On Saturday, October 31st, 2020, UNC’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the UNC Center for Rehabilitation Care hosted the 2nd Annual 2020 UNC Concussion Symposium: Focusing on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI).
This year’s virtual symposium, hosted in collaboration with Greensboro AHEC, highlighted current innovations, testing, treatment, and management of mTBI and concussion. The symposium was designed to enhance understanding of the professional roles and multidisciplinary approach in the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of concussions or mTBI.
The day’s lectures included:
Kevin Franzese, DO (Keynote; presented the “Sam E. Reefe Lectureship in PM&R”): “Red and Yellow Flags: When to Stop and When to Look Deeper in Concussion Rehabilitation”
Mary Alexis Iaccarino, MD: “Pharmacology to Augment Concussion Recovery”
Lee Shuping, MD, MPT: “Autonomic Dysfunction in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury”
Drs. Karla Thompson, PhD, and Matthew Harris, PhD: “Neuropsychology and New Treatments for Brain Injury Rehabilitation”
Brett Miller, OD: “FCOVD Managing the Visual System After a Mild TBI”
Karla Thompson, PhD and Padma Doobay MSW, LCSW-A: “Navigating Community Resources”
Samuel F. Yanuck, DC: FACFN, FIAMA: “Preventing Excessive Neuronal Loss After TBI”
Isabel Roth DrPH, MS: “Yoga for Brain Injury”
Akash Patel, DO: “Case Study Presentation: Motor Vehicle Collision”
The symposium was a great success with 80 attendees representing a range of healthcare backgrounds and widespread geographic locales.
The Chair of UNC Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Joshua Alexander, MD, had these comments to share after the symposium:
” Even though this year’s symposium was held online, the excellent presentations and high level of participant involvement made it feel like we were all learning together at one site. The breakout sessions were well-run and very interactive which made them ideal settings for interdisciplinary education. “
Our department would like to extend a special thank you to the symposium’s Planning Committee Members listed below. Thanks for all your hard work!
Joshua Alexander, MD
JM Baratta, MD, MBA
Christine Cleveland, MD
Aaron Olsen, MBA
Akash Patel, DO
Thomas Petruska, MS
Lee Shuping, MD, MPT (Director)
Karla Thompson, PhD