“Beneath the Pads: Traumatic Brain Injury and Long-Term Outcomes in Football”
Speaker:
Executive Vice Dean, MU School of Medicine
Physician, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Brain Injury Medicine, MU Health Care
Date: August 26, 2025, noon-1 p.m.
Location: Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health Building, Atkins Family Seminar Room
Description
“We have people fall down the same mountain – one recovers, one doesn’t. That’s what made me most curious about studying brain injuries."
Every 15 seconds, someone in the United States sustains a . These disruptions in normal brain function – caused by bumps, blows, or jolts to the head – can lead to a wide range of cognitive, physical, and psychosocial impairments. Despite alarming statistics – including the fact TBI sufferers are – public awareness and support systems for those affected by these injuries remain inadequate. Often left unrecognized, undiagnosed, and underestimated, TBI has become a “silent epidemic,” with both the acute effects and long-term consequences frequently overlooked.
What if the key to better understanding traumatic brain injuries lies beyond treating the injury itself, but in unraveling the hidden interplay of genetics, childhood experiences, and lifestyle factors that shape resilience?
- an MU Health Care physician specializing in traumatic brain injury and executive vice dean of the MU School of Medicine - has dedicated his career to answering that question, specifically for athletes. His love of sports began when his grandfather introduced him to baseball. After his grandfather suffered a stroke and lost his ability to play catch, Zafonte was determined to find better answers.
With a multidimensional approach he pioneered, Zafonte began analyzing everything from brain scans to cardiovascular health and aerobic capacity, investigating why some individuals decline prematurely and others thrive.
Zafonte’s research deliberately spans extremes, from military veterans to NFL players. The latter of which is the focus of his ongoing project called . Not only did this study track TBI recovery patterns but also health trajectories of former NFL players over time. The focus was not on the injury itself, but rather on “the whole player and their whole life.” It’s revealed how TBI outcomes are shaped by a lifetime of disparate factors.
This work has already led to changes to concussion protocols in the NFL, and Zafonte’s holistic approach informs advice for patients, parents, coaches, and policymakers. “What we need are proper training regimes,” he says, in which kids are not put in hyper-vulnerable spots, coaches are educated, rules are enforced, and contact is delayed.
Ultimately, Zafonte’s vision of personalized care extends to helping patients heal on their own terms. “The value isn’t just in lifespan or healthspan, but in ‘joyspan’ – setting rehabilitation goals that bring your life meaning.” Through this simple but profound redefinition of recovery, Zafonte captures what matters most to patients and urges clinicians to ask themselves, “How do we defer to patients’ values rather than prescribe what we think they need?”
ϱ the Speaker
Ross Zafonte earned his Bachelor of Science in psychology and biochemistry from the University of Georgia and his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) from Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and is board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation with a subspecialty in brain injury medicine.
Early in his career, Zafonte served as a faculty member at the University of Missouri in Columbia, where he completed a fellowship in research enrichment in 1991. Over the next three decades, he went on to serve as the Earle P. and Ida S. Charlton Professor and chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School, president of the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network, and chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Mass General Brigham. Under his leadership at Spaulding, research funding tripled, making it the only U.S. center to host three National Institute on Disability-funded research hubs, and U.S. News & World Report consistently ranked its clinical care as top-tier.
As a physician-scientist, Zafonte has authored over 400 peer-reviewed publications and a textbook titled Brain Injury Medicine, widely considered the definitive authority and an essential clinical resource in the field. He served as principal investigator of Harvard’s Football Players Health Study, the largest investigation examining traumatic brain injuries in former NFL players. Zafonte also co-founded the Mass General Brigham/Red Sox Foundation Home Base Program, which advanced care for veterans with traumatic brain injuries.
In 2024, Zafonte returned to MU as executive vice dean of the school of medicine. In this role, he oversees 23 academic departments and works to align clinical, educational, and research missions within MU Health Care. He also continues to advise Home Base as National Director for TBI and holds emeritus status at Harvard.
ϱ the Discovery Series
provides learning opportunities for UM System faculty and staff across disciplines, the statewide community and our other partners to learn about the scope of precision health research and identify potential collaborative opportunities. The series consists of monthly lectures geared toward a broad multidisciplinary audience so all can participate and appreciate the spectrum of precision health efforts.
For questions about this event or any others in the Discovery Series, please reach out to Mackenzie Lynch.
Reviewed 2025-07-25