Westlake High School senior Lauren Choban spent her summer studying the impact of concussions on young athletes with the Cleveland Clinic.

Choban worked as a summer science intern at the Spine Research Laboratory at Lutheran Hospital where she analyzed and organized data from the Cleveland Clinic's database of 13,000 student athletes ages 13 to 20.

Choban concluded that current neurocognitive and motor assessments are satisfactory in tracking recovery and return to play time for student athletes. She also recommended future assessments analyze the effect of gender on concussion tests, examine a larger population of athletes and compare baseline scores to post-concussion scores.

Other WHS students were inspired by Choban's work to participate in the Cleveland Clinic's eXpressions Project, taking home top prizes.