Dr. April McPherson’s research area of interest is the increased risk of lower extremity musculoskeletal injury following a concussion. She is passionate about application and dissemination of research findings beyond the walls of academia to support athletic performance and reduce the risk of injury. At SPARC, Dr. McPherson is leading our recently developed virtual-reality initiative, GIVES, focused on high school outreach and implementation. Dr. McPherson completed her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati, where she also ran track and field. She then completed her PhD at the Mayo Clinic, where her thesis focused on how neural contributions affect ACL injury risk and recovery. She supported Team USA for 3 years as an associate data scientist for sports medicine and performance before joining the team at Emory SPARC.