Warde Manuel | Concussion Center

Warde J. Manuel was named Michigan’s Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics on January 29, 2016. His five-year appointment became effective on March 14.

Manuel’s return to Ann Arbor brings him full-circle from an accomplished student-athlete and athletic administrator at U-M to a distinguished career as an athletic director and back again.

A three-time Michigan alumnus and two-sport athlete who played football under Bo Schembechler, Manuel returned to U-M following a nearly four-year run as director of athletics at the University of Connecticut.

Manuel is Michigan’s 12th athletic director in 150 years of intercollegiate athletics at the university. U-M has 31 teams and more than 900 student-athletes. The self-supporting department has an annual budget of $151 million and a staff of 350.

Manuel became the director of athletics at the University of Connecticut in 2012. UConn teams won six NCAA national championships under Manuel’s leadership — the most ever by UConn teams in a three-year period. In 2014, UConn’s three national championship teams (field hockey and men’s and women’s basketball) all posted perfect 1,000 single-year scores in the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate (APR). In 2015, 13 UConn teams posted perfect single-year scores, marking a dramatic academic improvement at the school.

Dr. Rebecca Cunningham is vice president for research at the University of Michigan, where she is responsible for fostering the excellence and integrity of research across all three campuses.

She has vast experience as a researcher, administrator, educator and clinician, including more than 20 years spent as an emergency medicine physician at U-M and Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan.

Cunningham’s career has focused on injury prevention, opioid overdose, substance misuse prevention, firearm injury prevention and public health.
She is the former Director of the U-M Injury Prevention Center, established a national consortium to improve firearms safety, served as associate vice president for research-health sciences and is the former associate chair for research for the U-M Department of Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Ayanian is the inaugural Director of the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation which includes over 600 faculty members from 14 schools and colleges at the University of Michigan, where he is also the Alice Hamilton Professor of Medicine, Professor of Health Management and Policy, Professor of Public Policy, and a practicing general internist. He has led influential studies of access to care, quality of care, and health disparities related to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic factors, and insurance coverage. He currently leads a team of 15 faculty members conducting the federally-authorized evaluation of the Healthy Michigan Plan, which has expanded Medicaid coverage to more than 650,000 adults in Michigan. From 2014 through 2016 he served as an Associate Editor of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Ayanian is a Master of the American College of Physicians and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, American Society for Clinical Investigation, Association of American Physicians, and Alpha Omega Alpha. He has received the John Eisenberg National Award for Career Achievement in Research from the Society of General Internal Medicine and the Distinguished Investigator Award from AcademyHealth. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Duke University, medical degree from Harvard Medical School, and master of public policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School. He completed residency and fellowship training in primary care internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a post-doctoral fellowship in health services research at the Harvard School of Public Health.

At the University of Michigan (UM), Ron Zernicke is Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, with joint appointments as Professor of Kinesiology and Biomedical Engineering. He was Dean of the UM School of Kinesiology, and he is Director of the UM Exercise & Sport Science Initiative. Prior to coming to UM, he was the Executive Director of the Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute, and at the University of Calgary, he was John and Christena Wood Professor in Joint Injury Research in the Cummings School of Medicine (Department of Surgery), Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology, and Professor in the Schulich School of Engineering (Department of Mechanical Engineering).

His baccalaureate was from Concordia University Chicago, and his MSc and PhD were from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He joined UCLA in 1974 and was Professor and Chair of the Department of Kinesiology when he was recruited to Calgary. He received the UCLA Award for Distinguished Teaching, City of Calgary Community Achievement Award (Education), the University of Calgary Award for Outstanding Achievement in Graduate Supervision, and he was Alumnus of the Year for Concordia University Chicago. He received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Waterloo, Canada.

He was President of the Canadian, American, and International Societies of Biomechanics, and he Co-Chaired the 4^th World Congress of Biomechanics. His research awards include: NASA (Cosmos Achievement Award), Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine (Yasuda Award for Outstanding Research Paper), American and International Societies of Biomechanics (Delsys Award), Canadian Society for Biomechanics (Career Award), Canadian Orthopaedic Research Society (Founder’s Medal for Best Research), and Canadian Institutes for Health Research (Partnership Award). He is a Fellow of the International, Canadian, and American Societies of Biomechanics, American College of Sports Medicine, and National Academy of Kinesiology (President-Elect 2019-2020). He has received research grants from agencies such as: Arthritis Society of Canada, Adidas, Canadian Space Agency, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Canadian Institutes for Health Research, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, and National Institutes of Health. His research focuses on: (1) adaptation of bone to exercise, disuse, and diet, (2) human movement dynamics and performance, and (3) joint injury and osteoarthritis, and he has authored more than 600 peer-reviewed research publications and abstracts, 1 patent, and 2 books.

Dr. McCrea is Tenured Professor, Eminent Scholar, and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), where he also serves as Co-Director for the MCW Center for Neurotrauma Research (CNTR). He has an appointment as a research neuropsychologist at the Clement Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Dr. McCrea earned his doctoral degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, then completed his internship training in neuropsychology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology at Northwestern University Medical School.

Dr. McCrea is ABCN board-certified in clinical neuropsychology. He is past President of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN) and incoming President of the American Psychological Association’s Society for Clinical Neuropsychology (SCN).

Dr. McCrea has been an active researcher in the neurosciences, with numerous scientific publications, book chapters, and national and international lectures on the topic of traumatic brain injury. He authored the text Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Postconcussion Syndrome: The New Evidence Base for Diagnosis and Treatment published by Oxford University Press.

Dr. McCrea has led several large, multi-center studies on the effects of traumatic brain injury and sport-related concussion. He currently is co-PI on the NCAA-DoD CARE Consortium and several other large-scale studies investigating the acute and chronic effects of TBI in various populations at risk. Dr. McCrea is also a key investigator on the TRACK-TBI and TBI Endpoint Development studies of civilian brain injury.

Dr. McCrea serves as a neuropsychology consultant for the Green Bay Packers. He served as a panelist on the 2008, 2012 and 2016 International Consensus Conference on Sports Concussion. He has served on several international expert panels related to research and clinical care for TBI over the past two decades.

Dr. Hinds is the first Chief Health Equity Officer for the NFL Players Association. In this role, he serves as an advisor and advocates for the health and safety of the former players and their family members.

Dr. Hinds is a recently retired United States Army officer with over 30 years of military medicine experience. He is a neurologist and nuclear medicine physician who most recently served as the DoD Brain Health Research Coordinator for the DoD Blast Injury Research Coordinating Office and as the Medical Advisor to the Principal Assistant for Research and Technology (PAR&T), Medical Research and Materiel Command, FT Detrick, MD.

He was the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center’s (DVBIC) fifth national director from July 1, 2013 to 16 March 2016. He served to collaborate, advise, and promote military relevant neurological and psychological medical and non-medical research efforts within the DoD and with external partners. One of his efforts to accomplish this mission was his additional role as co-primary investigator on the VA, DoD, VCU collaboration, entitled the Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (CENC). This is a concerted effort to analyze the natural history of mild traumatic brain injury and its potential long-term effects. The creation of this consortium was in direct response to the National Research Action Plan (NRAP) of 2013.

As national director, DVBIC, Col. Hinds oversaw all aspects of the organization’s mission, which is to serve active-duty military and veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) through state-of-the-art medical care and care coordination, and innovative clinical research and educational programs.

His other significant military medicine leadership roles included: deputy director of the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) for Military Medical Operations; the in-theater neurologist in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom), and chief of Nuclear Medicine Services at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, chief of integrated nuclear medicine services for the Base Realignment and Closure process that combined the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center, National Naval Medical Center, and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital.

While deployed to Afghanistan, Col. Hinds served as the theater neurology consultant and oversaw standardization of concussion care and 11 concussion care centers which included MRI utilization. Performing site visits allowed him to ensure that staff had appropriate training, education, and resources. He reviewed cases, shared best practices, promoted in-theater TBI research, worked with theater providers to identify and close gaps inpatient care, and provided valuable information which shaped DoD TBI policy.

Before entering medical school, he served in the following tactical and administrative roles: medical platoon leader, 4-64 Armor Battalion, 24th ID at FT Stewart, GA from OCT 1988 to August 1990. He was the executive officer, treatment platoon leader and ambulance platoon leader of C Company, 224th Forward Support Battalion, 24th ID, in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, during Desert Shield/Desert Storm August 1990 to March 1991.

He was the Distinguished Honor graduate of the U.S. Army Medical Department patient administration course and served at the Army Defense Medical Information System from 1991 to 1992, testing and advising the Composite Health Care System (CHCS I).

Dr. Hinds has also served/serves on numerous neurological disorders and traumatic brain injury boards: NFL-GE Head Health Challenge Medical Advisory Board; NFL Scientific Advisory Board, NCAA-CARE Scientific Advisory Board; and Ex Officio member, National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NANDSC) Council

He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1988 and served as a Medical Service Corps Officer from 1988 until 1992. He received his M.D. from the University of Connecticut Health Center and was re-commissioned as an Army Captain in 1996.

Dr. Hinds completed his neurology internship and residency at the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center from 1996 to 2000. He was a staff neurologist and then chief of neurology at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center from 2000 to 2004. He completed the Walter Reed Nuclear Medicine Fellowship Program in 2006.

Dr. Hinds is a Co-PI and lead for external collaborations for the Long-term Impact of Military-relevant Brain Injury Consortium-Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (LIMBIC-CENC). The LIMBIC-CENC mission, “…is to fill the gaps in knowledge about the basic science of concussion/mild TBI, determine its effects on late-life outcomes and neurodegeneration, identify service members most susceptible to these effects, and identify the most effective treatment strategies. LIMBIC-CENC is a multi-center collaboration linking premier basic science, translational, and clinical neuroscience researchers from the DoD, VA, academic universities, and private research institutes to effectively address the scientific, diagnostic, and therapeutic ramifications of mTBI and its long-term effects.”

Dr. Hinds’ awards include the Legion of Merit (1 OLC), Bronze Star Medal (1 OLC), Meritorious Service Medal (2 OCL), Expert Field Medical Badge, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, the Army Medical Department’s A Proficiency designator and the Order of Military Medical Merit. He is a graduate of the Combined General Staff College, Jungle Warfare School, Medical Effects of Ionizing Radiation (MEIR) and the Tactical Combat Medical Care (TCMC) Course.

As Associate Dean for Research, Julie Lumeng, MD, works towards coordinating, integrating, and leading infrastructure and support for clinical and translational research. She serves as a primary advocate for the clinical research community and works in strong partnership with Medical School leadership to ensure Michigan has a robust and vibrant research environment that allows faculty and learners to professionally thrive. Dr. Lumeng also serves as Assistant Vice President for Research-Clinical and Human Subjects Research, where she contributes strategic planning and decision making around the human subjects portion of the university’s research enterprise.

Dr. Lumeng is the Thomas P. Borders Family Research Professor of Child Behavior and Development and serves as the Director of the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR), the University of Michigan’s Clinical and Translational Science Award.

She received her M.D. from the University of Michigan. She completed a residency in pediatrics at the University of Michigan and a fellowship in developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Boston University. She joined the University of Michigan Medical School faculty in 2003.

Dr. Lumeng’s areas of research have centered on understanding biobehavioral predictors of the development of obesity beginning in early childhood. Her work has contributed to a clearer understanding of the intersection of biology, behavior, and environment – at the levels of the individual, family, and community — in the development of children’s eating behavior. She and her collaborators provided evidence of how biology drives behavior in children that is frequently conceptualized as resulting from parenting alone. Her work has also focused on understanding parenting behavior in the context of feeding children, with a focus on the manner in which these behaviors and practices are transactional with the child. Her work has frequently partnered with community organizations throughout the state serving low-income communities. She has also conducted large federally-funded community-based behavioral intervention trials with children and families.

She has co-authored more than 170 peer-reviewed manuscripts, contributed multiple book chapters, co-edited a book, and presented her work nationally and internationally. She has maintained continuous National Institute of Health funding since 2005, and has been funded by multiple other federal funders and foundations. She has regularly served on National Institute of Health peer review study sections, has served as an associate journal editor, and presented her work nationally and internationally.

Dr. Lumeng has served the University in previous administrative positions, including as the Associate Chair for Research in Pediatrics (2014-2020); as a faculty lead for programs within MICHR (2015-2020); and as the Director of the Center for Human Growth and Development (2018-2020).

Dr. Robert Sellers is the Charles D. Moody Collegiate Professor of Psychology and Professor of Education.

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Dr. Sellers attended Howard University where he earned All-America honors in football. After graduating cum laude with a bachelor’s of science degree in psychology in 1985, he went on to earn a Ph.D. in personality psychology from the University of Michigan in 1990. Following his graduate work, Dr. Sellers served as an Assistant and an Associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Virginia. In 1997, Dr. Sellers returned to the University of Michigan to continue his research and teaching efforts. He served four years as the Associate Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan before serving as Department Chair from 2011-2014.

Dr. Sellers’ primary research activities have focused on the role of race in the psychological lives of African Americans. He and his students have developed a conceptual and empirical model of African American racial identity. The model has been used by a number of researchers in the field to understand the heterogeneity in the significance and meaning that African Americans place on race in defining themselves. Dr. Sellers and his students have also investigated the processes by which African American parents transmit messages about race to their children. Finally, his research has examined the ways in which African Americans suffer from and often cope with experiences of racial discrimination. Over the years, he and his graduate students have published extensively on the topic. In addition to his research on the role of race in the lives of African Americans, Dr. Sellers has frequently published research examining the life experiences of student-athletes. He is also one of the founders of the Center for the Study of Black Youth in Context. The center conducts state-of-the-art, action-oriented research on the healthy development of African American youth as well as provides an important training ground for future researchers.

Dr. Sellers has received significant recognition for his research and teaching. He is a past President of the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues (Division 45 of the American Psychological Association). He is a fellow of Division 8 (Society for Personality and Social Psychology) and Division 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race) of the American Psychological Association as well as a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. He also won numerous honors and awards including the Theodore Millon Mid-Career Award in Personality Psychology from the American Psychological Foundation, the American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship Program Research Achievement Award, and the APAGS Kenneth & Mamie Clark Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Professional Development of Ethnic Minority Graduate Students.

A native of The Woodlands, Texas, Jarrett Irons is a graduate of The University of Michigan, having earned both his bachelor’s degree in Sports Management and Communications (1996) and graduate degree in Kinesiology (1999).

Irons has performed in leadership roles for over 20 years, most notably beginning when he was selected as two-time captain for Michigan’s football team. His leadership roles in competitive business markets launched in Chicago where he worked as the Business Development Manager at public relations firm Golin/Harris International, Inc. There he managed business ventures for Fortune 500 companies such as McDonald’s, Tyson’s Foods, and Amazon. After a few years, Irons shifted to build upon his sports management education and joined the International Management Group (IMG) in Chicago as Director of Sales, overseeing areas in elite international sports, events & talent management. Some of his personal client portfolios included Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, and Venus and Serena Williams.

Looking to merge his sales expertise and drive with his sports management training, coupled with his desire to improve individual lives, Irons joined the orthopedic joint reconstruction company Smith & Nephew Inc. as a medical device sales representative. There he built a $15 million book of orthopedic business in the Chicagoland territory, making this region one of the top sales markets in the country. Today, as Vice President of Sales and Development for NPI MedLogics, Inc., a Smith and Nephew distributor, he continues to oversee and develop a growing team of sales representatives in both Chicagoland and Southeastern Michigan regions. Irons also leverages his extensive sales and healthcare expertise through diverse professional partnerships in the health and lifestyle industries, creating synergies and lucrative opportunities for various business lines.

As a trusted entity in his professional and personal communities, Irons serves as an advisory board member for Hall of Fame Health (an organization focused on guiding former National Football League players through navigating healthcare resources), and a board member for “For Those Who Stayed” (a non-profit organization focused on assisting former Michigan athletes with life challenges) and G.E.A.R (“Giving Every Athlete Resources” – an organization focused on resourcing athletic programs throughout the Detroit metropolitan area).

Irons currently resides in Detroit, Michigan with his wife Jazelle and two daughters Bella and Zoe.

Dr. Mortenson is a board-certified psychiatrist. She received her medical degree from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed her general psychiatry residency at the University of Michigan. Dr. Mortenson is a physician leader who builds on prior business experience to strategically advance timely, high-quality healthcare that is safe, equitable, accessible, personalized, data-driven, and cost-effective. In 2022, Dr. Mortenson was named the inaugural Chief Mental Health Officer for the University of Michigan’s Student Life.