Next month, Family and Community Medicine Department Chair Irfan Asif, M.D., will travel to the French Riviera to deliver the opening keynote for the 7th International Olympic Committee World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport. Asif will kick off the event alongside his colleague and mentor Jonathan Drezner, M.D., with the session, "From Marginalized to Centralized: The Future of Sport Illness and Injury Prevention Research.”
“My relationship with Jon Drezner spanned my time at the University of Washington when I was a resident, through joint work on research projects for more than a decade,” said Asif.
These projects include research articles cited more than 400 times, like “Incidence of Sudden Cardiac Death in National Collegiate Athletic Association Athletes” and “Incidence, Cause, and Comparative Frequency of Sudden Cardiac Death in National Collegiate Athletic Association Athletes.” Recently, the two completed the long-awaited “Sudden Cardiac Death in National Collegiate Athletic Association Athletes: A 20-Year Study.” It was published in American Heart Association’s journal, Circulation, and presented at the 2023 AHA Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia last year.
“I’m honored to deliver the opening keynote alongside Jon at the 2024 IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport in Monaco,” Asif said.
Together with other Sports and Exercise Medicine physicians, Asif and Drezner are working to make strides in research. Their opening keynote, “From Marginalized to Centralized: The Future of Sport Illness and Injury Prevention Research,” discusses the importance of shifting the research focus from elite athletes to underrepresented individuals.
“Our role and potential as sport and exercise medicine physicians has never been more critical to address health disparities and the underutilized power of exercise and physical activity for all,” explained Asif. “With the presentation at the IOC World Conference, our aim is to present strategies to transform research from the elite and privileged into an equal passion for youth, disadvantaged, and underrepresented populations on a global scale.”
Asif specializes in sports cardiology research, especially in regards to combating physical inactivity to prevent cardiometabolic disease. This is the third time Asif will present at the International Olympic Committee Conference on the Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport and the first time serving as the opening keynote.
Participating and speaking at engagements, like the American College of Cardiology Sports and Exercise Cardiology Think Tank and the Spanish Olympic Committee Medical Commission of Spain XIV Conference of Medicine and High-Level Sport, Asif has taken the national and international stage numerous times. He also earned honors on these occasions, including the AMSSM Best Overall Research Award, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Best Overall Research Paper and the David T. Sisk Award for Best Review Paper in the journal, Sports Health. Asif has served as an associate editor for Sports Health for the past 10 years.