Named in honor of the four-time Super Bowl-winning coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Chuck Noll Foundation was launched in 2017 by Steelers President Art Rooney. The vision of the foundation is to diminish the impact of head injuries resulting from sports activities. Over the past seven years, the foundation has granted $2.6 million to 19 basic and clinical research projects; the work has resulted an additional $16 million in grants.
The Chuck Noll Foundation has funded research in the following areas:
- Biomarkers
- Impact of mTBI on mental health
- Identification of concussion subtypes for purposes of providing precision treatments
- Concussions in female athletes
- Establishment of the National Sports Brain Bank at the University of Pittsburgh
The Chuck Noll Foundation is unique in that it:
- Provides early stage research funding.
- Allows for neurosurgical input via neurosurgical members in the National Science Advisor Committee.
- Allows for the time investment needed for research.
- Provides partnership that extends beyond financial support. Grantees are aided by connections and counsel from the National Science Advisory Committee.
The Chuck Noll Foundation and the AANS/NREF work collaboratively to host AANS webinars, sponsor the annual Chuck Noll Foundation Lecture Series and the Joseph Maroon Honor Your Mentor Fund LUMBAR STENOSIS.
Joseph Maroon, MD, FAANS(L), is a clinical professor of neurosurgery and Heindl Scholar in neuroscience at UPMC and he has published more than 300 scientific peer-reviewed papers and six books. He is a longtime consultant in neurosurgery to the Pittsburgh Steelers, medical firector for WWE and an eight time Iron Man Triathlon finisher.
In addition to his own company, Denny Civic Solutions, John Denny serves as executive director of the Chuck Noll Foundation for Brain Injury Research. He has a long history of working in the Pittsburgh and corporate community.
