The Australian Sports Brain Bank is a medical research laboratory, a part of the neuropathology department of the

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (abbreviated RPAH or RPA) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown. It is a teaching hospital of the Central Clinical School of the Sydney Medical School ...

(RPA) in Sydney. It is headed by neuropathologist Associate Professor Michael Buckland. The bank was established in 2018 as a collaboration between RPA and

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

to study the relationship between

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

, head injury and

chronic traumatic encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse o ...

(CTE). It is a partner organisation of Concussion Legacy Foundation's (CLF) Global Brain Bank. In 2019, the bank opened a branch in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in conjunction with the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine. In 2020, the bank identified CTE in the brain of Australian rules football hall of fame member

Polly Farmer Graham Vivian "Polly" Farmer (10 March 1935 14 August 2019) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL) and the East Perth Football Club and We ...

Jacinda Barclay Jacinda Barclay (18 February 199112 October 2020) was an Australian sportswoman who played baseball, American football and Australian rules football at high levels. She represented the Australian national team in five Women's Baseball World Cu ...

was the first contact sportswoman in Australia to donate her brain to the Australian Sports Brain Bank. Barclay was found dead at her Perth home on 12 October 2020. Her death was implied to have been a suicide. In 2021 researchers uncovered neurological degradation to her cerebral white matter, similar to that found in the brains of American footballers. Damage of this type is thought to be the result of repetitive head injury from contact sports and is linked to an increased risk of suicide. In 2023 researchers from the bank posthumously diagnosed

Heather Anderson Heather Anderson (29 July 1994 – 13 November 2022) was an Australian Army soldier and Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition in 2017. She served as a medic in the 1st Close Hea ...

with CTE. She is the first female athlete diagnosed with this disease. Other athletes who have pledged to donate their brain to the bank include boxer

Jeff Fenech Jeff Fenech (born 28 May 1964) is an Australian former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2008. He won world titles in three weight divisions, having held the IBF bantamweight title from 1985 to 1987, the WBC super-bantamweight ...

, National Football League player

Colin Scotts Colin Roberts Scotts (born 26 April 1963) is an Australian former American football player; he was the first Australian to receive an American football scholarship in the United States and be drafted into the National Football League, NFL. He b ...

, Australian Football League players

Daniel Chick Daniel Patrick Chick (born 10 February 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn and the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League. Chick is also well known for having a finger amputated in 2002 so he cou ...

and

Sam Blease Sam Blease (born 19 February 1991) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club and Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Selected by Melbourne with pick 17 in the 200 ...

and National Rugby League players Ian Roberts and Shaun Valentine.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Medical research institutes in Australia University of Sydney 2018 establishments in Australia

See also

References

External links