EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

DATE: 11 a.m.-Noon Thursday, April 9

EVENT: Allen Sills, chief medical officer of the National Football League, will deliver the 2026 University of Michigan Concussion Center Speaker Series kickoff lecture, “Can Football Be Made Safer? How Data is Informing Rules, Equipment and Coaching.”

His presentation will explore how large-scale injury surveillance, biomechanics research and advances in clinical care are shaping improvements across the sport, while examining the path forward for making the game safer at every level.

Sills, a board-certified neurosurgeon and sports safety leader, oversees the NFL’s Head Injury Reduction Plan, a strategy to reduce concussion through rule modifications, equipment innovation, and coaching and technique improvements. Since its implementation, the initiative has been associated with increased reporting transparency and reductions in certain head injuries, alongside continued efforts to minimize head impacts across the game.

Sills is also a professor of neurosurgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and founder of the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center.

SPONSORS: Michigan Athletics, U-M Concussion Center

PLACE: The public is welcome to attend on Zoom. Registration.