Meet Landon Lempke, PhD ATC! Landon is a new post-doctoral researcher within The Micheli Center and Boston Children’s Hospital Clinical Effectiveness Research Center in the Orthopedic Center. His work here will focus on concussion-related projects.
Hometown: Kewanee, Illinois (2.5 hours/150 miles from Chicago).
Alma maters: Illinois State University (BS, 2016), the University of Virginia (Med, 2017), and the University of Georgia (PhD, 2021)
Favorite sports team: Green Bay Packers, but soon the 2021 United States Ryder Cup Team
Favorite place you’ve traveled: Taiwan helping with a 3-week study abroad trip
What drew you to The Micheli Center: Top-tier facilities, resources, and team members to collaborate and ultimately improve patient care
How did you develop an interest in athletic training and your current area of study?: My dad is an automotive mechanic and carpenter, so I inherently grew up learning how things work and enjoyed fixing them throughout my life. I learned about athletic training and sports medicine, and quickly realized it was a perfect match – a “human body mechanic” in a way. Athletic training introduced me to biomechanics and concussion research through training. I noticed conflicting approaches in concussion assessment and management during my training however, which led to reading journal articles and discovering we have a lot to learn still, and ultimately led me down the clinical research path I am on today.
What are small changes people could make that would have a large impact in their overall health?: Physically, ensuring your work environment is ergonomically sound, and to take short breaks (even 1-minute) to stand up, move, and stretch. Mentally, I live my life by a 5-minute rule. If a task takes <5 minutes to do, I do that task immediately. If >5 minutes, I add it to a list and prioritize from there. This has always helped me not feel stressed with ever-growing work/life tasks.
What is your preferred method of exercise, either a certain activity or specific regimen?: Road cycling, general resistance training, and golfing.
Favorite motivational/inspirational quote: “Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.” – Unknown
Favorite sundae from the bottom up: Scoop of Chocolate ice cream, another scoop of peanut butter ice cream (or peanut butter), banana on top, and hot fudge to finish
What are you most excited for in Boston that you have yet to see, do, or experience?: See a game at Fenway, have a drink at Sam Adams Brewery, and get a fresh lobster roll