Members

Carolyn Emery is a physiotherapist and injury epidemiologist. She is a Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and in Pediatrics and Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. She is a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Concussion and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Carolyn is the Chair of the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre (1 of 11 and the Canadian International Olympic Committee Research Centre for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health) and is a member of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, O’Brien Institute for Public Health, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health.

The focus of Carolyn’s research program is the prevention of injuries in youth sport, with a focus also on concussion and adapted physical activity and sport for children and adolescents with disabilities; aimed to reduce the public health burden of all injuries and concussions and their long-term consequences. She aims to evaluate targets for injury and concussion across policy and rules, training strategies, and personal protective equipment. Carolyn has received >$25 million in external grant support from Canadian Institutions of Health Research, sport federations, and other agencies for her research in youth sport-related injury, concussion, and pediatric rehabilitation and has published over 250 peer-reviewed manuscripts. Carolyn is best known for her research program in concussion risk in youth ice hockey including evaluation of policy related to body checking. In addition, her research associated with the development and evaluation of training-related prevention strategies to decrease the risk of injuries in youth team sports and junior high school physical education has led to a significant public health impact in injury reduction in youth sport.

In 2018, Carolyn was awarded a Canada Institute for Health Research Foundation Grant (SHRed injuries – Surveillance in High Schools and Community Sport to Reduce Injuries and their Consequences in Youth). As nominated PI, her pan-Canadian multidisciplinary research team recently received significant funding from the National Football League Play Smart Play Safe Program for SHRed Concussions aimed to reduce the significant burden of concussions and their consequences in youth sport. Carolyn’s research priorities for moving upstream towards prevention to ensure the greatest public heath impact in reducing the burden of injuries and concussions and their consequences in youth. This includes the prevention of reduced levels of physical activity, overweight and obesity, early osteoarthritis, consequences of concussion, and chronic illness. Overarchingly, Carolyn aims to keep kids participating in the sports they love.