Aaron’s Experience at the 12th Annual Concussion Conference at Harvard

A couple weeks ago, co-founder, Aaron Rocha, attended The 12th Annual Sports Concussion, Traumatic Brain and Spine Injury Conference” held at Harvard Medical School. Below, he shares his experience.

This was our organization’s second time to the annual conference, last year being with two additional board members. It’s a humbling experience walking into an auditorium full of some of the best doctors in the world there to discuss their expertise—concussions. It is also a very rewarding experience as these conference proctors said hello to me by name and asked how the Foundation is going. It was great catching up with the many we’ve been talking with over the past couple years.

The purpose of attending such a prestigious conference is not so that I may personally pursue a career as a doctor, athletic trainer, or sports psychologist. It is simply to learn the most up-to-date findings about an injury that drastically impacted me, my family, and the members of CAN Recover’s network as well as connect with the best of the best on how to collaboratively drive our mission.

The presentations were top-notch from pioneers such as Dr. Meehan, Dr. Cantu, Dr. McKee, Dr. Kirkwood, and many more. Come the Q&A following the morning half of the conference, I was able to inquire to the speakers about the how we as a community can help fill the data and research gaps that will lead to a better understanding of the invisible injury. During the break Dr. Meehan and I dug into more details on how each survey or clinical study is different, (including one 6-week-commitment trial that I participated in a couple years ago that is still underway). All speakers were very welcoming during the breaks throughout the remainder of the day, and I was happy to take advantage of each to learn more about specific topics catering to CAN Recover’s progress. I (and our core team) look forward to continuing the conversation.

The 12th Annual Concussion Conference was a great learning experience for me to refresh all the latest findings, be introduced to metrics that are not yet publicly published, and hear what’s coming next in the research world. I was able to re-connect with those CAN Recover has been in touch with through our early years and introduce CAN Recover to many more medical leaders for the first time, forming new relationships. What truly reassures me that our Foundation is headed down the right path is that everyone I was able to speak with was impressed with CAN Recover’s values and progress so far, and offered encouraging words for future success. All around a very fun and successful day.