Our Team

Rachel Grashow is the principal investigator of the Women in Sports (WINS) Study, director of research initiatives for the Football Players Health Study (FPHS) at Harvard University, and co-principal investigator of Family Experiences Managing Football Lives (FEM-FL). Grashow is also a senior research scientist at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. She earned a bachelor’s degree at Wesleyan University in sociology, a PhD at Brandeis University in computational neuroscience, and a master’s of science in epidemiology at the Harvard Chan School. Grashow’s work has focused on how environmental exposures affect the overall and cognitive health of uniquely vulnerable populations, including children, pregnant women, the elderly, veterans, and elite and professional athletes. She has conducted additional research into environmental influences on breast cancer etiology. Grashow is committed to using sound science to uncover how health disparities may relate to environmental health factors, and to communicating the results of her work with both lay and professional audiences. Above all, Grashow centers the wisdom and guidance from the communities with whom she is privileged to work. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, ESPN, Ebony, BET.com, CBS, NBS, NPR, and numerous podcasts.

Dr. Christy Glass is Professor of Sociology in the School of Social Sciences at Utah State University. She joined USU after completing her MS, MPh and PhD at Yale University.  She is an organizational sociologist whose work focuses on how gender and race shape access to and advancement in elite professions. Together with Alison Cook, she has pioneered work on the glass cliff and the impact of leadership diversity on organizational performance. Ongoing projects focus on elite athletes’ health and wellbeing, highly skilled mothers’ employment and the organization of care work, the impact of (cis)gendered norms on discrimination, and the career trajectories of non-traditional leaders. Her work has been featured in top journals in sociology and management including Social Forces, Work & Occupations, Gender & Society, Sociology of Race & Ethnicity, Human Relations, Leadership Quarterly, and Strategic Management Journal. Her work has also been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, National Public Radio, PBS, BBC, CNN, The London School of Economics Business Review, and The Harvard Business Review. 

Dr. Yetsa A. Tuakli-Wosornu, is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Orthopedic Surgery and Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Yale School of Public Health, Associate Editor of the British Journal of Sports Medicine, and a board-certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician specializing in sports and spine. Recognized with a 2026 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Innovators & Influencers Award, Dr. Tuakli is also a former professional athlete competing for the Ghana National Team in the long jump (her 1st love). A high-performance consultant and speaker, Dr. Tuakli founded the Sustainable High Performance program at Stanford and serves on numerous global committees, including within the African Union, UNESCO and the International Olympic Committee. She is an alumna of Yale College, Harvard Medical School and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

Alicia Whittington is the director of engagement and health equity research and co-investigator of Family Experiences Managing Football Lives (FEM-FL) for the Football Players Health Study at Harvard University. She has several years of research experience, including her role as the project director for a global research consortium. Previously, Whittington worked as a healthcare consultant. She received a PhD in health systems management from Tulane University, where she focused on health disparities, health outcomes, and sports injuries. She completed her dissertation research on “Concussion Education and Perceptions of Injury Risk among High School Football Players.” She received her master of public health degree in chronic disease epidemiology from Yale University, and a bachelor of arts in public health from Wellesley College.

Dr. Sade Iriah is a behavioral neuroscientist, former NCAA Division I basketball player, and sports performance professional whose work explores the intersection of neuroscience, health, and human performance. She currently serves as a Wayne & Theresa Embry Fellow with the Toronto Raptors’ Medical and Performance team. 

Dr. Iriah earned her PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience from Northeastern University, where she also earned a Master of Public Health. Across more than a decade of academic and industry research, her work has examined how biological, environmental, and behavioral factors influence brain health and behavior, with research spanning addiction and substance use, stress, neuroinflammation, the gut-brain axis, and neurodevelopment. Her research has utilized advanced neuroimaging and translational approaches to better understand how changes in the brain relate to behavioral and physiological outcomes. 

As a former collegiate athlete turned neuroscientist, Dr. Iriah has increasingly focused on translating her scientific background into sport. Her work brings together neuroscience, recovery, wellness, and performance, with a particular interest in understanding athletes as whole people rather than isolated data points. Having experienced high-performance sport as both an athlete and a scientist, she brings a unique perspective to understanding and supporting athlete health, wellbeing, and performance. 

Anne M. Blaschke is a historian of twentieth-century U.S. political culture in the American Studies Department at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She also teaches doctoral courses in the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Gender, Culture, Women, and Sexuality at M.I.T. She has published academic articles on U.S. political economy, gender, diplomacy, immigration, and civil rights. Blaschke has also written publicly for the Washington Post and other media outlets. She is revising her first book, Foxes, Not Oxes: Women’s Athletics in American Political Culture, for publication. Title IX—the 1972 law mandating sex equality in American education—is the subject of her second book project. 

Timanni Walker is a brand strategist who believes brands work best when they are clear about the role they serve in people’s lives and what consumers would genuinely lose if they disappeared tomorrow. For nearly a decade, she has helped shape award-winning work for Google Shopping, the WNBA, Royal Caribbean, Samsung, Knorr, CVS, BCBS, and other iconic brands. Her work has earned recognition from Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, Clio Awards, The Andy Awards, and The Webbys. Timanni brings a multidisciplinary lens to brand building, blending analytical rigor with creative instinct to uncover the tensions, truths, and cultural insights that move people. She is energized by helping companies sharpen their identity, define their purpose, and build stories that resonate both inside organizations and out in the world. 

Charity McDowell is the Operations Lead of Sports Equity Lab (SEL) at Stanford University. She holds a master’s degree in Community Health and Prevention Research from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in Science Preprofessional Studies (pre-med) from the University of Notre Dame. As a former DI volleyball player of both institutions, Charity is known for her leadership, bold advocacy, and communal presence. Her experiences as a student-athlete and researcher inform her commitment to creating healthier, more connected, and more equitable environments through sport.

Marc G. Weisskopf, Ph.D., Sc.D., is the Cecil K. and Philip Drinker Professor of Environmental Epidemiology and Physiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the departments of Environmental Health and Epidemiology, Director of the Harvard TH Chan NIEHS Center for Environmental Health, and Director of Epidemiological Studies for the Football Players Health Study at Harvard. Dr. Weisskopf received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of California, San Francisco, and his Sc.D. in Epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He also spent two years as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention working on environmental health issues in the Wisconsin State Health Department. His neuroscience work focused on molecular and cellular aspects of neural signaling and plasticity. His epidemiological work focuses on the influence of environmental exposures on brain health across the life course. In particular, his research focuses on environmental risk factors for outcomes such as autism spectrum disorders, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cognitive function and dementia, and psychiatric conditions. Dr. Weisskopf also explores epidemiological methods issues to improve causal inference from observational environmental health studies.

Dr. Kendra R. Becker is Director of Psychology for the Women’s Sports Medicine Program and Director of Translational Research in the Eating Disorder Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, and an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. She has established an independent, federally funded program of research focused on identifying behavioral, neurobiological, neuroendocrine, and interoceptive mechanisms that maintain restrictive eating disorders and predict treatment response.

Dr. Becker has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications, delivered more than 100 scientific presentations, serves on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Eating Disorders, and provides ad hoc review for more than 25 scientific journals. In addition, Dr. Becker leads one of the few specialized psychology programs within an academic medical center dedicated to the mental health needs of female athletes. She developed this innovative clinical service to address the psychological challenges associated with injury recovery, return to sport, eating disorders and disordered eating, performance anxiety, and athletic identity concerns. She has a history as a dancer  and in long-distance running, giving her important context for understanding the mental components needed for high level performance in sports/performing athletics as well as the enjoyment achieved from engagement in recreational sports.

Dr. Eboni January, MD, FACOG, known affectionately as Doctor EJ, is a board-certified OB-GYN, bestselling author, and tireless advocate for maternal health, prevention, and reproductive equity. Licensed in 15 states and having delivered more than 8,000 babies, she has built her career on a simple conviction: every woman deserves to feel heard, informed, and in control of her care. Rather than talking at her patients, she partners with them, walking alongside each one as a trusted guide through one of life’s most vulnerable seasons.
 
Doctor EJ has devoted her work to the mothers our healthcare system too often overlooks, fighting to close the gaps that leave so many women at risk during pregnancy and childbirth, while welcoming and serving women of every background.  She is the author of Empowered Motherhood, a practical guide that helps women and their support partners recognize warning signs, ask the right questions, and advocate confidently through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
 
Doctor EJ was recently appointed Clinical Associate Professor at the Roseman University College of Medicine, where she helps train the next generation of physicians. A recipient of the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, Doctor EJ lives by a single belief: knowledge saves lives. Her mission is simple: Help more mothers not only survive childbirth, but thrive well beyond it.

Shamekka is an award-winning healthcare executive, patient advocate, researcher, and national speaker whose work bridges healthcare innovation, sports, technology, and health equity. She is the CEO and Co-Founder of Beyond the Game Health, where she leads strategic partnerships to improve health outcomes through education, community engagement, and research-driven initiatives. With nearly 20 years of experience leading complex healthcare technology, cybersecurity, interoperability, and digital transformation programs, Shamekka combines executive leadership with deep expertise in patient-centered innovation. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Rutgers University and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified ScrumMaster, and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. She also earned a Health Equity certificate from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, further strengthening her commitment to advancing equitable healthcare and community-based research.

 Living with multiple autoimmune diseases, Shamekka is a kidney transplant recipient whose advocacy spans clinical research, women’s health, organ transplantation, rare disease, and healthcare policy. She serves on steering committees for The Sequoia Project and Carequality and has spoken at Harvard, the FDA, and other conferences. Her leadership has been recognized through honors including the 2026 BLOC 100 Vanguard, Top 25 Women in Health Tech, and The Sequoia Project Patient Volunteer of the Year.

Kristy Arbogast, PhD, is the Scientific Director of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention, Co-Director of the Minds Matter Concussion Frontier Program at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the R. Anderson Pew Endowed Chair and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania.  She is a global leader in public health engineering, uniquely merging biomechanics, public health, and epidemiology to define injury mechanisms and establish prevention benchmarks for children. She has devoted her career to advancing products, policies, and regulations that reduce injuries and fatalities, the leading cause of death and disability for children.  Dr. Arbogast’s concussion research focuses on the use of head impact sensors to understand the biomechanics and bioengineering technology for objective measures of diagnosis and monitoring.  She has established rigorous methods of data collection and processing to quantify repetitive head impacts across multiple sports in male and female youth, leading a consensus conference on the topic, from which best practices have been published. In parallel work, she serves a leadership role on the NFL Engineering Committee, interpreting multiple data streams for mitigation of head injuries through improved equipment, rules of the game and playing technique. Dr. Arbogast is funded by NIH, CDC, Toyota Way Forward Fund and DOD to study objective measures of neurofunction in concussed youth and strategies for optimizing co…

Julius Thomas, PsyD, is a clinical health psychologist, performance scientist, and former two-time NFL Pro Bowler on a mission to redefine what it means to live and perform optimally. As the founder of Optimal Performance, Julius combines elite athletic experience with advanced training in clinical health psychology and behavioral neuroscience to help leaders, athletes, and organizations maximize performance while protecting their mental, physical, emotional, and relational wellbeing. 

Julius is building Optimal Performance into the trusted home for science-backed mental performance and wellbeing through expert coaching, organizational consulting, and the Optimal Performance app, which provides practical, evidence-based tools that help people build healthier habits, strengthen mental performance, and sustain long-term success. 

A sought-after keynote speaker and performance consultant, Julius has worked with world-class organizations including the San Antonio Spurs, Pfizer, Verizon, the NFLPA, Men’s Fitness, the Pro Athlete Community, and Harvard’s Football Players Health Study. Known for cutting through the noise of pseudo-expertise, Julius helps high performers and organizations achieve sustainable excellence through evidence-based strategies that deliver measurable results without sacrificing health. 

Esé Ighedosa is a business and legal executive whose career spans entertainment, sports, and law. She currently serves as Senior Counsel, Original Content and Studio Affairs at Apple, advising on marketing, events, publicity, and partnerships for Apple TV original programming. Esé has played a critical role in campaigns for acclaimed titles and has become a respected voice and leader in Apple’s inclusive programming initiatives. In 2025, Apple selected Esé to be a Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Fellow. 

Before Apple, Esé served as President of House of Athlete, where she oversaw a portfolio spanning apparel, fitness facilities, media production, and more. Working alongside the Founder & CEO, she helped build I Am Athlete into a leading voice in sports and culture. She began her legal career at NFL Films, then moved to the NFL League Office, where she co-founded the Black Engagement Network and launched the Black ERG Collective to advance Black leaders across premier companies. Esé led the Player Impact Committee, advising on social justice and community engagement, and started STRIDE, the first Black employee resource group at an NFL team.

Esé graduated with honors in political science from Hampton University, where she was a Division I volleyball standout, and earned her J.D. from Florida A&M University College of Law. A sought-after voice, Esé continues to use her platform to champion the advancement of Black women in sports, en…

Sandra Kirby, PhD, is a founding member of SSI, on the Advisory and Research Committees and has extensive experience working with national and international sport and non-sport organizations on evaluating needs and implementing standards for safeguarding. She was one of the co-authors of the IOC consensus statements on violence in sport (2007, 2016 and 2024) and on several UNICEF documents linking sport and violence against children. All have addressed intersectionality: gender, sport, equity issues (including disability) and interpersonal violence.  Together with Dr. Tuakli-Wosorno, she published “Safeguarding Reimagined: Centering athletes’ rights and repositioning Para sport to chart a new path”.  She has also been involved with some of the development work of International Sport Federations, principally as a content expert. researcher and educator.  Dr. Kirby presented on violence in sport in a number of countries around the world.  Her latest projects have been on sport safeguarding for the Oak Foundation, Centre for Sport and Human Rights, the Commonwealth Games Federation, the Football Association (UK) and Special Olympics International. Sandi is a well-known international scholar in safeguarding and, with her background as an Olympian, master’s athlete, international umpire (including the Paralympic Games), coach, invited keynote speaker and researcher, she brings a solid sport context to her work. She is known for her collaborative approaches to research…

Kristin “Kristy” Popp, PhD, is a research investigator at TRIA Orthopedics and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Minnesota whose work focuses on skeletal and hormonal health in female athletes and military personnel. Her research examines bone stress injuries, skeletal adaptation to training, and the effects of menstrual and reproductive hormones on health and performance. A former NCAA Division I runner and coach, she is passionate about conducting meaningful research and translating the science into practical strategies that help women athletes stay healthy and thrive throughout their lives. 

Lori Okimura is a veteran international sports executive with expertise in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, sporting goods manufacturing, governance, event management and athlete safeguarding since 1989. She began her career at the University of Southern California and the Association of Volleyball Professionals tour. She was the first AAPI woman to become Board Chair of USA Volleyball and served as the first female Sport Director and first woman to become President of World ParaVolley, the international federation for volleyball for the disabled. Her Olympic & Paralympic Games involvement started in Barcelona 1992 through Paris 2024,  in nearly every area including federation governance, manufacturing, sponsor marketing and serving most recently as Assistant Technical Delegate for Paris 2024 at the sitting volleyball competition. 

Ciara Dockery, PhD, is the daughter of former player and NFL broadcaster John Dockery, who played in the NFL for six years with the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers, winning a Super bowl with the Jets in 1969. After his time in the NFL, he went on to work for over 25 years as a TV and radio sportscaster for entities such as NBC, CBS, and CBS Westwood One. Dockery is the former director of the NFL Life Line, a free and confidential 24/7 emotional wellness and suicide prevention hotline available to current and former players and their family members as well as team and league staff and their family members. Dockery attended Harvard University for her undergraduate studies, where she majored in psychology and graduated cum laude. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from Fordham University and she also holds an MA in journalism from New York University. 

Madeleine Pape (MS, PhD, OLY) is an Ambizione grantholder of the Swiss National Science Foundation and Associate Professor of Regulation and Integrity in Sport at the University of Lausanne’s Institute of Sport Sciences (beginning February 2027). Following her career as an Olympic athlete (Australia, Athletics, 800m), Dr Pape obtained her PhD in Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Pape’s research encompasses the regulation of eligibility in women’s sport, gender inequality in sporting environments, and the study of sex and gender in biomedical and sports science research. Madeleine has published in leading journals including Cell, Biology of Sex Differences, British Journal of Sports Medicine, Social Studies of Science, Gender & Society, Body & Society, and Health Sociological Review. From 2022-2025, Dr Pape worked with the International Olympic Committee to implement the IOC Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations. 

Shruthi Mahalingaiah is the Mark and Catherine Winkler Associate Professor of Environmental Reproductive and Women’s Health in the Department of Environmental Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public health. She serves clinically as a physician specializing in ovulation disorders, reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the Massachusetts General Hospital in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Mahalingaiah’s research seeks to understand the association of environmental and modifiable risk factors on human reproduction as they pertain to the etiology and prevention of gynecological disease. Through physiology-informed research, she focuses on identifying environmental exposures associated with the development of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and metabolic sequelae. Her research encompasses three distinct areas: 1.) Air pollution and gynecologic disease incidence including cardiometabolic risk across the reproductive lifespan; 2.) Environmental toxicant exposures in the perinatal, perimenarchal, and adult time window with placental disease and ovulatory disorders; and 3.) Creation of diverse cohorts to study women’s health across the reproductive lifespan. She is currently funded by the March of Dimes, National Science Foundation, and is on the leadership team of the Apple Women’s Health study.

She was awarded the 2016 Endocrine Society Early Investigator award, an Ellison Family Foundation award, and an RSDP seed grant in 2017�…