About Nora Fotuhi
My name is Nora Fotuhi and I am currently a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Virginia, majoring in Neuroscience and Global Public Health. I am deeply passionate about brain health, pediatric medicine, and serving my community through both clinical and research-based work. At UVA, I work as a Medical Scribe in the UVA Dermatology Clinic and serve as a Research Assistant in the Developmental Neuroanalytics Lab under Dr. Meghan Puglia, where we study brain development in children who spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), with a focus on early autism screening and social-emotional development.
In addition, I volunteer as a Medical Scribe at the Charlottesville Free Clinic and previously volunteered in the Oncology Department at UVA Health for two years. My commitment to concussion education and advocacy has remained a central focus throughout my academic, clinical, and research experiences, and I was honored to have my work featured in a UVA Today article titled “A Hoo Ahead of the Game in Concussion Awareness.”
As a former student-athlete, I witnessed several friends struggle with the physical, cognitive, and emotional effects of concussions. One experience had a particularly lasting impact on me. After my close friend Jennifer suffered a serious concussion following a horseback riding accident, she experienced months of headaches, difficulty concentrating, and sensitivity to light and sound. Watching her recovery made me realize how limited concussion education was for many young people and their families.
Driven by my passion for neuroscience and a desire to help others, I founded Concussion Superstars, a nonprofit organization dedicated to concussion awareness, prevention, and recovery education. What began as educational workshops for student-athletes eventually expanded into community presentations, educational resources, independent research, and this website.
In addition to my advocacy work, I have conducted independent concussion research examining concussion awareness and reporting behaviors among young adults. My research, Concussion Awareness in Young Adults: A Pre- and Post-Injury Perspective, was presented at the Cornell Undergraduate Psychology Conference, the University of Virginia Undergraduate Research Symposium, the UVA Brain Institute Symposium, and the UVA Neurosurgery Research Symposium, where I was selected to give an oral presentation.
I believe it is crucial for children, young adults, athletes, parents, and coaches to understand not only how concussions can be prevented, but also how they should be properly managed and treated. Returning to sports too quickly can delay recovery and increase the risk of additional injury.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I gathered my notes on concussion prevention, treatment, and recovery and wrote a book titled The Brain That Recovers: Fascinating Facts About the Brain and How It Can Overcome Concussions. You can learn more about the book below.
My Book
Published in 2022, The Brain That Recovers: Fascinating Facts About the Brain and How It Can Overcome Concussions was written to help young athletes, parents, coaches, and families better understand concussion prevention, recovery, and brain health.
Mission
Concussion Superstars was created to promote concussion awareness, prevention, and recovery education through four key goals:
Educate Young Athletes
Provide educational resources that help children, teenagers, and young adults understand concussion prevention, brain safety, and healthy recovery.
Support Parents & Coaches
Equip parents, coaches, and educators with practical information to help reduce concussion risk and support recovery.
Promote Community Education
Organize workshops, presentations, and outreach programs focused on concussion awareness and brain health.
Build Future Leaders
Create a community of young leaders who promote concussion awareness, injury prevention, symptom reporting, and brain health advocacy.
What does it mean to be a Concussion Superstar?
A Concussion Superstar is someone who understands the importance of brain health and helps promote concussion awareness, prevention, and recovery. Anyone can become a Concussion Superstar by following these three simple principles:
Believe in Prevention
Understand that many concussions can be prevented through education, safe play, proper equipment, and smart decision-making. The more aware we are of concussion risks, the better we can protect ourselves and others.
Report Symptoms
Recognize the signs and symptoms of a concussion and speak up when something doesn't feel right. Reporting symptoms early helps prevent further injury and supports a safer recovery.
Support Your Friends
Encourage friends who have suffered a concussion to prioritize their health and recovery. Remind them that protecting their brain is more important than returning to play too soon.
About Nora Fotuhi
About Nora Fotuhi
My name is Nora Fotuhi and I am a senior at Langley High School in McLean, Virginia. In my free time, I enjoy participating in athletic activities as well as helping out my community. Over the past several years, I have played in a variety of different sports including soccer, basketball, tennis, volleyball, water polo, horseback riding, swimming, and track.
As a student-athlete myself, I have witnessed several of my friends suffer physically and mentally from concussions. For years, I felt useless when faced with my limited ability and knowledge to help them. To an extent, I could serve a contribution no more impactful than an emotional support dog could. It wasn’t until my best friend Jennifer fell off her horse and returned with bandages wrapped around her head. She developed severe headaches, could not think straight, and was super sensitive to light and sound for six months.
After feeling terrible for Jennifer and following my great passion for neuroscience, I decided to take action to make an impact in this field. After much thought about different things I could do to help young athletes prevent and address concussions, I decided to start a non-profit organization called Concussion Superstars. One of the activities I initiated as a part of my organization was to organize workshops in my house to educate student athletes about concussion prevention and recovery. Someone who attended my workshops and learned about concussions would become a “superstar” in this field, which is where the name “Concussion Superstars” came from.
To reach student athletes beyond my school and community, I decided to start this website.
I feel that it is crucial for kids and young adults to not only be knowledgeable about how they can prevent concussions but also properly recover from a concussion. I want all student athletes, especially those who play contact sports like football to know that rushing back to playing, without proper concussion recovery, will delay their full recovery and complicate their symptoms.
My name is Nora Fotuhi and I am currently a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Virginia, majoring in Neuroscience and Global Public Health. I am deeply passionate about brain health, pediatric medicine, and serving my community through both clinical and research-based work. At UVA, I work as a Medical Scribe at the UVA Hospital in the Dermatology Clinic, where I assist physicians by documenting patient visits and supporting continuity of care. I also serve as a Research Assistant in the Developmental Neuroanalytics Lab under Dr. Puglia, where we study brain development in children who spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), with a focus on early autism screening and social-emotional development.
In addition, I volunteer in the Oncology Department at UVA Health, work as a Volunteer Medical Scribe at the Charlottesville Free Clinic, and serve as the Community Director for UVA’s chapter of College Mentors for Kids. My dedication to concussion education and advocacy has remained central to my journey, and I was honored to have my work recently featured in a UVA Today article titled “A Hoo Ahead of the Game in Concussion Awareness.”
As a former student-athlete, I witnessed several of my friends suffer both physically and mentally from concussions. For years, I felt helpless due to my limited knowledge and ability to support them. At times, I felt like my presence offered no more help than that of an emotional support dog. That changed when my best friend Jennifer fell off her horse and returned with bandages wrapped around her head. She developed severe headaches, struggled to think clearly, and became extremely sensitive to light and sound for over six months.
Feeling terrible for Jennifer and driven by my deep passion for neuroscience, I decided to take meaningful action in this field. After much thought about how I could help young athletes prevent and address concussions, I launched a nonprofit organization called Concussion Superstars. One of the first initiatives I created was hosting workshops in my home to educate student-athletes on concussion prevention and recovery. Someone who attended my workshops and learned about concussions would become a “superstar” in this field, which is where the name “Concussion Superstars” came from.
To reach student athletes beyond my school and community, I decided to start this website.
I feel that it is crucial for kids and young adults to not only be knowledgeable about how they can prevent concussions but also properly recover from a concussion. I want all student athletes, especially those who play contact sports like football to know that rushing back to playing, without proper concussion recovery, will delay their full recovery and complicate their symptoms.
During the Covid pandemic when schools were closed for months, I gathered all my notes about concussion prevention and treatment and wrote a book, titled: The Brain That Recovers: Fascinating Facts About the Brain and How It Can Overcome Concussions.” You can get a copy of this book here from Amazon.
My Book
During the Covid pandemic when schools were closed for months, I gathered all my notes about concussion prevention and treatment and wrote a book, titled: "The Brain That Recovers: Fascinating Facts About the Brain and How It Can Overcome Concussions."
Mission
I have started my organization, Concussion Superstars, to achieve the following goals:
Provide education material for children and young adults on how they can prevent concussion in sports.
Provide information for coaches and parents on what specific things they can do to help children minimize their risk for traumatic brain injury.
Organize lectures at school so that experts can teach children about these topics.
Form a coalition for children and young adults who are committed to concussion prevention, by becoming “Concussion Superstars.”
What do you need to do to become a concussion superstar?
I believe that the more kids know about the importance of protecting their brain and the long term consequences of concussion, the more likely it is that they will be careful about preventing a trauma to their brain. I want to see that more and more children and young adults become proactive and enthusiastic about concussion prevention. So I have set the following criteria for anyone who wants to become a “Concussion Superstar”:
Believe in Prevention
Believe that it is important to prevent concussion; the more a person is aware that concussions can be prevented, the more likely it is that they will have fewer concussions in the future.
Report Symptoms
Must feel that it is important to report if they have had symptoms due to a concussion; many kids who are playing sports prefer to stay in the game and don’t always let their coaches know that they had some symptoms after they hit their head or if they collided with another athlete.
Support Your Friends
Must support their friends who had a concussion by letting them know that their brain is more important than anything else; it is OK if they stop playing, even if it means they won’t win a game without their friend who had trauma to his/her brain.