Why Are You Taking Blood to Study Concussion?
A Short Interview with PhD Researcher Nikki Reynolds

Q1: What is your research about?
I’m a PhD researcher at AUT studying whether a simple blood test can help improve the diagnosis andrecovery tracking of concussion. Right now, concussion decisions rely heavily on symptoms and self-report. We’re investigating whether blood biomarkers — specifically GFAP and UCH-L1 — can provide
objective information to support athletes, clinicians, and families.

Q2: Why do you need healthy people in a concussion study?
Great question. To understand what’s “abnormal,” we first need to know what’s normal.Blood biomarkers vary by age, sex, ethnicity, exercise habits, and even hormonal state. By collectingbaseline data from healthy participants — especially Māori and Pasifika — we can create more accuratereference ranges. That means fairer and more precise decision-making when someone does get injured.

Q3: What does participation involve?
A visit takes about 15–20 minutes. No concussion required — we are actively looking for healthyvolunteers over 16 years old who don’t have any diagnosed neurological issues.Individuals can sign up to be via our website or booking link. We have a few clinic, one at AUT Millennium one AUT City and in April we will be setting up a third at AUT South. When you come in for a test we will ask a few health, well-being and sport history questions and ask you to provide a blood sample like you would for the doctor.

We are also offering team baseline testing. We can do this either at one of our clinics or with a mobile testing station. This is by appointment book here and you can get in touch with us at Brain@aut.ac.nz to talk aboutif this is right for your team.

Q4: Why is this research important for our communities?
We are world leaders in this space, and that leadership matters — because concussion care should reflect the people it serves. Before we can use blood biomarkers confidently in concussion care, we must first understand what influences them.

Right now, we know that markers like GFAP and UCH-L1 change after brain injury — but we still don’t fully understand how they are affected by everyday factors such as age, sex, ethnicity, hormones, body composition, exercise, renal function, or history of head impacts. That gap in knowledge is significant.

If we don’t account for these confounding factors, we risk misinterpreting results.In short, we are not just asking whether biomarkers change after concussion.
We are asking: What truly constitutes abnormal? And that distinction is what will make concussion care safer, fairer, and more precise for our
communities.

Q5: Who should get involved?
If you play sport, support sport, or care about brain health — your participation helps build somethingbigger than one study.Learn More Here: