PITTSBURGH, July 24, 2006 — As young athletes, parents and coaches are becoming more aware of how to recognize and safely manage concussions and the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program has become busier than ever, the program has added a third full-time neuropsychologist to its clinical and research staff -- Jamie Pardini, Ph.D., of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Pardini uniquely adds a new dimension to the program’s clinical staff by offering brief psychotherapy services to athletes who experience emotional distress due to prolonged difficulty with sports-related head injury. In addition, she provides concussion evaluation and management for safe return-to-play.
Dr. Pardini also participates in the numerous ongoing clinical research studies of the program, serving as project coordinator of a $2.8 million, long-term NIH-sponsored research grant -- the first study of its kind that uses functional MRI to evaluate the neurocognitive effects of concussion in high school athletes.
A neuropsychology fellow with the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program since 2003, Dr. Pardini joins world-renowned sports concussion researchers and clinicians Mark Lovell, Ph.D., and Micky Collins, Ph.D., the program’s director and assistant director and both neuropsychologists.
The UPMC program, established in 2000, is an ongoing clinical service and research program that focuses on the diagnosis, evaluation and management of sports-related concussion in athletes of all levels. Having published numerous first-ever studies of concussion effects in high school and college athletes, the program’s doctors are recognized as pioneers in developing better methods of post-concussion evaluation to determine when it is safe for an injured athlete to return to play.
Dr. Pardini received her doctorate degree in clinical psychology at the University of Alabama in 2003, and had completed an internship in clinical neuropsychology at the Veteran Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System in 2003. She earned a master’s degree at East Tennessee State University in 1998, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina in 1995. As a graduate student and intern, Dr. Pardini taught numerous psychology courses, coordinated a research grant examining depression treatment and memory training for elders at risk for loss of independence, and worked as a neuropsychology technician for the Neuropsychology Clinic in Northport, Alabama.
Dr. Pardini is the author or co-author of numerous studies published in various psychology and medical journals and co-author of several book chapters. A frequently invited presenter at national and international meetings, her professional memberships include the American Psychological Association, International Neuropsychological Society, National Association of Neuropsychology and the Western Pennsylvania Hostage Negotiators Association.
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