Personalized Athletics

Motivated by a career-ending ligament tear, a former NFL player starts a company to test athletes' genetic predispositions to common sports injuries.

Written byJef Akst

| 3 min read

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ANDRZEJ KRAUZE

Step, step, hit. It was the rhythm of a routine play for New Orleans Saints linebacker Jim Kovach, one that he was following with his usual precision during the second game of the 1985 season. As Broncos quarterback John Elway handed the ball off to a fullback, Kovach took two steps and lowered his shoulder into the 270-pound offensive guard whose job it was to keep him away from the action. Step, step, hit . . . pop.

The 230-pound Kovach felt a pop in his left knee as his body crashed into the guard. Back on the sideline, trainers prodded and pulled on his leg in an attempt to diagnose the injury. Kovach had completed medical school by attending classes and interning during the ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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