2024 Highlight Reel
MESSAGE FROM OUR DIRECTOR
In 2024, I had the privilege of serving as director of The Sports Institute (TSI) at UW Medicine, where we focus on expanding participation and safety in sports for all. This role has allowed me to collaborate with our dynamic team on innovative digital health tools like ExerciseRx to support physical activity prescriptions and programs like Mentally Strong aimed at improving youth mental health. We’ve also advanced educational opportunities for undergraduate athletes through the Husky Fellowship and broadened video and educational resources like the Game Plan.
It might seem unusual for a pediatric neurosurgeon to focus on sports and physical activity initiatives, however, my role at TSI strongly aligns with my passion for helping individuals live active, healthy lives. Supporting safe participation in sports helps prevent and treat injuries like concussions while also promoting long-term benefits such as better physical and mental health. Beyond that, I believe that sports can provide all of us, especially adolescents, a powerful way to build resilience, develop teamwork, and foster mental wellness.
Thank you for being part of our team and enabling the accomplishments highlighted below. Your contribution fuels our mission and drives meaningful impact!
Samuel Browd, MD, PhD, FACS, FAANS, FAAP
SUPPORTING PSYCHOLOGICAL RESILIENCE IN ADOLESCENT ATHLETES
This year TSI developed and tested an evidence-based educational program for high school coaches and athletes called Mentally Strong. In collaboration with Seattle Public Schools, participating coaches utilized the Mentally Strong platform to learn about the stress response and how to develop an environment supportive of positive coping.
Coaches then practiced coping strategies with acutely stressed athletes using artificial intelligence (AI) driven athlete scenarios. Coaches reported that they valued the flexibility to integrate activities like breathing exercises, goal setting, and visualization into their practices, seeing positive engagement from athletes. One coach shared, “Mentally Strong gave me tangible language on the actual benefits of building mental strength. It gave me a lot more language to use with the young men on my team.”
Mentally Strong is grounded in cognitive behavioral theory and developed through a partnership between UW’s Sara Chrisman MD MPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and TSI’s Assistant Director of Community Outreach and Kevin Alschuler PhD, Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Neurology.
We received initial funding for this work from the Prentice Family LLC and the Garvey Institute for Brain Health Solutions, and we are incredibly grateful for their support. In June 2024, our team received a generous first-time gift from an individual donor which will accelerate our efforts to expand the Mentally Strong program across Washington state. “Mental health programs should be the foundation to help youth athletes learn to navigate pressure, build self-worth, and develop coping skills that will serve them far beyond the playing field,” Chrisman said.
USING DIGITAL HEALTH TOOLS TO BOLSTER PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
TSI supports patients in leading more active lives through ExerciseRx, a digital health platform that enables healthcare providers to support physical activity. While exercise prescription is not a new concept, the ability for physicians to see a patient’s relevant physical activity dashboard within the electronic health records has the potential to change the way physical activity is used to support health outcomes. The platform incorporates behavior change strategies, including motivational feedback and nudges, while fostering caring patient-provider connections around activity promotion and behavior change.
Under the leadership of Cindy Lin, MD, FACSM, FAAPMR, Clinical Professor of Sports & Spine Medicine and TSI’s Director of Clinical Innovation, this year, we collaborated on pivotal research evaluating ExerciseRx’s use and effectiveness:
- At-Home Sensor-Driven Platform for Exercise in Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy
- The “Get Moving Trial,” a Phase I/II Study of Home-based Prehabilitation (P)REHAB Using ExerciseRx for Patients with Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
- ExerciseRx Multiple Sclerosis Step Count Study
This work was presented at multiple conferences throughout 2024 including Western Medical Research Conference, American Society of ClinicalOncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, American Physical Therapy Association Pediatrics Annual Conference and ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing.
ExerciseRx is the embodiment of multidisciplinary research as it brings together diverse expertise from UW departments including Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering and the Ubicomp Lab, Human Centered Design and Engineering, Rehabilitation Medicine, Urology and more.
DUAL ROLE IN SPORT FOR STUDENT ATHLETES
In 2024, TSI was fortunate to award two exceptional UW student-athletes with paid student-assistant positions through the Husky Fellowship: Lauren Wilcock, a junior from the Beach Volleyball team, and Lucy Newlin, a junior from the Soccer team. Both Lauren and Lucy dedicated 12-15 hours per week to the Mentally Strong project, working closely with faculty, staff, and collaborators to advance the initiative’s critical research and implementation.
The Husky Fellowship is designed to offer student-athletes unique and diverse internship experience at the intersection of healthcare, sports, business, and technology. With the support of Steve and Dixie Wilson, this is an opportunity for student-athletes to develop professional skills in alignment with their academics, athletics, and career interests.
MANAGEMENT OF SUSPECTED HEAD AND SPINE INJURY IN EQUESTRIAN SPORTS
The Game Plan is an educational video series. This year TSI began fundraising and developing the 2025 Game Plan film focused on equestrian safety and acute on-the-field management of suspected head and spinal injuries from horse riding-related falls or trauma. Due to the unpredictable nature of horses, combined with their height and the possibility of high speeds, equestrian athletes are especially at risk for head and spinal injuries. Under the leadership of Cindy Lin, MD, FACSM, FAAPMR, the new Game Plan video will help educate medical personnel, event officials, athletes and trainers on the basics of how to respond in the event of a suspected head or spine injury.
To date, we’ve produced two Game Plan films, both available for free to the public: Managing On-Field Cervical Spine Injuries and Sideline Assessment for Suspected Concussion. These resources have been widely adopted nationally and internationally by athletic, paramedic, emergency room, and sports medicine training programs as core components of their curricula.
In addition to the Game Plan, our team routinely presents on a variety of sports concussion topics. This year alone, TSI has been represented at the 2024 American Medical Society Annual Meeting, 2024 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Annual Meeting, 2024 NCAA-DoD Grand Alliance Concussion Conference, 2024 Joint Commission on Sports Medicine & Science Annual Meeting and the 2024 United States Olympic & Paralympic (USOPC) Committee – National Governing Body Medical Conference.
THANK YOU!
Philanthropy fuels most of our work, enabling us to accelerate progress and create greater impact in sport safety and physical activity. Thank you for your support and continued investment in our work!
Together, we are making a difference, and we are incredibly grateful for your partnership in this important work.