The Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education will be well-represented this weekend at Canada’s first-ever concussion conference focused exclusively on issues related to the health of girls and women.
The event, hosted by the Canadian Concussion Centre, will be emceed by Olympian Cassie Campbell, who has ample firsthand experience with the injury and its serious setbacks. PhD students and sisters Swapna and Sandhya Mylabathula have seen the process through, from conception to launch, with Sandhya having worked on the conference committee and Swapna serving as the event co-chair. The pair will present their research examining concussion policy and knowledge translation.
“We’re so excited,” Sandhya explains. “We’ve read the research of these experts for a long time, it will be great to hear from the directly.”
Professor Lynda Mainwaring, Sandhya's supervisor, was on the organizing committee for the conference. “This topic is under investigated,” she explains. “We are only just beginning to address the need for a focus on girls and women. My students recognize this gap in the research on concussions in sport and are addressing this need.”
Graduate students Laura McClemont Steacy, Kaleigh Ferdinand Pennock, Graham Tebbit and Braeden McKenzie will also attend the conference.
Details about this event can be found on the conference website.