HEADS UP On The Concussion Issue to raise awareness of head injury

An all-star lineup of experts in the fields of sports and neurology will share a stage on Jan. 27 to discuss concussions, a serious injury that has only recently been getting the attention it deserves.

Entitled HEADS UP On The Concussion Issue, the event will be hosted by world champion diver Alexandre Despatie. The public lecture will include former New York Rangers goalie Mike Richter, Lieutenant-Colonel Markus Besemann, Canadian Forces Chief of Rehabilitation, Dr. Debbie Friedman, Director of the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting & Prevention Program, Dr. Angela Genge, Director of the ALS Clinical Research program and Clinical Research Unit at The Neuro, Dr. David Mulder, former Chief of Surgery at the Montreal General Hospital, Dr. Alain Ptito, Director of the Department of Psychology of the McGill University Health Centre, and Dr. Guy Rouleau, Director of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital.

Ken Dryden, a hockey hall of famer and former Montreal Canadiens goaltender, and Dr. J Scott Delaney, team physician for the Montreal Alouettes and the Montreal Impact, will provide keynote speeches during the public lecture.

Prior to the lecture will be a cocktail event where people can meet athletes such as tennis star Eugenie Bouchard, retired Montreal Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo, Kansas City Chiefs guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Bruno Heppell, a retired Montreal Alouettes fullback, Ken Dryden, Mike Richter, Martin Bedard, a Montreal Alouettes long snapper, Nicolas Boulay, a Montreal Alouettes linebacker, and Tanner Marsh, a former Alouettes quarterback.

Schedule of events:

5 p.m. to 7 p.m. - Meet and greet cocktails with the athletes, tickets $175

7 p.m. to 9 p.m. ­– Public lecture, tickets $20

All proceeds from ticket sales will go to concussion research. A tax receipt will be issued for part of the cocktail ticket amount. Cocktail ticket includes admission to the public lecture following the cocktail.

According to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, traumatic brain injury (TBI) “is the key cause of disability in individuals under the age of 45, and constitutes an important global health burden that has until now defied conventional approaches to diagnosis and therapy development because of its heterogeneity and complexity.”

To purchase tickets for the public lecture, click here.

To purchase tickets for the cocktail event, please call Jesse Radz at 514-398-1248