Houston – September 18, 2024 – For the next two years, 120 Division I Rice University athletes will be part of a concussion study with Houston Methodist researchers to identify reliable and novel concussion biomarkers in their gut microbiomes in ways that standard brain imaging cannot.
Sponsored by the NFL Players Association, the collaborative Houston Methodist/Rice University project will advance a 2022 study that explored the gut-brain connection in contact-sports student athletes and identified biomarkers for concussions within the athletes’ gut microbiomes. Although the study, initially involving 33 football players, was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the first study to ever show a measurable drop in certain bacteria found in the stools of athletes without concussions compared to those who had suffered sports-related concussions. It also found a connection between inflammatory proteins found in the blood and the ratio of good and bad gut bacteria of athletes who suffered concussions.
“This larger study will give us a clearer understanding and measurement of concussions and their association with gut microbiota functions, and whether these are gender-dependent,” said Sonia Villapol, Ph.D., Houston Methodist neuroscientist who leads the study with Kenneth Podell, Ph.D., head of the Houston Methodist Concussion Center. “Our ultimate goal is to better protect and maintain athletes’ health and also develop treatments to improve their safety and well-being.”
The study is part of the Center for Human Performance, created by Houston Methodist and Rice University to advance research and education to prevent injuries, improve rehabilitation, enhance performance and speed athletes’ return to life, work and sports.
“Our collaboration with Houston Methodist aligns perfectly with our commitment to advancing research that makes a real difference far beyond our campus,” said Rice Vice President and Director of Athletics Tommy McClelland.
Dubbed “Gut microbiome markers of sport-related brain concussion,” the study will include 80 Rice male and female athletes from collision/contact sports like football and soccer and 40 athletes from non-contact sports, including swimming, track and field and tennis. Researchers will collect numerous blood and stool samples throughout the two-year study and use machine learning and advanced microbiome sequencing to analyze the data.
“What’s unique about this study is that we’re focusing on the holistic well-being of our student-athletes to contribute to both their academic success and what happens on the field or the court,” said Sarah Schodrof, assistant athletic director with Rice University Sports Medicine. “This is a study that’s going to help their long-term health and their professional pursuits after their athletic careers have ended.”
Researchers hope that analyzing the gut microbiomes of these college athletes can lead to the development of personalized treatments for concussions and a system that can be used on the field to detect early signs of mild traumatic brain injury through markers in the microbiome.
About Houston Methodist
Houston Methodist is one of the nation’s leading health systems and academic medical centers. The health system consists of eight hospitals: Houston Methodist Hospital, its flagship academic hospital in the Texas Medical Center, six community hospitals and one long-term acute care hospital throughout the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Houston Methodist also includes a research institute; a comprehensive residency program; international patient services; freestanding comprehensive care, emergency care and imaging centers; and outpatient facilities. Houston Methodist employs more than 32,000 people and has had more than 2.1 million outpatient visits and more than 141,000 admissions in 2023.
About Rice University
Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of architecture, business, continuing studies, engineering, humanities, music, natural sciences and social sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 4,574 undergraduates and 3,982 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction, No. 2 for best-run colleges and No. 12 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.
