NFL turns to UNC for concussion research

Kevin Guskiewicz has proof, $200,000 worth of it, that the NFL and NFL Players Association can agree to something.

Guskiewicz, the research director of the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes at the University of North Carolina, has received matching $100,000 grants from the NFL and NFLPA for concussion research.

"Both sides agree, our research is important," said Guskiewicz, a Kenan Distinguished Professor at UNC.

The NFL and NFLPA have been at odds over a new collective bargaining agreement, which threatens to wipe out the 2011 NFL season.

UNC issued a release announcing Guskiewicz's grant from NFL Charities on Tuesday. He said his research team also received a $100,000 grant from the NFLPA.

Guskiewicz has been working with retired NFL players since 2001, studying the life consequences of concussions. Guskiewicz's research includes neuro-imaging scans to study brain activity and also atrophy of the brain and the link between the head injuries and the development of dementia and depression.

The center has already studied 41 retired NFL players, Guskiewicz said. The new grants will enable the center to study another 45 former college players - who didn't play in the NFL - and compare the data.

"That will help us answer the magic question: What is the effect of the additional exposure?" Guskiewicz said.

Guskiewicz has emerged as a leading figure in the NFL's concussion research. In June, he was named head of the NFL's "Head, Neck and Spine" committee, and he's also involved in the league's subcommittee on safety, equipment and rules changes.

He met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in early December in New York.

"Roger Goodell has taken this very seriously," Guskiewicz said. "We've gotten more response on the issues in the last year than the previous 15 years combined."

The NFL cracked down on flagrant hits in early October. The league handed out fines and threatened suspensions for illegal hits to the head that previously had only been punished with a penalty or fine.

According to the UNC release, NFL Charities awarded research grants to support sports-related medical research at 16 organizations. In addition to UNC's research, the grants support studies such as concussion surveillance among a large national sample of middle school football players, the role of the cervical spine in football-related concussions, and examining how genetics may influence the outcome after repeated concussions.