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Today, we’re excited to be joined by Dr. Nick Cecchi, a pioneer in the field of brain injury biomechanics and helmet design. Dr. Cecchi is passionate about enhancing human safety through cutting-edge research and technology. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from UC Irvine and a PhD in Bioengineering from Stanford University. Over the years, his ground-breaking work has led to patented technologies and headgear solutions that have been implemented across various sports, and has contributed to significant policy changes.

Dr. Cecchi’s accolades include:

• Two-time winner of the prestigious Athanasiou Student and Post-doc Award from the Biomedical Engineering Society in 2024 for his research on Guardian Caps and in 2022 for his research on head impact kinematics and brain strain in high school football.
• A Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation (2021).
• 1st place (2024) in the ISEA Student Project Competition for his research on American football helmet technologies (2024) and 2nd place (2017) for his research on head impact frequency and severity in water polo, and evaluating water polo headgear.
• The Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research at UC Irvine for his exceptional contributions to the field of engineering.

Beyond his academic and professional achievements, Dr. Cecchi also has a personal connection to the topic—he served as President & Captain of the UCI Men’s Water Polo Club from 2013-2017, later going on to play in graduate school as well, where he personally experienced the challenges of mild traumatic brain injuries and concussions. This personal experience fuels his passion for translating scientific discoveries into real-world solutions.

- Personal Experience Concussion? (02:38)

- Water polo, Concussion and Policy changes (03:50)

- Head Gear and Reduction in Forces (06:45)

- Water Polo and Concussion (08:08)

- What is a Concussion (10:25)

- Nick’s Personal Experience with Concussion (11:16)

- Concussions Prior to a Thesis Defence at Stanford (13:55)

- Dr Cecchi Work with Guardian Caps (16:10)

- Guardian Cap Research Summary (26:39)

- SoftShox: What is it and How Does it Work (31:35)

- Summary of The Main Objectives (36:40)

- Vision for the future and where can people find you (37:40)

Dr Nicholas Cecchi

Twitter/X: @nick_cecchi

https://www.nsf.gov/science-matters/improving-helmets-reduce-impact-concussions

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=45jD3kcAAAAJ&hl=en

Guardian Cap Article: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10439-023-03169-2

SoftShox Article: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020740324001401

SoftShox: https://www.softshox.com/our-story

Social media:

Twitter: @first concussion

Facebook: Headfirst: A concussion podcast

Instagram: Headfirst_ Concussion

Email: headfirstconcussion@gmail.com