Recruiting patients for a clinical trial
Falls and fall-related injuries are a growing public health concern, particularly in regions of the world in which high proportions of the population are elderly. When older adults are affected with neurological conditions such as stroke, neuropathies, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, the risk for falling increases substantially. Falls and the resulting fear of falls can mark the beginning of a decline in function, participation in social activities, and independence, thus negatively affecting the quality of life. One in three people over the age of 65 years who are living in the community experience at least one fall each year. About 10% of these falls are associated with serious injuries such as traumatic brain injury and hip fractures. Injuries resulting from falls are the leading cause of hospitalization and financial hardships in older adults. Loss of balance is one of the common precipitants of falls. Older adults often have alterations in the brain balance circuit that cause ineffective responses to prevent a fall when balance is challenged. Our aim is to conduct a more comprehensive clinical study of TMS (non-invasive transcranial magnetic stimulation) in the treatment of balance deficits in elderly patients with a history of falls. This clinical trial is funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Insitute of Aging (NIH/NIA) R41AG085838.
For more information, please visit - ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06779188)
Applications are no longer being accepted for the 2025 NIH-funded Summer Program
We are now accepting applications for the 2025 summer program titled ‘Neuromotor Skill Advancement for Post baccalaureates (NSAP)’ at the University of Houston. This program is funded by the National Institutes of Health Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH/NICHD) R25HD106896. The summer program is a collaboration between CLASS and Cullen CoE.
For more information and to apply, please visit the NSAP website - https://www.egr.uh.edu/nsap
One line of research in this laboratory at the University of Houston examines the cortical mechanisms underlying human sensorimotor behavior in healthy young adults, older adults, and stroke patients. We use multimodal and multisystem approaches to discover interactions between cortical regions and between cortical and spinal regions important for accurate performance of routine tasks such as maintenance of upright stance under uncertain conditions, grasping, and skilled object manipulation.
Another line of work focuses on developing activity-based tools to quantify hand function in children with developmental disorders.
We use a wide range of approaches including motion tracking, kinetic measurements, surface electromyography (muscle activity), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).
Center for Neuromotor and Biomechanics Research (CNBR)
My lab is located in the Center for Neuromotor and Biomechanics Research (CNBR), which is part of the Department of Health and Human Performance at the University of Houston.
The Center for Neuromotor and Biomechanics Research brings together interdisciplinary research teams having expertise in engineering, physiology, clinical medicine, psychology, human factors, physics, mathematics, and computer science.