Graduate Research Associate
Wake Forest School of Medicine
Sophia Zoch is a graduate student at the Virginia Tech – Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, pursuing a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. Sophia completed her undergraduate studies at the University of North Texas (UNT), earning a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering with a Minor in Mathematics and a Minor in Mechanical and Energy Engineering. Currently, Sophia conducts research at the Wake Forest School of Medicine Center for Injury Biomechanics under the mentorship of Dr. Joel Stitzel and Dr. Jillian Urban to quantify and characterize head impact exposure in motorsports using a custom mouthpiece sensor to mitigate injury risk and optimize driver safety. I have also led efforts to collect on-track head impact exposure data in grassroots dirt track racing and stock car racing. Throughout the remainder of my doctoral training, I plan to continue investigating brain injury in motorsports by analyzing head impact exposure data and determining potential risk factors and mechanisms of injury.