Trustee Candidate: Education & Allied Health

Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., FACSM
Kenan Distinquished Professor and Chair
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences
Chapel Hill, NC 

1.  Please list your previous service to ACSM.

I have enjoyed serving ACSM in a variety of ways since becoming a Fellow in May 2002.  I have served as a regular reviewer for ®Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, and given over 15 scholarly presentations on sport-related concussion at ACSM annual meetings and regional/chapter meetings.  In September 2010, I participated in the Congressional Briefing on Youth Sports and Issues Related to Concussion held in Washington, DC.  The briefing was influential in the passing of 42 state concussion laws as of December 20, 2012.  I participated on the writing group for ACSM’s 2011 Team Physician Concussion Consensus Statement, which now guides concussion management for many of our ACSM members.  Over the past three years, I have also served on ACSM’s Communications and Public Information Committee. 

2.  What is ACSM’s greatest strength and how would you make that aspect of the organization even stronger?

At a time when interdisciplinary research and collaborations have become so important for the field, ACSM has answered the call.  With over 70 different disciplines represented by its members, ACSM serves as the conduit for collaborations between a variety of clinicians and researchers in sports medicine and exercise science.  The association’s greatest strength is the ability to bring together the world’s leaders in these disciplines to provide evidence based guidelines in areas that address major public health issues such as increasing physical activity, childhood obesity, steroids, concussions, and cardiac and sickle cell trait screenings for the physically active.  As a neuroscientist and certified athletic trainer, I have worked hard to bridge the gap between research and clinical practice.  As an academic leader, I have embraced and helped to foster interdisciplinary research on my campus and with colleagues across the country.  Much of my work has been aimed at concussion education, awareness, and prevention, and involved pulling together a diverse group of individuals, many of whom contributed collectively in ways I never would have imagined.  I look forward to working alongside ACSM’s leadership team to assemble similar groups of people to identify creative solutions for a healthy active society. 

3.  ACSM works closely with many other organizations, including associations, companies, philanthropies, and governmental agencies. Indicate those organizations/companies/agencies for which you play an advisory, consulting, or leadership role.                        

I have served on the editorial boards for the Journal of Athletic Training, Neurosurgery, and Exercise and Sport Science Reviews.   I have been heavily involved as a member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association as a member of the Convention Committee, Journal Committee, and Research and Education Foundation.  I have served or currently serve as a member of concussion consensus writing committees for the NATA, AMSSM, and ACSM; and currently serve on the NCAA’s Health and Safety Advisory Committee for Concussion, the NFL’s Head Neck and Spine Committee, the NFLPA’s Mackey-White Committee, and the CDC’s Pediatric Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Workgroup.