HeAd injUry iN sporT: HAUNT

Lead by Professor Damian Bailey, the Neurovascular Research Laboratory have sought to identify and better understand the link between concussion and neurodegeneration across a variety of sports including boxing, rugby union and football. Professor Bailey is a member of the Medical Research Council that contributed to the UK Concussion Guidelines for Grassroots Sport. He directed the research of Dr Chris Marley and Dr Tom Owens, which demonstrated that rugby union and football players across the continua of age and ability exhibit impairments in cerebrovascular and cognitive function that are underpinned by molecular evidence for structural changes to the neurovascular unit. The research has been supported by the JPR Williams Fellowships and published in reputable journals including Experimental Physiology, Clinical Science and The Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. Professor Bailey and team are curently collaborating with Head For Change to extend their work in this field.

This project is supported by the JPR Williams Fellowships and charity, Head For Change. It also involves close collaboration with The Physiological Society and Medical Research Council for dissemination and policy impact and AD Instruments to support physiological data acquisition.