About CCN-RCC

Keith Owen Yeates, PhD, ABPP, FCAHS, FRSC, is a Professor of Psychology, and Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics and Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Calgary, in Alberta, Canada. He has a 30-year track record of funded research focusing on the outcomes of childhood brain disorders, especially traumatic brain injury. As of 2018, he had authored more of the top-100 cited papers in pediatric TBI than any other researcher, and he ranks 7th worldwide for total TBI-related publications from 2000-2022. Dr. Yeates was co-lead author of the report of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Expert Panel on Acute Diagnosis and Management of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury among Children and Adolescents, an invited expert panel member at the 6th International Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport in Amsterdam, and an invited member of the expert consensus group for the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM) Diagnostic Criteria for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. He is currently the inaugural Chair of the Canadian Concussion Network and the Editor-in-Chief of Neuropsychology. Dr. Yeates has served as President of the Society of Clinical Neuropsychology (Division 40 of the American Psychological Association) and of the International Neuropsychological Society. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and the Royal Society of Canada. I 202, he was ranked as one of the top 10 most influential neuropsychologists in North America over the past 50 years.

Carolyn Emery is a physiotherapist and epidemiologist. She completed her PhD (2004) in Epidemiology (Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine), University of Alberta. Her BScPT is from Queen’s University (1988) and MSc (Epidemiology) from the University of Calgary. Carolyn is a Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Pediatrics and Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. Carolyn is the Chair of the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre (1 of 11 International Olympic Committee Research Centres for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health). She is a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1 Concussion)  and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Carolyn’s research program focuses on injury and concussion prevention in youth sport and pediatric rehabilitation; aimed to reduce the public health burden of injuries and specifically concussions and their long-term consequences. Carolyn holds a CIHR Foundation grant (SHRed injuries – Surveillance in High Schools to Prevent Injuries and their Consequences in Youth Sport).  She leads a pan-Canadian research team (National Football League Scientific Advisory Board) “SHRed Concussions” aimed to reduce the burden of concussions and their consequences in youth sport.

Pierre Frémont is a professor in the Department of Rehabilitation from the Faculty of Medicine at Université Laval since 1994. He is a past-president of the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine and has represented the organization at the Canadian Concussion Collaborative since 2012. Since 2014, he has been involved as a medical expert on concussion on several Canadian national and provincial (Quebec) initiatives to develop and implement concussion-related recommendations and policies in education, sport and leisure environments. As a clinician and researcher, he has developed a broad expertise on implementation issues for the prevention, detection and management of concussions in environments ranging from youth development sports to international competition. He developed the first use of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) as a knowledge transfer strategy for concussion in French language at Université Laval in 2016 and, through a collaboration with colleagues from the University of Calgary, contributed to the first English language MOOC on concussion in 2019.

Pamela Fuselli is the President & CEO at Parachute. Pamela received her BSC in Psychology from the University of Toronto, BHA from Ryerson University and MSc in Creativity and Change Leadership from the State University of New York College at Buffalo. Pamela was the Executive Director at Safe Kids Canada and was one of the four leaders who led a process of national consultation and visioning, resulting in the formation of Parachute, Canada’s national charity dedicated to injury prevention. What drives Pamela is the heartbreaking knowledge most serious injuries and deaths are preventable. She leads Parachute’s mission to turn evidence of what works into action, building strong relationships with stakeholders across Canada to achieve this mission.

Over 20 years in the health care/injury prevention sector, Pamela’s work has focused on influencing public policy and public perceptions and knowledge with effective interventions. Pamela sits on national committees and working groups such as the Canadian Paediatric Society’s Injury Prevention Committee, the Trauma Association of Canada’s Injury Prevention Committee, a number of Canadian Standards Association’s Technical Committees and Sport Canada’s Federal-Provincial/Territorial Work Group on Concussions in Sport. Pamela is involved with numerous research projects, with roles ranging from co-principal investigator to knowledge translation advisor. Pamela is an invited keynote and plenary speaker and presenter at conferences and workshops, has testified as an expert at federal and provincial inquiries and is a media spokesperson on a wide range of injury prevention topics, public policy issues and knowledge mobilization.

Dr Isabelle Gagnon is a clinical scientist in the Trauma Center of the Montreal Children’s Hospital, Associate Director (Research) in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Associate Professor in the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy of McGill University. Her research interests focus on the consequences and on the management of mild traumatic brain injuries or concussions in the pediatric population. More specifically, she has investigated sensorimotor outcomes in children and adolescents and how these can impact return to physical activities and self-confidence after traumatic injuries. Her work has also examined intervention programs and service organizations for children and adolescents after a traumatic injury.

Dr. Jamie Hutchison is a Pediatric Critical Care Physician, Professor and Senior Scientist at SickKids and the University of Toronto. He co-chairs, with Dr. Alexis Turgeon, the Canadian Traumatic Brain Injury Research Consortium, funded by a CIHR team grant, and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Canadian Concussion Network. He is currently studying blood protein biomarkers for prognosis and response to neuroprotective therapies for brain injury. He currently leads the ‘Canadian biobank and database for TBI’ and ‘inhaled Nitric Oxide for Cardiac Arrest in Pediatrics and Adults’ prospective multi-centre studies, funded by Brain Canada and partners and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Michelle is an accomplished non-profit professional with over two decades of experience working in the sector in both Toronto and Ottawa. She brings a wealth of knowledge to any role she undertakes and has a proven record of growth in both revenue and reach for small organizations. As Chief Executive Officer of Brain Injury Canada, she has led the organization in a new strategic direction solidifying its position as a credible information source, knowledge mobilizer and ally for those with lived experience, families, the healthcare/service provider community, as well as the medical and research community. In addition to managing day-to-day operations, she also oversees the development of all Brain Injury Canada’s education and awareness programs, as well as advocacy initiatives. Her demonstrated focus on collaboration and partnerships gives her the ability to look at the big picture, but also all the moving parts and how they fit together effectively and efficiently. She currently sits on the Executive Committee for the Canadian Traumatic Brain Injury Research Consortium, the Accessibility Advisory Committee for the Canadian Transportation Safety Agency and is Co-Chair of the Governing Council for Neurological Health Charities Canada. Past roles include Executive Director at the Brain Injury Society of Toronto and in Health Promotion at the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. 

Kathryn Schneider is an Associate Professor and Clinician Scientist (Physiotherapist) at the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre, Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary. Her research focuses on the prevention, detection and treatment of sport-related concussion. Her work has identified a large treatment effect using multimodal physiotherapy and vestibular rehabilitation. She is the co-lead of the 6th International Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport. She is a Clinical Specialist in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Manipulative Physiotherapists and has expertise and certification in vestibular rehabilitation. She was recognized by Avenue Magazine as “Top 40 Under 40” in 2012 and was the recipient of the Vestibular Disorders Association (VEDA) Champion of Vestibular Medicine Award in 2015. Invited speaking highlights include the 4th, 5th and 6th International Consensus Conferences on Concussion in Sport, International Olympic Committee (IOC) medical meetings at the Sochi, Rio and PyeongChang Olympic games, and many additional International and National sport meetings. Her clinical practice focuses on the treatment of recreational to elite/professional athletes with ongoing symptoms following sport-related concussion.

Alexis Turgeon graduated from Université Laval medical school and, following residency training in Anesthesiology, completed a master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology. He trained in Critical Care Medicine at the University of Ottawa along with a research fellowship at the Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. Alexis is Professor and Director of Research in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Université Laval, and a scientist and Deputy Director of the Population Health and Optimal Health Practices Unit of the CHU de Québec-Université Laval Research Center. He practices Critical Care Medicine and Anesthesiology at the CHU de Québec-Université Laval (Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus).

Alexis leads a research program on the determination of prognosis (TBI-Prognosis Study) and the comprehension of level of care decisions in traumatic brain injury (TBI) (TBI-QualE Study). He has developed a program of research on brain oxygenation and blood transfusion in TBI. He leads the HEMOTION Trial, an international multicenter trial aiming to determine the optimal red blood cell transfusion strategy for moderate to severe TBI, as well as the NeurO₂ Study on brain oxygenation measurement. These programs are funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Alexis leads the Patient-Oriented Practice-Based Research Unit for Optimal Practices in Critical Care Neurology and Trauma funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation.

Alexis is Co-Chair of the Canadian Traumatic brain injury Research Consortium (CTRC) and Scientific Director of Cochrane Canada Francophone. He is the Canada Research Chair in Critical Care Neurology and Trauma.

Dr. Cheryl Wellington is Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health at the University of British Columbia. She is also Principal Investigator at the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries at Vancouver General Hospital and Associate Member of the UBC School of Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Wellington’s research interests are multidisciplinary and best described as translational research closely aligned with clinically-driven questions.  Her laboratory is the leading Canadian site for research on neurological blood biomarkers, supporting over 24 projects spanning a wide variety of neurological indications over the lifespan with an emphasis on neurotrauma and neurodegeneration. Her work on Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) focuses mainly on the role of lipoproteins, namely apolipoprotein E (apoE) and apoA-I, on vascular contributions to dementia. Dr. Wellington’s laboratory uses a combination of animal models and in vitro platforms, including 3D tissue engineered models. Along with Dr. Peter Cripton, a Mechanical Engineer, Dr. Wellington developed the CHIMERA (Closed Head Model of Engineered Rotational Acceleration) animal model of TBI that is currently operational for mice, rats and ferrets and considered a leading model of concussion. Dr. Wellington has also examined the relationship between blood biomarkers of neurology and inflammation in  COVID-19. Dr. Wellington holds multiple leadership positions in both the dementia and neurotrauma communities, including the Cure Alzheimer Fund ApoE Consortium, the Canadian Traumatic Brain Injury Research Consortium, the Canadian Concussion Network, the International Initiative on Traumatic Brain Injury Research Consortium, and the Canadian Consortium for Neurodegeneration in Aging.

Dr. Anne Wheeler received her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Toronto followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in neuroimaging from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She joined the Hospital for Sick Children in 2015 as the Catalyst Scholar in TBI. Her lab examines mechanisms of impairment and recovery following brain injury. Her research program incorporates multiscale neuroimaging approaches with cognitive, behavioral, and genetic data across species.

Dr. Zemek is a Pediatric Emergency physician, a full Professor and Tier-1 Clinical Research Chair in Pediatric Concussion at the University of Ottawa, and a Senior Scientist at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute. He holds national and international leadership positions: Chair of the Pediatric Emergency Research Canada (PERC) network, Executive committee of the Canadian Concussion Network (CCN), lead for Living Guideline for Pediatric Concussion Care and a member of numerous international committees for concussion. His program of research has advanced the care of pediatric concussion through the derivation and validation of a clinical prediction score for prolonged recovery (5P study) and provided key evidence for the paradigm shift in the acute post-injury management which now recommends the assimilation of early physical activity and early return to school to promote recovery. He has led large multicentre teams across the spectrum of clinical research methodologies (e.g., multicentre randomized controlled trials, comparative effectiveness research, observational cohort studies, systematic reviews, administrative health data studies, health record studies and qualitative studies).

Stephanie Cowle has spent close to 15 years working in the area of injury and trauma prevention. Stephanie is the Director of Knowledge Translation at Parachute, leading the analysis and synthesis of research to develop the organization’s evidence-based solutions that educate and advocate. Since 2016, Stephanie has led Parachute’s national initiatives to improve concussion prevention, recognition and management across Canada, including the publication of the first-ever Canadian Guideline on Concussion in Sport. Stephanie has worked with 50 national sport bodies as well as government, health, and education stakeholders at national and provincial levels on concussion education, policy and protocols. Stephanie holds an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Sociocultural Anthropology from Wilfrid Laurier University and Knowledge Translation Professional Certificate from the University of Toronto.

Dr. Langevin received her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Calgary, and draws upon extensive clinical research and innovation experience, from neurodevelopmental genetics to adult acquired neural injury. As Research Program Manager at the University of Calgary, Dr. Langevin has collaborated with health-care organizations, families and stakeholders to oversee the implementation strategic research programs both locally and across provincial and national partnerships, establish regulatory protocols and training, develop and maintain diverse stakeholder relationships, and support a dedicated, patient-oriented research team. Her current focus translates this unique perspective to enhancing translation across research and clinical domains, with a view toward advancing national research and health capacity and applying new knowledge toward health care policy development, resource allocation, and translating emerging best-practice evidence to the changing landscape surrounding concussion care delivery.