Aug. 15, 2025
Brain Bank Pledges Surge with Celebrity's Donation
Pitt’s National Sports Brain Bank is dedicated to learning more about chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
TOPICS: Neuro & Cognitive Science | Research | School of Medicine
Look to the Stars
By Strategic Communications
For decades, thousands of Pittsburghers invited Jon Burnett into their homes almost every day. The longtime KDKA-TV talk show host and weather forecaster charmed audiences over the course of 36 years with his affability and willingness to take on stunts—like jumping out of an airplane. So it’s no wonder that the poignant story he shared last year had a big effect on people. In February 2024, Burnett and his family announced his pledge to, on his death, donate his brain to the University of Pittsburgh’s National Sports Brain Bank (NSBB), which launched in 2023. A former high school and college football player, Burnett received a diagnosis of suspected chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) after dealing with health challenges that included diminished short-term memory, shuffling gait and weakened speech.
A CTE diagnosis can only be confirmed in an autopsy; Burnett’s hope was that his gift would allow researchers to learn more about the condition. “I miss being able to start a conversation like ours and see it through to the end and feel like I’ve accomplished something,” Burnett told his KDKA colleague Kristine Sorensen in a segment in February 2024.
As soon as that story ran, commitments to the brain bank began to surge, going from around 100 to 191 in a month, says Julia Kofler, NSBB director and associate professor of pathology, School of Medicine.
“Most of what we know so far about CTE has been learned from examining the brains of professional football players. We need to examine more brains from women, athletes from other sports and from nonprofessional athletes to better understand the disease risk in these populations.”
Julia Kofler, NSBB director and associate professor of pathology
Burnett died in February 2025 at age 71. The news of his death spurred even more commitments to the brain bank. “His story is a testament to the impact of personal narratives in advancing scientific endeavors,” Kofler says.
Brain bank scientists determined that Burnett met the criteria for CTE, though Kofler is not convinced it was responsible for his systems. He had several other neurological diseases as well. She told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “These borderline cases are the ones that we learn the most from. These are the most interesting.”
Burnett’s gift and those he has inspired will shed light on how traumatic brain injuries affect a wider variety of people.
“Most of what we know so far about CTE has been learned from examining the brains of professional football players,” Kofler says. “We need to examine more brains from women, athletes from other sports and from nonprofessional athletes to better understand the disease risk in these populations.”
Learn more about donating at www.pitt.edu/nsbb.