Robert W. Turner II, PhD, assistant professor of clinical research and leadership at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, is the featured guest speaker at the NFL Alumni Association’s health and wellness event, “Lifecourse Perspectives for Understanding the Health of Black Men and NFL Athletes from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.”
The event will take place on Friday, Feb. 1, at Morehouse College’s Public Health Sciences Institute in Atlanta. Held during Super Bowl week, this event is meant to raise community awareness about the environmental, social, and behavioral factors that influence resilience and health in the lives of NFL athletes. The event is hosted by Morehouse College’s Public Health Sciences Institute, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Aging (NIA), and Oxford University Press.
Turner, who is also an assistant professor of neurology, is a health disparities researcher. He currently holds an NIA funded K01 award to better understand the neurocognitive and psychosocial risks presented to individuals who have experienced traumatic brain injury, compared with those who have not. He is measuring athletes’ cognitive function and how it may change over time, and coupling those data with their personal attitudes and beliefs about health and mental health. Turner is also the author of “Not For Long: The Life and Career of the NFL Athlete” (Oxford Press) and a contributor on the LeBron James HBO documentary “Student Athlete.” His experience as a former professional NFL player and as researcher provides an insightful perspective on the various factors that contribute to Black male health disparities.
The discussion will be co-hosted and moderated by Carl V. Hill, PhD, who serves as the director of the NIA Office of Special Populations and formerly worked at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Confirmed NFL alumni player panelists are: Isaac Keys (Morehouse College - Arizona Cardinals), Anthony Mitchell (Tuskegee University – Super Bowl champion with the Baltimore Ravens), Tyrone Poole (Fort Valley State – two-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots), and Maurice “Mo” Tyler (Morgan State University – Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers, Detroit Lions, New York Jets, and New York Giants). Learn more about Turner’s work
