Dr. Anthony P. Kontos is Research Director for the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program and Professor with tenure in the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Pittsburgh. He has specialized in concussion research for 17 years and has 205 peer-reviewed publications and 360+ professional presentations. His research is funded by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, and National Football League and focuses on active, precision treatments and clinical trials; risk factors; neurocognitive/neuromotor effects; psychological issues; and concussion in military, pediatric, and sport populations. Dr. Kontos is fellow and past-president of the Society for Sport, Exercise, & Performance Psychology of the American Psychological Association, and fellow of the National Academy of Kinesiology, Association for Applied Sport Psychology, and Eastern Psychological Association. He co-authored (with Dr. Collins) Concussion: A Clinical Profile Based Approach to Assessment and Treatment.
Education & Training
- PhD, Michigan State University
- MS, Michigan State University
- MA, Michigan Stage University
- BA, Adrian College (MI)
Representative Publications
- Trbovich AM, Mucha A, Eagle S, Mehmel BM, Kegel N, Fazio Sumrok V, Collins MW, Kontos AP. The Vestibular/Ocular Motor Screening-Child (VOMS-C) tool for concussion evaluation in 5- to 9-year-old pediatric patients: preliminary evidence. J Neurosurg Pediatr. 2022 Sep 23:1-7. doi: 10.3171/2022.8.PEDS22234. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36152332.
- Eagle SR, Mucha A, Trbovich A, Manderino L, Elbin RJ, Collins MW, Kontos AP. Association of Multidomain Assessment Outcomes with Referral for Vestibular Therapy following Concussion. J Athl Train. 2022 Sep 12. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-0032.22. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36094515.
- Trbovich AM, Kirschler A, Preszler J, Collins MW, Kontos AP. Comparison of Clinical Outcomes Between Athletes With Immediate and Delayed Onset of Symptoms following Sport-Related Concussion. Clin J Sport Med. 2022 Aug 18. doi: 10.1097/JSM.0000000000001059. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35981461.
- Eagle SR, Asken B, Trbovich A, Houck ZM, Bauer RM, Clugston JR, Broglio SP, McAllister TW, McCrea MA, Pasquina P, Collins MW, Kontos AP; CARE ConsortiumInvestigators. Estimated Duration of Continued Sport Participation Following Concussions and Its Association with Recovery Outcomes in Collegiate Athletes: Findings from the NCAA/DoD CARE Consortium. Sports Med. 2022 Aug;52(8):1991-2001. doi: 10.1007/s40279-022-01668-1. Epub 2022 Mar 14. PMID:
- Eagle SR, Brent D, Covassin T, Elbin RJ, Wallace J, Ortega J, Pan R, Anto-Ocrah M, Okonkwo DO, Collins MW, Kontos AP. Exploration of Race and Ethnicity, Sex, Sport-Related Concussion, Depression History, and Suicide Attempts in US Youth. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Jul 1;5(7):e2219934. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.19934. PMID: 35796154; PMCID: PMC9250048.
- Kochick V, Sinnott AM, Eagle SR, Bricker IR, Collins MW, Mucha A, Connaboy C, Kontos AP. The Dynamic Exertion Test for Sport-Related Concussion: A Comparison of Athletes at Return-to-Play and Healthy Controls. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2022 Jun 1;17(6):834-843. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2021-0258. Epub 2022 Feb 25. PMID: 35213824.
- Eagle SR, Kissinger-Knox AM, Feder A, Manderino L, Preszler J, Womble MN, Elbin RJ, Collins M, Kontos AP. Temporal Differences in Concussion Symptom Factors in Adolescents following Sports-Related Concussion. J Pediatr. 2022 Jun;245:89-94. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2022.02.013. Epub 2022 Feb 12. PMID: 35157844.
- Kontos AP, Monti K, Eagle SR, Thomasma E, Holland CL, Thomas D, Bitzer HB, Mucha A, Collins MW. False-Positive Rates and Associated Risk Factors on the Vestibular-Ocular Motor Screening and Modified Balance Error Scoring System in US Military Personnel. J Athl Train. 2022 May 1;57(5):458-463. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-0094.21. PMID: 35696602; PMCID: PMC9205550.
- Eagle SR, Manderino L, Collins M, Kegel N, Fazio-Sumrok V, Mucha A, Kontos AP. Characteristics of concussion subtypes from a multidomain assessment. J Neurosurg Pediatr. 2022 Apr 22:1-6. doi: 10.3171/2022.3.PEDS2267. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35453113.
- Ferris LM, Kontos AP, Eagle SR, Elbin RJ, Collins MW, Mucha A, McAllister TW, Broglio SP, McCrea M, Pasquina PF, Port NL. Utility of VOMS, SCAT3, and ImPACT Baseline Evaluations for Acute Concussion Identification in Collegiate Athletes: Findings From the NCAA-DoD Concussion Assessment, Research and Education (CARE) Consortium. Am J Sports Med. 2022 Mar;50(4):1106-1119.
PubMed LINK
Research Interests
Dr. Kontos has specialized in concussion/mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) research for the past 18 years with over 225 peer-reviewed publications. His research focuses on active, precision treatments and clinical trials; risk factors; neurocognitive/neuromotor effects; psychological issues; and concussion in military, pediatric, and sport populations.
Research Grants
US Army Medical Research and Development Command CDMRP Fiscal Year 2021
TBI and Psychological Health Research Program- Focused Program Award (W81XWH-21-S-TBIPH2)
Title: NeuroImmunoEndocrine Interface: Exploring a Unifying Axis for Precision Care in PH & TBI: NEXUS (Wagner A-PI)
Role: Co-I, Project Co-PI
Dates: September 2022-September 2026
National Football League
Title: Mouthguard head impact study (Kontos AP, Collins MW-Co-PIs)
Role: Site Co-PI
Dates: June 2022-May 2023
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Title: Retinal Eye-Tracking as a Prognostic Tool for Traumatic Brain Injury and Concussion (Sheehy C, Kontos AP- Co-PIs)
Role: Site Co-PI
Dates: September 2022-Aug 2024
National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Mental Health R01 Award (1R01MH114881-01)
Title: Emotion Regulation Circuitries in Youth with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. (Kontos AP, Versace A- M-PIs)
Role: M-PI
Dates: January 2018-December 2022
US Army Medical Research and Development Command CDMRP Fiscal Year 2017
Psychological Health and TBI Research Program Complex TBI Rehabilitation Research-Clinical Trial Award (W81XWH-17-CTRR-CTA)
Title: Randomized Controlled Trial of a Precision Vestibular Rehabilitation in Military Personnel with mTBI (Kontos AP, Sparto P- M-PIs)
Role: M-PI
Dates: September 2018-August 2022
CDC Research on Improving Pediatric mTBI Outcomes Through Clinician Training, Decision Support, and Discharge Instructions U01 Award (U01CE002944-01)
Title: Active Injury Management (AIM) after Pediatric Concussion (Thomas D, Kontos AP- M-PIs)
Role: M-PI
Dates: September 2018-August 2022
National Football League Scientific Advisory Board – Innovative Translational Research on Concussion and Comorbid Conditions
Title: Prevalence of Brain Health versus Neurodegeneration in Professional Football Retirees (Okonkwo DO, Lopez O, Collins MW, Kontos AP, Mountz J- M-PIs)
Role: M-PI
Dates: November 2018-October 2022
Chuck Noll Foundation for Brain Injury Research (0001)
Title: Toward the identification of saliva biomarkers predicting the clinical course and outcome of adolescents with mild traumatic injury (Versace A- PI)
Role: Co-I
Dates: February 2019-January 2021
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences- through Henry Jackson Foundation- Transforming Technology for the Warfighter Program (Department of Defense)
Title: Rapid objective analysis of impairment and recovery from mild traumatic brain injury (Balaban C, Kontos AP, Hoffer M- M-PIs)
Role: M-PI
Dates: December 2020-November 2023
US Army Medical Research and Development Command CDMRP Fiscal Year 2019
Psychological Health and TBI Research Program Joint-Program Committee 8/Clinical And Rehabilitative Medicine Research Program Rehabilitation Research-Clinical Trial Award (W81XWH2010745)
Title: Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial of Targeted Multidomain (T-MD) Interventions for Complex mTBI (Kontos AP, Okonkwo DO, Collins MW- M-PIs)
Role: M-PI
Dates: September 2020-August 2023
Chuck Noll Foundation for Brain Injury Research (0011)
Title: Saliva biomarkers to predict pediatric concussion subtypes (Kontos AP, Collins MW, Master T- M-PIs)
Role: M-PI
Dates: February 2021-January 2023
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (2R44HD097039-02)
Title: Rapid Saliva test for diagnosis of persistent postconcussion symptoms (PPCS) (Southern S, Kontos AP- Co-PIs)
Role: Co-PI
Dates: September 2021-August 2023