The NFL announced Thursday it has awarded more than $35 million in grants to fund brain health and injury research.
The grants are part of the $40 million commitment the NFL made in 2016 to fund medical research focused on enhancing player health and safety. The NFL awarded the following grants Thursday:
-- $6,070,384 to "Prevalence of Brain Health versus Neurodegeneration in Professional Football Retirees" led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)
-- $14,698,132 to "A Prospective, LONGitudinal and Translational Study for Former National Football League Players" led by William P. Meehan III, MD at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School
-- $9,438,473 to "Surveillance in High Schools to Reduce Concussions in Youth" led by Carolyn Emery, PhD at the University of Calgary
-- $3,454,080 to "Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in Traumatic Brain Injury (TRACK-TBI Longitudinal)" led by Geoff Manley, MD, PhD at the University of California -- San Francisco
-- $1,583,138 to "The Spectrum of Concussion: Predictors of Clinical Recovery, Treatment and Rehabilitation, and Possible Long-Term Effects" led by Grant Iverson, PhD at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Harvard Medical School
The neuroscience research grants are distributed by the Scientific Advisory Board, a group of leading independent researchers, experts, doctors, scientists and clinicians assembled by the NFL to develop and lead a clear process to identify and support compelling proposals for scientific research to be funded.
The SAB's evaluation of the proposals it received was based on the National Institute of Health's Scoring Guidance, a widely-used system for scoring research proposals. The integrity of the process was entrusted to the expertise of the SAB, who selected projects to recommend to the NFL for funding.
The remaining $5 million allocated for medical research focused will be distributed under the guidance of SAB Chairman Peter Chiarelli.
Find out more about the NFL's efforts to protect players at playsmartplaysafe.com
