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USC Gets $100K For NFL Heart Rate Study

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — USC received a $100,000 grant from NFL charities to study heart-rate behavior in professional football players and university athletes, USC announced Tuesday.

Childrens Hospital Los Angeles also received $100,000 to conduct research on red blood cell metabolism in sickle-cell carriers and its consequences for athletes.

According to the USC, the Keck School of Medicine's "Dynamic Heart Rate Behavior of NFL Athletes" will be the first to investigate the heart-rate response of National Football League players under dynamic stress, including during games.

"We hope that this study will create a safer playing field for all athletes," said Dr. Leslie Saxon, principal investigator for the study.

The USC grant is part of $1.6 million awarded by NFL Charities to various institutions for sports-related medical research.. NFL Charities is the charitable foundation of NFL owners.

Researchers at USC will study heart data by body mass index, player position and age, and will also do a comparative study with USC football players, according to the university.

(©2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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