Rate My Professor Andrew Gardner

Associate Professor Andrew Gardner is a clinical neuropsychologist and Honorary Associate Professor in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle. He earned a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours, first class) from the University of New England in 2005, a Doctor of Psychology (Clinical Neuropsychology) from Macquarie University—where his thesis on sports concussion received the National Academy of Neuropsychology Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award in 2011, the first for a non-North American student—and a PhD from the University of Newcastle. Since 2009, he has served as a Clinical Neuropsychologist in the Hunter New England Local Health District Neuropsychiatry Service and as Co-Director of the Hunter New England Sports Concussion Program since 2013. He is Principal Investigator of the Former Elite Level Athlete Brain Health Research Program, concussion consultant to Rugby Australia, member of the World Rugby Concussion working group, and part of the Australian Football League concussion scientific advisory group.

Gardner's research focuses on sports concussion, encompassing injury prevention, identification via video analysis, acute assessment including SCAT5 normative values, and long-term brain and mental health outcomes in athletes, particularly rugby players. He has secured over $3.7 million in grants, including an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship and NFL funding, and leads major longitudinal studies like the Retired Professional Rugby League Players Brain Health Study. With over 140 journal articles, key publications include 'Chronic traumatic encephalopathy in sport: a systematic review' (2014, British Journal of Sports Medicine), 'A systematic review and meta-analysis of concussion in rugby union' (2014, Sports Medicine), 'Predictors of clinical recovery from concussion: a systematic review' (2017, British Journal of Sports Medicine), 'Video analysis of concussion in the National Rugby League' (2015, Brain Injury), and 'Neurodegenerative Diseases in Male Former First-Class New Zealand Rugby Players' (2025, Sports Medicine). His contributions have influenced policies for Sports Medicine Australia, Brain Injury Australia, and Alzheimer’s Australia NSW. Awards include the Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholarship (2018), Hunter Medical Research Institute Early Career Researcher of the Year (2020), University of Newcastle Staff Excellence Early Career Researcher Award (2020), NSW Young Tall Poppy Science Award (2018), and Research Australia Discovery Early Career Award (2015). He has keynoted at Sports Medicine Australia and World Rugby conferences and co-founded Australia’s first public health sports concussion clinic in 2013.