Research & Education

The Virginia Tech Sports Medicine Department is involved in many aspects of research to treat and prevent injuries from occurring.

The department has received national recognition for teaming with the university's College of Engineering - specifically the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics - on concussion research and helmet safety. In fact, in September of 2014, Tech was chosen to participate in a landmark $30 million national effort sponsored by the NCAA and the U.S. Department of Defense to combat concussions among college athletes and active service military personnel. To read more about that, please click here.

Virginia Tech's helmet research also has received national recognition, as the school was one of the first to rate both football and hockey helmets. The research, designed to help consumers make informed decisions, is independent of any funding or influence from helmet manufacturers. For more on that research, please click here.

The Virginia Tech Sports Medicine Department teams with the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine to treat not only student-athletes, but also to train future athletic trainers and orthopedic surgeons. The curriculum focuses on creating a comprehensive approach to the management of a patient, with an emphasis on injury prevention, pre-participation evaluation, return-to-play criteria and rehabilitation. To learn more about the program, please click here. To meet the staff that works with Tech's student-athletes, please click here.

Many of the students who work in the Virginia Tech Sports Medicine Department go on to pursue master's degrees at Virginia Tech, mainly in the field of instructional technology. To learn more about the degree field, please click here.

Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings

Relevant Research Publications

Research Faculty/Staff

Stefan M. Duma
Head, VT/WFU School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences

Dr. Gunnar Brolinson, D.O.
Team Physician- Family Medicine/Sports Medicine

Brett Griesemer, MAEd, ATC, LAT
Director, Sports Medicine
Director of Research Education