Cantu Named Senior Advisor NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee

Robert C. Cantu, MD, clinical professor of neurosurgery at Boston University School of Medicine and co-director of BU’s Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE), has been appointed senior advisor to the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee. In this position Dr. Cantu will provide advice and perspective to Committee co-chair H. Hunt Batier, MD, Michael J. Marchese Professor of Neurological Surgery and chair Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Department of Neurological Surgery, and co-chair Richard G. Ellenbogen, MD, chair, department of Neurological Surgery, University of Washington School of Medicine.

Dr. Cantu is a pioneer in the diagnosis and treatment of concussions. He serves as a founding member and Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board, Sports Legacy Institute and co-director of the Neurologic Sports Injury Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is known worldwide for his work on catastrophic head and neck injuries and post-concussive syndrome. He was the first doctor to establish a grading scale (Grades 1-3) for concussions, based on symptoms at the time of injury.

The Head, Neck and Spine Committee will assist in strengthening the NFL’s leadership role in research, education, prevention, and treatment of head and spine injuries in sports.