Overview
- The former NFL quarterback spent two days undergoing cognitive tests, a blood draw, an MRI and a PET scan as part of Boston University’s study to develop a living diagnosis for chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
- Hasselbeck has formally pledged to donate his brain after death so researchers can link the study’s in‑life measurements to postmortem pathology.
- The project, led by Michael Alosco and backed by a $15 million NIH award, now collects data at multiple sites in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida and aims to expand to hundreds of participants.
- Researchers recruit two groups—former football players with head‑impact histories and people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s who lack such histories—to compare imaging, blood biomarkers and cognitive profiles and isolate CTE‑specific signals.
- Progress depends on growing diverse enrollment and paired brain donations because current CTE diagnosis still requires postmortem examination and early markers have not yet been validated.