Chris Nowinski, Ph.D.

Excited to announce that colleagues & I have identified a new #concussion sign that's been hiding in plain sight. We named it Spontaneous Headshake After a Kinematic Event, or SHAAKE. Seen in movies & cartoons, it hasn't been in protocols, but should be. usnews.com/news/health-ne…

I'd like to take a moment to honor Robert Thomas "Tom" Cooksey, a former Georgia Tech, Atlanta Falcons & CFL football player who died at age 69. I appreciate that he supported @ConcussionLF & his family has made that part of his legacy. Powerful obit: legacy.com/us/obituaries/…

Paul Thériault, college hockey player & OHL coach who once coached Wayne Gretzky, had #CTE when he died w/dementia at 74. “I want the NHL to acknowledge the link between hockey & CTE,” his wife Janice said. “These team owners need to take responsibility. tsn.ca/chl/former-ohl…

Stefan Frei suffered a #concussion w/LOC w/10 seconds left in the Seattle Sounders/Columbus Crew game. Coach @wilfriednancy advocated to end the game despite having a chance to win. Respect. @TaylorTwellman on the call

I’ve seen the brain damage contact sports can cause – we all need to take concussion and #CTE more seriously. Great article from Alan Pearce, PhD. theconversation.com/ive-seen-the-b…

How Black Lung Came Roaring Back to Coal Country. Once nearly eradicated, the “old man’s disease” is back & suffocating younger miners. #CTE has a similar cultural component, passed down to children by shared sports participation among fathers & sons. nytimes.com/2025/06/19/wel…

No one kicked out of The Honor Roll.

NFL widows struggled to care for players w/#CTE. They say a study from the Harvard @PlayersStudy minimizes their pain. "Why would a researcher jump to ‘the media’ when trying to draw conclusions when they didn’t collect any information about the media?" apnews.com/article/nfl-co…

Check out this important study on a surprising number of #CTE diagnoses in a homeless population in Europe👇. The first homeless former football player diagnosed with #CTE at @bu_cte was Ryan Hoffman, story here: nytimes.com/2016/03/09/spo…

Congratulations to CTE Center investigator Robert Stern, PhD, who was awarded the 2025 Leon Thal Prize in recognition of research excellence at the 2025 Leon Thal Summit earlier this month. The Summit, “Advancing the Science of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: Emerging…

Paul Green was an Australian National Rugby League player and coach who died by suicide with advanced #CTE at age 49. Sports orgs are trying to blame the larger "mental health" crisis for all outcomes. We can't let them. It leads to confusion like this situation - solid apology

Congratulations to @DawnAstle9 for receiving the MBE honor - Member of the Order of the British Empire - for her advocacy on #CTE & concussion in memory of her father Jeff Astle, the first pro soccer player diagnosed with #CTE. bbc.com/news/articles/…

Study: Interrogating the plasma proteome of RHI & #CTE. Molecular pathways implicated in RHI tied to immune response, mitochondrial function, & cell metabolism. Tracked w/cognitive severity & neuropath burden, suggesting a role in disease progression. …arneurodegeneration.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11…

New PET & brain bank study in Japan finds tau protein deposition in the frontal lobe (like in #CTE) is associated w/later life mood disorders, inc depression & bipolar - consistent with reports from CTE families. This is the kind of real research needed. alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.100…