Dr. Robert Cantu joins TeachAids as CrashCourse Advisor
Photo Credit: Vernon Doucette, Boston University
As we work to improve concussion education for young athletes, we are grateful for the guidance of Dr. Robert Cantu, who brings decades of experience in neurology and sports medicine to TeachAids. Dr. Cantu’s deep expertise in brain injury research and position as a leader in his field make him a vital member of our CrashCourse team.
Dr. Cantu received his B.A. degree from U.C. Berkeley in 1960, his M.A. in endocrinology from Berkeley in 1962, and his M.D. from U.C. San Francisco in 1963. He then began a neurosurgery residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and research fellowship in physiology at Harvard Medical School. After completing his residency, he joined the neurosurgery staff at MGH and became the Assistant Director of Neurosurgery and Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Boston City Hospital. In 1973, Dr. Cantu entered private neurosurgery practice at the Emerson Hospital in Massachusetts. He currently serves as Chief of Neurosurgery Service and Director of Sports Medicine at Emerson Hospital, as well as the Medical Director and Director of Clinical Research at Emerson’s Dr. Robert C. Cantu Concussion Center.
In addition to his roles at Emerson Hospital, Dr. Cantu holds many professional responsibilities in the nonprofit, academic, and medical spheres. As a founding member and the Medical Director of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, Dr. Cantu works to solve the concussion crisis through policy development, education, and medical research. He is a Clinical Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery at the Boston University Medical Center as well as an Adjunct Professor of Exercise and Sport Science and the Medical Director of the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research at Chapel Hill. Dr. Cantu also serves as an advisor to numerous committees, including the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment; the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee; and the NCAA Concussion Advisory Group. He has served as the Associate Editor of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise and Exercise and Sports Science Review, as well as a member of many editorial boards of scientific journals in sports medicine and neurology.
Dr. Cantu is an advocate for concussion awareness as the author of over 490 scientific publications and a spokesperson for the American College of Sports Medicine. Across his many roles, Dr. Cantu works at the cutting edge of brain trauma research. We are honored to be working with someone who has dedicated his life to concussion education.