Up to 60 LSU football players will partake this season in a research study aimed at developing a non-invasive, sideline screening tool that could help identify athletes who may have sustained a concussion, even before obvious symptoms appear.
Led by Guillaume Spielmann, PhD, lead trauma researcher at FMOL Health | Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and associate professor of kinesiology at LSU, the project is a partnership among FMOL Health, LSU, LSU Athletics, Pennington Biomedical, and LCMC Health and serves as an example of the newly established Institute for the Health and Performance of Champions (IHPC), which focuses on health and performance of world-class athletes.
The first-of-its-kind study involves a sideline “spit test” that allows scientists to test players’ saliva for changing proteins that can be used to identify biomarkers associated with concussion and traumatic brain injury (TBI). A rapid saliva-based test could be used on the sidelines or in other field settings to help determine whether someone should be removed from activity and evaluated further.
“Concussions and repetitive head impacts remain a significant concern for athletes, yet we still lack practical tools to detect and monitor brain injury early and accurately in real-world settings,” said Spielmann.
Championship Health Partners LSU and FMOL Health | Our Lady of the Lake recently awarded Spielmann and his research team a competitive research grant valued at nearly $250,000 through the Collaboration in Action Program (CAP).
The research study involving LSU athletes is expected to be completed by June 2027 and may be expanded over time to include tactical athletes, such as military members, Spielmann said. His full body of work on extreme physical and psychological stress has covered high performers from competitive athletes to first responders, NASA astronauts, and trauma survivors.
The interdisciplinary research team includes Neil Johannsen, professor of kinesiology at LSU; Tiffany Stewart, Dudley & Beverly Coates Endowed Professor and director of the Behavior Technology Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical; Hollis O'Neal, MD, associate professor of medicine at LSU Health New Orleans and medical director of research at Our Lady of the Lake; Dalis Boyette, senior associate athletic trainer at LSU Athletics; Micki Collins, associate athletic director and director of sports medicine at LSU Athletics; and Kevin Callerame, MD, Kenneth Civello, MD, and Micah Klumpp, director of clinical research, at Our Lady of the Lake.