How psychology chair, neuroscientist Maureen Rutherford became a professor and member of South Shore Roller Derby
As the sun set, the lights shone bright inside the Hammond Civic Center. The smell of popcorn, the crack of ice-cold drinks and music echoed throughout the building as roller derby fans of all ages filed into the mezzanine-style stands surrounding the court below.
South Shore Roller Derby was prepared for its season-opening doubleheader. As the excitement of the first bout ramped up, Maureen Rutherford roamed around the gym.
Rutherford is an associate professor and chair of the psychology program at Indiana University Northwest. What could she be doing here among skaters roaring across the gym, hitting, skating and falling in the name of friendly competition?
Well, while some may address her as “doctor,” Rutherford goes by another name around these parts — “Neuro Knockout.”
At first glance, her interests couldn’t seem more different. Rutherford received her PhD in neuroscience, learning the intricate pathways of the human brain, which she uses to teach Northwest Indiana students. Here, she’s decked in glitter, a helmet and elbow pads, sacrificing her body as a blocker to help her teammates score.
While these two worlds may seem like complete opposites, they cohesively coexist and intertwine in Rutherford’s life.
“I know it does seem kind of counterintuitive as someone who cares a lot about brain health to do a full-contact sport,” Rutherford said. “But we do know there are risks that go into it and there are also many psych-related aspects, like an increased focus on mental health.”
In the lab, on the track or at home, Rutherford gives it her all. But how exactly did a neuroscientist gravitate toward roller derby?
From a shy student to a professor
If you told Rutherford that she’d one day return to her alma mater to teach, she would’ve laughed.
“I was always the student in the back like, ‘don’t call on me’ or ‘I don’t want to ask questions,’” Rutherford said. “Now, I’m at the front of the classroom asking the questions. Never in a million years would I have imagined that.”
Rutherford, admittedly, is introverted. You wouldn’t necessarily know by the way she leads a classroom, runs her research lab or skates around the derby track, however.
She graduated from IU Northwest with distinction in 2005 in psychology and chemistry before completing her PhD in neuroscience from Loyola University Chicago.
Rutherford was always interested in the brain. While earning her PhD, she began to bounce around the idea of becoming a professor when she was a teacher’s assistant and guest lecturer.
After earning her PhD in 2011, Rutherford returned to IU Northwest as an adjunct professor, eventually becoming an associate professor and department chair. She runs a research lab with approximately a dozen undergraduate researchers every year and enjoys teaching students about the links between the brain and behavior by studying zebrafish.
Rutherford’s background helps her relate closely to the students at IU Northwest. Like many of her students, she’s a first-generation student who grew up in the region. She understands exactly what her students are going through.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I started graduate school, so when students come to me and say they don’t know what they want to do, I’m like, ‘That’s fine, you’ll figure it out,’” Rutherford said. “I love the students. I can see myself in them very much because I relate a lot to their backgrounds.”
How a neuroscientist became “Neuro Knockout”
Rutherford didn’t need more to put on her plate.
She has a 13-year-old son, an 8-year-old daughter and a larger blended family she spends most of her time with. She likes to go to the library, read and do crafts in her limited free time.
Years ago, Rutherford saw a poster for a roller derby introduction class. She was interested figuring it could be a fun way to stay fit, but the Monday night classes interfered with her teaching schedule, so she dropped the idea.
A few years later, in 2022, Rutherford was walking through the Lake County Welcome Center during the holidays and saw a Christmas tree decorated by the South Shore Roller Derby team. She had no idea there was a derby league in Northwest Indiana and immediately took the flyer to learn more.
“I realized they practiced literally two minutes from my house and I was like, ‘Oh man, I can’t say no,’” Rutherford said.
The tone of the information session, however, sounded a lot more like an introductory session. Rutherford thought, “Oh, did I accidentally sign up and not realize it?”
On purpose or by accident, she went with it. She bought skates and the best helmet she could find. She learned the intricacies of the sport and realized there’s so much more to the organization than skating and hitting others.
South Shore Roller Derby prides itself on giving back to the community and by being an inclusive space, making it a welcoming atmosphere for everyone of all identities and body types. It’s a become a staple in Northwest Indiana, earning them the title of the “Best Sports Team in the Region” by the readers of The Times of Northwest Indiana two years running.
And what began as a fun way to stay active turned into the reason Rutherford wants to stay active.
“It’s been really fun and something new to learn,” Rutherford said. “It brought me back into the role of the student because I hadn’t been a student for a long time.”
With multiple practices per week and other obligations through volunteering and serving as a board and committee member, Rutherford can relate even closer to her students, many of whom work full-time jobs and have other obligations outside the classroom and labs.
Not everyone knows how Rutherford spends many of her weekends, but she doesn’t shy away from her roller derby alter-ego. After all, she doesn’t want her coworkers or students to worry if she happens to walk in with a black eye.
And in derby, no one uses their real name on the track. On the South Shore roster, there’s “Wild Child,” “Tinasaurus Wrecks,” “Wreck it Ronni” and other creative nicknames.
Blending both her life’s work and her growing hobby, Rutherford, with the help of her teammates, found a nickname that perfectly blended both worlds — “Neuro Knockout.”
More than a nickname, “Neuro Knockout” is a much different representation than Rutherford’s more introverted days as a student.
At IU Northwest, where many of the students are forging their own paths in life, Rutherford continues to serve as a relatable and inspiring figure, whether it be through her transformation from a shy student to a department chair or a hard-hitting blocker on the track.
“I try to take more risks when I’m on the track,” Rutherford said. “That’s what I like about derby is if there’s something that scares me, something I’m uncomfortable with, something I don’t like, this gives me a chance to work on that.”
