Carle Illinois College of Medicine student Annabelle Shaffer examined data of high school athletes and their concussion responses to establish baselines to better guide diagnosis and decisions around returning to play. Entries from the concussion database are projected over the MRI control room at the Beckman Institute for Advanced science and Technology at the U. of I.
Photo by Fred Zwicky
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — As I scroll through another sheet of data, I know each entry represents the story of a high school athlete whose season — and, potentially, life — was altered due to a possible concussion. I am looking for trends and risk factors, with the goal of helping physicians and coaches better evaluate whether an athlete has sustained a concussion and when it is safe to resume activity.
Most concussion studies focus on collegiate and professional athletes, so the data I am studying is a critical first step in improving sport safety for younger athletes. Using the sport concussion assessment tool, I and my collaborators collected preseason and post-concussion injury evaluations for students in high-risk sports, such as soccer and American football. Our SCAT dataset includes 19 area high schools in Champaign, Douglas, Piatt and Vermillion Counties in Illinois, representing thousands of student athletes from 2009-2023.
Shaffer examines data spreadsheets and MRI images. Her analyses have contributed toward establishing baselines for concussion diagnostics in young athletes and uncovered differences in symptoms by gender, age and certain conditions.
Photo by Fred Zwicky
Preseason evaluations can be compared with postconcussion evaluations to aid in diagnosis of concussion. We already have discovered differences in symptoms based on gender, age, mental health and other conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and some of our findings have been published in the journal Neurosurgical Focus. Knowing those differences may help clinicians more accurately diagnose concussions. Proper diagnosis is the first step to recovery, and fully recovering from a concussion before returning to sports is critical to avoid further injury.
Now, I am preparing our findings related to risk factors and injury characteristics for publication in the journal Neurosurgery in hopes of improving screening and safety. We found that concussion risk is greater in athletes with a history of concussion or head injury, as well as athletes with learning disability, dyslexia or headache/migraine disorders. Further research is needed to understand why these disorders may increase the risk. Our next step is a prospective study to learn more about high school students' attitudes towards concussion, reporting behaviors and recovery.
Shaffer in the MRI suite at the Beckman Institute. Shaffer also works with the 7 Tesla MRI in the Carle Illinois Advanced Imaging Center, one of only a handful of such powerful MRI machines, studying brain defects, injuries and epilepsy.
Photo by Fred Zwicky
Sport-related concussions are a passion project for me, but my journey to this has not been linear.
When I was 15, I took math and science courses at Illinois State University as a high school student and used computational models of neurons. I received my undergraduate and master's degrees at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, which has been my home for the last eight years. I changed my major several times, finally choosing dietetics — a field that allowed me to blend my love for science with human physiology to help others lead healthier lives. During my graduate studies at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I took a course in neuroimmunology which reignited my love for neuroscience. Following completion of my master's degree, I choose to go to Carle Illinois College of Medicine at the U. of I. because they valued my diverse academic background.
Shaffer observing a neurosurgical procedure in the operating room as part of her training.
Photo by Kaden Rawson
Now, 10 years after starting research in the neurosciences, I am in my last year of medical school at CI MED. I am one of the first women from CI MED to pursue neurological surgery. Roughly 8.2% of neurosurgeons in the U.S. are women, and I hope soon to join them. To me, neurosurgery is the perfect specialty: It is a blend of surgical precision, neuroscience knowledge and critical care. In the same day, a neurosurgeon might operate on your herniated disc and later perform an emergency and life-saving surgery for someone suffering from a hemorrhagic stroke.
CI MED clinical professor and Carle Health neurosurgeon Dr. Paul Arnold, right, is one of the mentors at CI MED who helped guide Shaffer, left, as her interest in neuroscience developed.
Photo by Kaden Rawson
Neurosurgery is a competitive residency, and my pursuit of it simply would not be possible without the people I have found at CI MED and Illinois. Our research group, newly named CEREBRAL, Concussion and Epilepsy Research in Brain Imaging and Clinical Applications, primarily studies sport-related concussions in high school athletes, advances in 7 Tesla MRI and focal epilepsy syndromes. Our meetings are productive yet filled with laughter and encouragement. I am most proud of the work we have done and will continue to do, as it is work with the potential to improve the health and safety of young people within our community.
Although a mere 8.2% of neurosurgeons in the United States are women, Shaffer intends to join their ranks after being matched to a residency in May 2025.
Photo by Kaden Rawson
