Saying “the health and safety of competitors in boxing, wrestling, and mixed martial arts events is too important to ignore,” Public Protection Cabinet (PPC) Secretary David A. Dickerson has appointed four highly regarded physicians to the Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Medical Advisory Panel.
Dickerson
”This administration takes our responsibilities to the people we serve very seriously,” Dickerson said. “We have appointed experienced and qualified physicians to the panel who will make research- and experience-based recommendations to ensure that the well-being of event participants is never compromised. We look forward to receiving their recommendations.”
The panel is charged with providing advice and guidance to the Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Commission so that it may effectively oversee the health and safety of participants in full-contact combative sports.
Members of the Medical Advisory Panel must concentrate their professional practices in medical fields in which boxing, wrestling, or mixed martial arts contestants are most likely to sustain an injury. At least one of the panel’s members must be a neurologist or neurosurgeon.
The newly appointed Medical Advisory Panel members are:
- Tad R. Seifert, M.D., of Louisville, currently serves as director of Norton Healthcare’s Sports Concussion Program and is a clinical assistant professor of neurology at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. In 2013, he was appointed head of the NCAA Headache Task Force, where he oversees clinical research related to headaches in college athletes. Dr. Seifert’s clinical practice involves preventing, diagnosing, and managing concussions and following patients after injury. Dr. Seifert cares for athletes of all ages and levels – from youth sports to professional leagues. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, College of Medicine. He completed his internal medicine internship at the University of Louisville and his residency in neurology at the University of Texas at Houston. He then completed a fellowship in headache and facial pain at the renowned Houston Headache Clinic. Dr. Seifert is a member of the Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Commission and will serve as chairperson of the Medical Advisory Panel.
Dr. Grubb
- Kendra J. Grubb, M.D., MHA, of Louisville, is a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon with KentuckyOne Health and serves as an Assistant Professor of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery with the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Her clinical and research interests include adult cardiac surgery, transcatheter and percutaneous cardiac interventions, hybrid revascularization, women’s heart disease, aortic surgery, and minimally invasive surgery. Dr. Grubb earned a bachelor’s degree in biology, a master of health administration degree, and a medical degree at the University of Southern California. She completed a general surgery residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and then completed a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Virginia and a fellowship in interventional cardiology and transcatheter cardiac therapies at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University, New York. An active teacher and researcher, she has participated in several clinical trials and investigations. She has authored more than 15 publications in peer-reviewed journals and several book chapters.
- Timothy S. Acord, D.D.S, of Louisville, is a board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon. A native of Staunton, Virginia, he received a Bachelor of Science from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. In 2004, he earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. After dental school, Dr. Acord completed a four-year residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Christiana Care Health Systems in Wilmington, Delaware. He has been practicing oral and maxillofacial surgery in Louisville since 2008 and he formed Commonwealth Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in 2015. Dr. Acord is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and a Fellow of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
- Scott Farner, M.D., of Louisville, is a native of Chicago. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois where he was subsequently employed as a molecular biologist. Dr. Farner graduated from the University of Illinois’ College of Medicine at Peoria prior to pursuing his training in orthopaedic surgery at the University of Louisville. Following medical school, Dr. Farner continued his training in hand and microsurgery at the world-renowned Christine M. Kleinert Institute and the University of Louisville Hospital. Dr. Farner is board eligible in orthopaedic surgery by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. In addition to hand and microsurgery, Dr. Farner’s practice interests include sports injuries, cartilage restoration and preservation, and disorders of the entire upper extremity, and wrist arthroscopy and replacement.
The Medical Advisory Panel was created by statute in 2008 following an injury to former WBA Heavyweight Champion Greg Page, of Louisville, during a 2001 fight in Northern Kentucky. The previous administration never appointed members to the panel.
Gov. Matt Bevin emphasized the importance of the panel and its work when he reorganized the Boxing and Wrestling Commission in May. In the order reorganizing the panel, Gov. Bevin wrote that the panel’s focus should be on providing the Boxing and Wrestling Commission with the advice and guidance it needs to advocate for, and oversee the health and safety of, participants in boxing, sparring, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, wrestling, and other full-contact combative sport.
