Motor Function and Rehabilitation Sciences
The National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research issued a 2021 report that addressed the nation’s need for rehabilitation research as well as needs and priorities. In the report, the NCMRR shared data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicating that approximately 26% of Americans - one in four adults - are living with a disability (physical, cognitive or sensory), with one out of every seven adults serving in a caregiver capacity for these individuals.
With this in mind, and with the ultimate goal for a research agenda pointing to restoration of lost function and increase in quality of life, the NCMRR included six priority areas: rehabilitation across the lifespan, family and community, technology use and development, research design and methodology (including clinical trials), translational science, and building research capacity and infrastructure.
Faculty in the College of Health Sciences investigating motor behavior and rehabilitation are contributing to the body of literature within NCMRR priority areas, and have a variety of specializations, including upper and lower extremity coordination among special populations, including those with neurodegenerative disease and autism spectrum disorder; cardiovascular, neuro- and orthopedic rehabilitation; pain management; pediatric rehabilitation; speech language disorders; and aging and rehabilitation.
Faculty in the Motor Function and Rehabilitation Sciences research cluster are also members of the following communities of practice: Aging, Health-Focused Interprofessional Education, Interdisciplinary Research and Education, Mental and Emotional Well-Being, TTUHS-EL PASO/UTEP Collaborative Research Community, and UTEP Community Engagement and Research in COVID-19.
CHS Leaders in Motor Function and Rehabilitation Sciences
Dr. Kosaku Aoyagi
Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy
kaoyagi@utep.edu
Specialization: Central pain mechanisms in chronic pain conditions; targeted clinical assessments based on underlying pain mechanisms; pain management targeting central pain mechanisms; clinical epidemiology
Dr. Jason Boyle
Chair, Department of Kinesiology
Virtual Reality and Motor Control Lab
jbboyle@utep.edu
Specialization: Upper-extremity coordination; fNIRS; Autism Spectrum Disorder
Dr. Kevin Browne
Clinical Asst. Professor of Physical Therapy
kbrowne@utep.edu
Specialization: Orthopedic rehabilitation; pain management
Dr. Jeffrey Eggleston
Assistant Professor of Kinesiology
Director, Stanley E. Fulton Gait Research & Movement Analysis Lab
jeggelston@utep.edu
Specialization: Lower-extremity function and coordination; clinical locomotion analysis; Autism Spectrum Disorder
Dr. Cecilia Fierro
Clinical Asst. Professor of Occupational Therapy
cfierro6@utep.edu
Specialization: Pain management; aging and rehabilitation
Communities of Practice: Aging, Health-Focused Interprofessional Education, Mental and Emotional Well-Being
Dr. Alvaro Gurovich, PT, PhD, FACSM
Associate Professor of Physical Therapy
Director, Doctor of Physical Therapy Program
Director, Clinical Applied Physiology Lab
agurovich@utep.edu
Specialization: Cardiac rehabilitation
Communities of Practice: Health-Focused Interprofessional Education, UTEP Community Engagement and Research in COVID-19
Dr. Michelle Gutierrez
Clinical Associate Professor of Physical Therapy
mgutierrez28@utep.edu
Specialization: Neuro-rehabilitation; traumatic brain injury; adaptive sports
Dr. Rhonda Manning
Clinical Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy
rjeske@utep.edu
Specialization: Pediatric rehabilitation
Dr. Vannesa Mueller
Director of Speech Language Pathology Program
vtmueller@utep.edu
Specialization: Deafness; child development; cognitive skills; Autism Spectrum Disorder
Ms. Deena Peterson
Clinical Instructor/Clinical Supervisor
deenag@utep.edu
Specialization: Language disorders; speech-language pathology
Dr. Camila Torriani-Pasin
Associate Professor of Physical Therapy
ctorrianip@utep.edu
Specialization: Neurorehabilitation, motor learning
Dr. Carolina Valencia
Director, Bachelor of Rehabilitation Sciences Program
cvalencia4@utep.edu
Specialization: Effects of pain modulatory system in the development of musculoskeletal chronic pain.
