sport concussion experts are available to offer research, comment and analysis on all aspects of sport concussion, including brain injury, athletic therapy and the impact of concussions on athletes.
Watch a VIDEO about York U sport concussion research.
Members of the media are invited to contactYorkfaculty experts directly or call Media Relations for assistance at 416-736-2100, ext. 22091 (Wallace Pidgeon), ext. 22101 (Janice Walls), ext. 22094 (Jeannine Flint), or ext. 22097 (Melissa Hughes).
Experts available to comment include:
Frances Flint
A professor in the Faculty of Health’s School of Kinesiology & Health Science,Flintcombines her background in sports medicine and sport psychology in developing integrated rehabilitation programs for injured athletes. She conducts research in the area of psychology of injury and rehabilitation and has presented at seminars and conferences around the world. Dr. Flint is a Certified Athletic Therapist and consultant in sport psychology.
Phone: 416-736-2100 ext. 55402 fflint@yorku.ca
Cindy Hughes
Manager ofYork’s Goreman/Shore sport injury clinic, Hughes is head athletic therapist atYork. Her expertise includes athletic therapy, concussion, and sport injuries.
Phone: 416-736-2100 ext. 77232 chughes@yorku.ca.
Alison Macpherson
A professor in the Faculty of Health’s School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Macpherson’s research expertise includes prevention of childhood injuries in Canadian children, including First Nations and Inuit children, and pediatric health services research. She is the co-principal investigator for the CIHR team in child and youth injury prevent, an adjunct scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), a member of the LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research, and a member of the editorial board of the journal Injury Prevention.
Phone: 416-736-2100 ext. 77216, alison3@yorku.ca.
Lauren Sergio
A professor in the Faculty of Health’s School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Sergio has studied the neural control of movement since 1988. Her research projects examine the effects of age, sex, neurological disease, head injury, and experience (elite versus non-elite athletes) on the brain’s control of complex movement. She works with a wide range of adult populations, including NHL draft prospects and Alzheimer’s disease patients, using behavioural and brain imaging techniques.
Phone: 416-736-2100 ext 33405, lsergio@yorku.ca
William Gage
Professor William Gage is associate dean, research and innovation, inYork's Faculty of Health. His research focuses on the effects of injury and pathology, and aging, on mobility and the biomechanics and neuromuscular control of posture and gait. He is interested in understanding how concussion affects the control of balance, and how changes in the control of balance and walking may be important in evaluating the effects of concussion and recovery after concussion. He holds scientific appointments in the Centre for Stroke Recovery at Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, and at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.
Phone: 416-736-2100 ext. 21479, whgage@yorku.ca
Paul Piccininni
Dr. Paul Piccininni, a member of the sports medicine staff at York University and team dentist for the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors (Ontario Hockey League) has expertise in sport dentistry, mouthguards and concussion. Piccininni, president of the International Society for Dentistry, Sport and Trauma, is a member of both the International Ice Hockey Federation Medical committee and the International Olympic Committee Medical Commission Games Group and has worked at the past nine Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
Phone: contact Janice Walls, 416-736-2100 ext. 22101, wallsj@yorku.ca
Paul Dennis
A professor lecturing in sport psychology at YorkUniversityand the Universityof Toronto, Dennis was the Leafs player development coach during a 20 year career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, assisting athletes and coaches in their mental preparation. His experience includes; head coach of the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey League, sports psychologist to Canada’s World Junior Team in 2002/2003, featured presenter at the 2010 IIHF/Hockey Canada Summit, advisor to the Canadian Hockey Leagues Champions Program, spoken on behalf of Hockey Canadaon concussion prevention. Dennis also worked with the NBA's Toronto Raptors and MLS's Toronto FC. He is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. He is a published author in sport psychology journals and textbooks.
Phone: contact Janice Walls, 416-736-2100 ext. 22101, wallsj@yorku.ca
Mazyar Fallah
A professor in the Faculty of Health’s School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Fallah’s research focuses on cognitive performance and the mechanisms underlying attention. He uses behavioral testing and electroencephalography (EEG) to understand the brain circuitry involved in cognition, and how the circuitry changes after damage.
Phone: 416-736-2100 Ext. 20555 mfallah@yorku.ca
On September 26, York will host the 2nd Annual Donald Sanderson Concussion Symposium. This symposium dedicates the evening informing and educating all York’s student athletes, theYork community and public on concussion complex. It is part ofYork’s continuing research initiative in the area of sport concussion.
YorkUniversity has a media studio dedicated for double-ender television interviews.
− 30 −
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto – Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 55,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 240,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 24 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
Media Contact:
Wallace Pidgeon, Associate Director, Media Relations, York University, 416-736-2100 ext. 22091, wpidgeon@yorku.ca
