Gary S. Solomon, PhD
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Co-Director, Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center
Professor, Departments of Neurological Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation, and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Nashville, Tennessee
Dr. Solomon is a board certified clinical neuropsychologist who has practiced in Nashville since 1984, specializing in neuropsychological assessment and treatment. After 27 years in private practice, Dr. Solomon joined the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in February of 2011 as a Co-Director of the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center. He is a Professor in the Departments of Neurological Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation, and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences.
Dr. Solomon received an undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia, a master’s degree from Mississippi State University, and a doctoral degree from Texas Tech University. His 1983 doctoral dissertation was a study of concussion. He completed his predoctoral internship at Vanderbilt University.
Dr. Solomon has served as the Team Neuropsychologist for the Nashville Predators since 1998, and has been the Consulting Neuropsychologist for the Tennessee Titans since 1999. He also serves as the Consulting Neuropsychologist for Athletic Departments at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee Tech University, and the University of Tennessee. He is Associate Section Editor for the journal Neurosurgery, and is a member of the editorial boards of American Journal of Sports Medicine, Concussion, Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, and Developmental Neuropsychology. He has served as an ad hoc reviewer for more than 15 journals. He published a book on sports concussion in 2006, and has published over 60 peer-reviewed manuscripts on sport-related concussion. He was a member of the Observer Group at the 5th International Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport, a Charter Member of the Sports Neuropsychology Society, and is a Fellow of the National Academy of Neuropsychology.
His clinical practice is devoted to treating adolescents and adults with sport-related concussions.
Selected Published Work
Yengo-Kahn, A., Johnson, D., Zuckerman, S.L., & Solomon, G.S. (2016). Concussion in the NFL: A Current Concepts review. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 44(3), 801-811.
Yengo-Kahn, A. & Solomon, G.S. (2016). Are psychotropic medications associated with differences in baseline neurocognitive assessment scores for young athletes? A pilot study. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 43(3), 227-235.
Diamond, A. B. Callahan, S.T., Chain, K.F., Solomon, G.S. (2016). A qualitative review of hazing in collegiate and school sports: consequences from a lack of culture, knowledge and responsiveness. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(3), 149-153.
Solomon, G.S., Kuhn, A.W., Zuckerman, S.L., Casson, I.R., Viano, D.C., Lovell, M.R., Sills, A.K. (2016). Participation in pre-high school football and later life neurological, neuroradiological, and neuropsychological findings: A study of 45 retired NFL players. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 44(5), 1106-1115.
Solomon, G.S., Kuhn, A.W., & Zuckerman, S.L. (2016). Depression as a modifying factor in sports-related concussion: A critical review of the literature. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 44(1), 14-19.
Zuckerman, S. L., Yengo-Kahn, A., Buckley, T.A., Solomon, G.S., Sills, A.K., & Kerr, Z.Y. (2016). Predictors of post-concussion syndrome in collegiate student-athletes, Neurosurgical Focus, 40(4), E13.
Yengo-Kahn, A., Hale, A.T., Zalneraitis, B.H., Zuckerman, S.L., Sills, A.K., & Solomon, G.S. (2016). The Sideline Concussion Assessment Tool: A systematic review. Neurosurgical Focus, 40(4), E6.
Zuckerman, S.L., Prather, C.T., Yengo-Kahn, A., Solomon, G.S., Sills, A.K., Bonfield, C.M. (2016). Sport-related structural brain injury associated with arachnoid cysts: a systematic review and quantitative analysis. Neurosurgical Focus, 40(4), E9.
Kuhn, A.W., Zuckerman, S.L., Totten, D. & Solomon, G.S. (2016). Style of play after returning from concussion in the National Hockey League (NHL). American Journal of Sports Medicine, 44(8), 2152-2157.
Zuckerman, S.L., Totten, D.J., Rubel, K.E., Kuhn, A.W., Yengo-Kahn, A.M., & Solomon, G.S. (2016). Mechanisms of injury as a diagnostic predictor of sport-related concussion severity in football, basketball, and soccer: Results from a regional concussion registry. Clinical Neurosurgery, 63(1), 102-112.
Militana, A.R., Donahue, M.J., Sills, A.K., Solomon, G.S., Gregory, A.J., Strother, M.K., Morgan, V.L. (2016). Alterations in default-mode network connectivity may be influenced by cerebrovascular changes within one week of sports related concussion in college varsity athletes: a pilot study. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 10(2), 559-568.
Yengo-Kahn, A.M., Zuckerman, S.L., Zalneraitis, B.H., Gardner, R.M., Kerr, Z.Y., & Solomon, G.S. (2016). Performance following a first professional concussion among National Basketball Association players. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 44(3), 297-303.
Odom, M.J., Lee, Y.M., Zuckerman, S.L., Apple, R.P., Germanos, T., Solomon, G.S.,
& Sills, A.K. (2016). Balance assessment in sports-related concussion: Evaluating the test-retest reliability of the Equilibrate System. Journal of Surgical Orthopedic Advances, 25(2), 93-98.
Brett, B.L., Smyke. N., Solomon, G.S., Baughman, B., & Schatz, P. (2016). Long-term stability and reliability of baseline cognitive assessments in high school athletes using ImPACT at 1-, 2-, and 3-year test-retest intervals. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 31(8), 904-914.
Collins, M., Kontos, A., Okonkwo, D., Almquist, J., Bailes, J., Barisa, M., Bazarian, J., Bloom, J., Brody, D., Cantu, R., Cardenas, J., Clugston, J., Cohen, R., Echemendia, R., Elbin, R., Ellenbogen, R., Fonseca, J., Gioia, G., Guskiewicz, K., Heyer, R.,Gillian Hotz, G., Iverson, G. Jordan, B., Manley, G., Maroon, J., McAllister, T., McCrea, M., Mucha, A., Pieroth, E., Podell, K.,Pombo, M., Shetty, T., Sills, A., Solomon, G.,Thomas, D., Valovich McLeod, T., Yates, T., Zafonte, R. (2016). Statements of Agreement from the Targeted Evaluation and Active Management (TEAM) Approaches to Treating Concussion Meeting Held in Pittsburgh, October 15-16, 2015. Neurosurgery, 79, 912-929.
Lee, Y.M., Kevin M. Stanko,, K.M., Wu, A., Zuckerman, S.L., LaChaud, G.L., Solomon, G.S., & Sills, A.K. (2016). Obesity and neurocognitive recovery after sports-related concussion in athletes: A case-control study. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 44(3), 217-222.
Gardner, R.M., Yengo-Kahn, A., Bonfield, C.M., & Solomon, G.S. (2017). Comparison of baseline and post-concussion ImPACT test scores in young athletes with stimulant-treated and untreated ADHD. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 45(1), 1-10.
Brett, B.L., & Solomon, G.S. (2017). The influence of validity criteria on ImPACT test-retest reliability among high school athletes. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 39(3), 286-295.
Kuhn, A.W., Zuckerman, S.L., Solomon, G.S., Casson, I.R., & Viano, D.C. (2017). Interrelationships among neuroimaging biomarkers, neuropsychological test data, and symptom reporting in a cohort of retired National Football League (NFL) players. Sports Health, 9(1), 30-40.
Brett, B.L., & Solomon, G.S. (2017). Comparison of neurocognitive performance in contact and noncontact non-concussed high school athletes across a two-year period. Developmental Neuropsychology, 42(2), 70-82.
Zuckerman, S.L., Zalneraitis, B.H., Totten, D.J., Rubel, K.E., Kuhn, A.W., Yengo-Kahn, A.M., Bonfield, C.M., Sills, A.K., & Solomon, G.S. (2017). Socioeconomic status and outcomes after sport-related concussion: A preliminary investigation. Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics, in press.
Zuckerman, S.L., Totten, D.J., Rubel, K.E., Kuhn, A.W., Yengo-Kahn, A.M., & Solomon, G.S. Mechanisms of injury as a diagnostic predictor of sport-related concussion severity in
football, basketball, and soccer: Results from a regional concussion registry. Clinical Neurosurgery, 68(1), 102-112.
Kuhn, A.W., Zuckerman, S.L., Yengo-Kahn, A.M., Kerr, Z.Y., Totten, D.J., Rubel, K.E., Sills, A.K., & Solomon, G.S. Factors associated with playing through a sport-related concussion. Clinical Neurosurgery, in press.
Feddermann-Demont N, Echemendia R., Schneider K., Solomon G., Hayden K.A., Turner M., Dvorak J., Straumann D., & Tarnutzer A.A. (2017). What domains of clinical function should be assessed after sport-related concussion? A systematic review. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 51, 903-918.
Iverson, G.L., Gardner, A. J., Terry, D.P., Ponsford, J.L., Sills, A.K., Broshek, D.K., & Solomon, G.S. (2017). Predictors of clinical recovery from concussion: A systematic review. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 51, 941-948.
Kuhn, A.W., Gentry, W., Patel, R.D., Yengo-Kahn, A.M., Kerr, Z.Y., Solomon, G.S., & Zuckerman, S.L. Player performance after returning from a concussion in the National Football League (NFL): A pilot study. Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances, in press.
Brett, B.L. Solomon, G.S., Hill, J., & Schatz, P. Two-year test-retest reliability in high school athletes Using the four- and two-factor ImPACT composite structures: The effects of learning disorders and headache/migraine treatment history. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, in press.
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Louis DeFrate, PhD
Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University
Durham, North Carolina
Dr. DeFrate is the Frank H. Bassett III, M.D. Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Duke University. He also holds appointments in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Dr. DeFrate’s research focuses on the application of engineering principles to investigate clinically relevant problems related to the musculoskeletal system. Dr. DeFrate has published widely on the use of MR imaging and biplanar radiography to measure in vivo joint function and cartilage loading in normal subjects as well as those at high risk for the development of osteoarthritis. Dr. DeFrate has also used these techniques to quantify in vivo ligament and tendon deformation. Additionally, he has recently developed a new “stress test” of the knee for evaluating changes in the mechanical and biochemical environments of cartilage in response to activities of daily living. By combining these approaches with MRI sequences that non-invasively quantify tissue composition as well as local and systemic biomarkers of tissue metabolism, innovative analyses of joint health can be performed. Using this approach, Dr. DeFrate has led a number of clinical research projects at Duke University Medical Center, including several NIH grants related to cartilage degeneration after ligament injury and ACL injury mechanisms. His work in this area has recently been acknowledged by the 2016 Kappa Delta Young Investigator Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS). Other recent awards include the 2017 Women’s Health Issues Advisory Board Best Poster Award from the AAOS and ORS and the 2017 Best Poster Award from the Meniscus Section of the ORS.
Selected Published Work
DeFrate LE. Effects of ACL graft placement on in vivo knee function and cartilage thickness distributions. J Orthop Res. 2017 Jun;35(6):1160-1170.
Liu B, Goode AP, Carter TE, Utturkar GM, Huebner JL, Taylor DC, Moorman CT 3rd, Garrett WE, Kraus VB, Guilak F, DeFrate LE, McNulty AL. Matrix metalloproteinase activity and prostaglandin E2 are elevated in the synovial fluid of meniscus tear patients. Connect Tissue Res. 2017 May – Jul;58(3-4):305-316.
Lad NK, Liu B, Ganapathy PK, Utturkar GM, Sutter EG, Moorman CT 3rd, Garrett WE, Spritzer CE, DeFrate LE. Effect of normal gait on in vivo tibiofemoral cartilage strains. J Biomech. 2016 Sep 6;49(13):2870-2876.
Sutter EG, Widmyer MR, Utturkar GM, Spritzer CE, Garrett WE Jr, DeFrate LE. In vivo measurement of localized tibiofemoral cartilage strains in response to dynamic activity. Am J Sports Med. 2015 Feb;43(2):370-6. PMCID: PMC4315145
Carter TE, Taylor KA, Spritzer CE, Utturkar GM, Taylor DC, Moorman CT 3rd, Garrett WE, Guilak F, McNulty AL, DeFrate LE. In vivo cartilage strain increases following medial meniscal tear and correlates with synovial fluid matrix metalloproteinase activity. J Biomech. 2015 Jun 1;48(8):1461-8. PMCID: PMC4558182.
Widmyer MR, Utturkar GM, Leddy HA, Coleman JL, Spritzer CE, Moorman CT 3rd, DeFrate LE, Guilak F. High body mass index is associated with increased diurnal strains in the articular cartilage of the knee. Arthritis Rheum. 2013 Oct;65(10):2615-22
Coleman JL, Widmyer MR, Leddy HA, Utturkar GM, Spritzer CE, Moorman CT 3rd, Guilak F, DeFrate LE. Diurnal variations in articular cartilage thickness and strain in the human knee. J Biomech. 2013 Feb 1;46(3):541-7. PMCID: PMC3954747.
American Journal of Sports Medicine Editorial Board Spotlight 