Teena Shetty--40 Under Forty

Crain's New York—March 28, 2011

As consulting physician to the New York Giants, Dr. Teena Shetty does not shy away from ordering burly men to interpret a proverb or count down by sevens. Treating traumatic brain injury and other neurological disorders, she’s one of only six female doctors in the country working with a professional football team.

"You have to be astute about discovering the deficits," Dr. Shetty said. "Players tend to minimize these injuries because they want to return to play."

She combines her clinical experience on the gridiron with a passion for research as she studies players to understand long-term implications. Her research involves serial brain-imaging after repeated concussions.

"We really don’t know the effects, especially in young players who have their lives ahead of them," Dr. Shetty said.

She has "really carved out a niche in head trauma," said Dr. Thomas Sculco, surgeon-in-chief at  Hospital for Special Surgery. "This is one of the real experts in the country on brain injuries that can occur in football."

Born in Bangalore but raised in the U.S. in a close-knit family, Dr. Shetty, along with her twin sister and younger sister, wasn’t allowed to watch television—she still doesn’t own a TV. High achievement was expected.

"We were constantly reminded of the need to become somebody who distinguishes herself in some way," says Dr. Shetty, a Fulbright scholar who attended Brown, Oxford and Cambridge.

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