Charles Tator

Last updated

Charles H. Tator OC (born August 24, 1936) is a Canadian physician. [1]

Born in Toronto, he studied medicine at the University of Toronto. He interned at the Toronto General Hospital and returned to graduate studies in the neuropathology division at the University of Toronto, completing an MA and PhD and continuing his training in neurosurgery. In 1969, Tator became a fellow in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in Neurosurgery. In the same year, he became an assistant professor at the university and he became a Professor in 1980. He was head of the neurosurgery division at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and served as director of the Toronto Hospital Neurosciences Centre from 1983 to 1988. From 1990 to 1999, he was associate director of the Playfair Neuroscience Unit at the Toronto Hospital and he was chairman of the neurosurgery division at the University of Toronto from 1989 to 1999.

Tator's primary area of research was spinal cord injury, including injury prevention, especially in sports and recreation, and treatment. In 1992 he founded Think First Canada/Penser d'Abord, an injury prevention foundation, and served as its president until 2007. [2] In July 2012, Think First Canada/Penser d'Abord was amalgamated with three other organizations (Safe Communities Canada, Safe Kids Canada and SMARTRISK), to form Parachute, a national, charitable organization. [3] Tator has been a member of Parachute's Board of Directors since its inception. [2] 2013, he published Concussions and their consequences: current diagnosis, management and prevention. [4]

Tator was awarded on October 21, 1999 and invested on April 26, 2000 as a Member of the Order of Canada. [5] He was awarded on November 18, 2016 and invested on November 17, 2017 with a promotion within the order, to Officer of the Order of Canada. [5] He was named to the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2003, he was inducted into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame. [1] On November 9, 2017, Tator was awarded the Order of Sport, marking his induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. [6] He received the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2020. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concussion</span> Medical condition

A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness; memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, or balance; nausea; blurred vision; dizziness; sleep disturbances, and mood changes. Any of these symptoms may begin immediately, or appear days after the injury. Concussion should be suspected if a person indirectly or directly hits their head and experiences any of the symptoms of concussion. Symptoms of a concussion may be delayed by 1–2 days after the accident. It is not unusual for symptoms to last 2 weeks in adults and 4 weeks in children. Fewer than 10% of sports-related concussions among children are associated with loss of consciousness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Lindros</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1973)

Eric Bryan Lindros is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Lindros was born in London, Ontario, but grew up in Toronto. He played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Oshawa Generals prior to being chosen first overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques. He refused to play for the Nordiques and was eventually traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in June 1992 in exchange for a package of players and draft picks including Peter Forsberg. During his OHL career, Lindros led the Generals to a Memorial Cup victory in 1990. Prior to being drafted in 1991, Lindros captured the Red Tilson Trophy as the Most Outstanding Player in the OHL, and also was named the CHL Player of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Podborski</span> Canadian alpine skier

Stephen Gregory "Steve" Podborski, is a Canadian former World Cup and Olympic downhill ski racer.

William Thornton Mustard was a Canadian physician and cardiac surgeon. In 1949, he was one of the first to perform open-heart surgery using a mechanical heart pump and biological lung on a dog at the Banting Institute. He developed two operations named for him: the "Mustard operation" in orthopedics used to help hip use in people with polio and the "Mustard cardiovascular procedure" used to help correct heart problems in "blue babies," which has saved thousands of children worldwide. He was also the first to treat ALCAPA with a left carotid artery end to end anastamosis in 1953.

William Howard Feindel was a Canadian neurosurgeon, scientist and professor.

William Masterton was a Canadian American professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Minnesota North Stars in 1967–68. He is the only player in NHL history to die as a direct result of injuries suffered during a game, the result of massive head injuries suffered following a hit during a January 13, 1968 contest against the Oakland Seals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Pashby</span> Canadian ophthalmologist (1915–2005)

Thomas Joseph Pashby was a Canadian ophthalmologist and sport safety advocate. He spent 46 years improving the safety of hockey helmets to prevent injuries in ice hockey, by developing visors and wire face masks, and advocating for neck protection on goaltender masks. He served two decades as chairman of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), setting standards for manufacturers of hockey and lacrosse helmets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Kidd</span>

Bruce Kidd, is a Canadian academic, author, and athlete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Goldbloom</span> Canadian pediatrician (1924–2021)

Richard Ballon Goldbloom, was a Canadian pediatrician, university professor, and the fifth chancellor of Dalhousie University. Born in Montreal, Quebec, he was educated at Selwyn House School and Lower Canada College. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1945 and a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1949 from McGill University. He did his post-graduate medical education at the Royal Victoria Hospital, the Montreal Children's Hospital and the Children's Hospital Boston. From 1964 to 1967, he was an associate professor at McGill University and a physician at the Montreal Children's Hospital. From 1967 to 1985, he was the head of Dalhousie University's Department of Pediatrics. He was the first physician-in-chief and director of research at the Izaak Walton Killam Hospital for Children in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chronic traumatic encephalopathy</span> Neurodegenerative disease caused by head injury

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse over time and can result in dementia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Quinn (ice hockey)</span> Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and executive (1943–2014)

John Brian Patrick Quinn, was a Canadian ice hockey player, head coach, and executive. Known by the nickname "The Big Irishman", he coached for the National Hockey League's Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Edmonton Oilers, reaching the Stanley Cup Finals twice, with the Flyers in 1980 and the Canucks in 1994. Internationally, Quinn coached Team Canada to gold medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics, 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships and 2009 World Junior Championship, as well as World Cup championship in 2004.

Concussions, a type of mild traumatic brain injury, are a frequent concern for those playing sports, from children and teenagers to professional athletes. Repeated concussions are known to cause neurological disorders, particularly chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which in professional athletes has led to premature retirement, erratic behavior and even suicide. A sports-related concussion is defined as a "complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain, induced by biomechanical forces". Because concussions cannot be seen on X-rays or CT scans, attempts to prevent concussions have been difficult.

A catastrophic injury is a severe injury to the spine, spinal cord, or brain. It may also include skull or spinal fractures. This is a subset of the definition for the legal term catastrophic injury, which is based on the definition used by the American Medical Association.

Antoine M. Hakim is a Canadian engineer and physician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Toogood</span>

Alexander Edgar (Ted) Toogood was a Canadian football player who played for the Toronto Argonauts. He won the Grey Cup with them in 1950 and 1952. He previously played football for and attended the University of Toronto, and served in World War II. He later was a teacher, attended West Virginia University and was the first athletic director at the Ryerson Institute of Technology from 1949 to 1961. Toogood was inducted into the University of Toronto Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, the Ryerson Athletics and Recreation Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. He died on July 31, 2011, aged 86, and donated his brain to the Krembil Neuroscience Centre Sports Concussion Project. At the time of his death, he had Alzheimer's disease, and studies of his brain revealed the presence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, thought to be linked to previous concussions sustained in his football career.

Michael Fehlings is a Canadian neurosurgeon based at Toronto Western Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Fehlings specializes in complex spine surgery with a special interest in traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injury and spine oncology. He mainly focuses on preclinical and clinical translational research related to enhancing repair and regeneration of the injured central nervous system. He holds many positions, including Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto, Vice Chair Research at the University of Toronto, Robert Campeau Foundation/Dr. C.H. Tator Chair in Brain and Spinal Cord Research at UHN, Scientist at the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, McLaughlin Scholar in Molecular Medicine, and Co-Director of the University of Toronto Spine Program. He is the past inaugural Director of the University of Toronto Neuroscience Program, and was the previous Medical Director at Toronto Western Hospital. Dr. Fehlings is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada.

Joseph Maroon is an American neurosurgeon, author, and triathlon athlete. He is the professor and vice chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and is the current medical director of WWE. He is particularly known for his work studying concussions and concussion prevention as well as his hypothesis on the development of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Neilank Jha is a Canadian neurosurgeon specializing in concussions. Based in the city of Toronto, Neilank Jha established KonKussion, a hotline to address concussion injuries, which is staffed by neurosurgeons and neurologists to provide medical prognoses and treatment plans to physicians and nurses. In addition, Jha has pioneered clinical management guidelines for concussions through working with others in his field, internationally. Neilank Jha also established the first academic journal dedicated to the research of concussions.

Mark John Aubry is a Canadian physician and sports medicine specialist. He is the team physician for the Ottawa Senators, and serves as the Chief Medical Officer of both the International Ice Hockey Federation, and Hockey Canada. He researches and lectures on concussions, plays a leadership role for safety in sport, and is an injury prevention activist in minor ice hockey. He is a recipient of the Paul Loicq Award for his international work, the Dr. Tom Pashby Sports Safety Fund Award for Canada, and the USA Hockey Excellence in Safety Award for the United States. He will be inducted into the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame in 2024.

Michael J. Stuart is an American sports physician and orthopedic surgeon. He is a professor and vice-chairman of orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and a co-director of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center. He has published more than 370 journal articles and 50 book chapters, as of 2022. He specializes in sports medicine, and advocates for strength, flexibility, and awareness, to reduce injuries in ice hockey. He collaborated to arrange the 2010, 2013 and 2017 Ice Hockey Summits, which focused on concussions, and educational programs for players, coaches and parents. His concussion research includes studying biomarkers, neuroimaging, and cognitive neuroscience. He argues that concussions are diagnosed more accurately with electroencephalography and the King-Devick Test eye test, and advocates their usage in sport.

References

  1. 1 2 "Dr. Charles H. Tator". Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. 2009. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02.
  2. 1 2 "Parachute - Board of Directors". www.parachutecanada.org. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  3. "Parachute - Our History". www.parachutecanada.org. Archived from the original on 2018-01-29. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  4. Tator, Charles H (August 6, 2013). "Concussions and their consequences: current diagnosis, management and prevention". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 185 (11). Canadian Medical Association: 975–9. doi:10.1503/cmaj.120039. PMC   3735746 . PMID   23877672.
  5. 1 2 "Charles Haskell Tator, O.C." Governor General of Canada. 11 June 2018.
  6. "Canada's Sports Hall of Fame welcomes newest members". CBC Sports. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  7. "Class of 2020 unveiled for Order of Hockey in Canada". Hockey Canada. 2020-02-11. Retrieved 2020-02-11.