Taylor Lee

2019 Fulbright Scholar

Hometown

Fort Collins, CO

Major

Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering

College

The Graduate School

 

Taylor Lee traveled to New Zealand on a Fulbright to conduct research at the Auckland University of Technology. Lee, who played soccer and softball before college, became concerned with the possible detrimental effects of repeated impacts on brain health. However, she also knows that sports teams were an important part of her personal development as a person and a leader. Her focus is on developing research-based recommendations to improve player safety in high-impact sports.

 

Her Fulbright research examines sub-concussion level impacts and their effects on high school-aged rugby players over the course of a season. This research mirrors the research on high school-aged American football players that Lee performed in conjunction with the Purdue Neurotrauma Group (PNG). A comparison of the two studies forms the backbone of Lee’s doctoral dissertation.

 

Lee plans to continue her research on neurotrauma and sports safety, saying of the Fulbright, “This study can be the first step toward cross-comparing sports and furthering the health and safety of contact sport athletes utilizing technology.