DATE: THURSDAY, April 16, 2015
TIME: 6 PM NO-HOST BAR / 7 PM Dinner
PLACE: TERMINAL CITY CLUB
837 West Hastings
Vancouver
COST: $65 Members / $80 Non-Members
PAYMENT IN ADVANCE ONLY, WE ARE UNABLE TO ACCEPT PAYMENT AT THE DOOR FOR THIS MEETING.
THE OBJECTIVE CONCUSSION TESTS: THE HOLY GRAIL OF CONCUSSION RESEARCH
Guest Speakers:
Dr. Paul van Donkelaar, PhD
Alexander (Sandy) Wright, MSc
Concussions occur at an alarmingly high rate, with estimates reaching 25% for contact sport athletes. Currently, the diagnosis and management of these injuries is based largely on patient-reported symptoms. Given the number of young athletes in Canada participating in these sports, combined with concerns over the long-term consequences associated with repetitive head trauma, objective and reliable techniques are urgently needed to better our ability to determine when a concussion has occurred, how a patient is progressing towards recovery, and to unmask potential intervention approaches to prevent / mitigate these injuries in the future. Dr. Paul van Donkelaar and Mr. Alexander Wright will discuss the current state of research in this field, with a focus on promising work being done at the University of British Columbia.
Dr. Paul van Donkelaar is a Full Professor and Director of the School of Health and Exercise Sciences at UBC’s Okanagan campus. Dr. van Donkelaar received his PhD in Clinical Neuroscience from the University of Calgary in 1994, and has been actively involved in concussion research for 15 years. As Director of the Integrative Sports Concussion Research Group, his research is aimed at better understanding the sensorimotor, neurocognitive, and cerebrovascular effects of concussion and how to more objectively assess and manage this injury.
Alexander (Sandy) Wright is studying in the combined MD/PhD program at UBC. He completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology at Simon Fraser University in 2009, and a Master of Science in Biomechanics at the University of Waterloo in 2011. A recipient of the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, Mr. Wright’s doctoral research takes a multi-modal approach towards improving our understanding of sports-related concussions, combining techniques in biomechanics, cerebrovascular physiology, and advanced neuroimaging
CO-ORDINATOR – Dr. John Butt, CM, MD
Please forward your cheque payable to “The Medical Legal Society of B.C.” before April 7th, 2015 to:
Ms. Carol Gielens
Bull, Housser & Tupper LLP
900 – 900 Howe Street
Vancouver, BC
V6Z 2M4