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.
CHS Leaders in Motor Function and Rehabilitation Sciences
Dr. Kosaku Aoyagi
Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences
Director, PRIME PT Laboratory
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
Director, Virtual Reality and Motor Control Lab
jbboyle@utep.edu
Specialization: Upper-extremity coordination; fNIRS; Autism Spectrum Disorder
Dr. Jeffrey Eggleston
Associate Professor of Kinesiology
Director, Stanley E. Fulton Gait Research & Movement Analysis Lab
jdeggleston@utep.edu
Specialization: Lower-extremity function and coordination; clinical locomotion analysis; Autism Spectrum Disorder
Dr. Cecilia Fierro
Clinical Assoc. Professor of Occupational Therapy
cfierro6@utep.edu
Specialization: Pain management; aging and rehabilitation
Dr. Shashwati Geed
Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences
Director, Geed Lab
sgeed@utep.edu
Specialization: Stroke; aging; neuroplasticity; neurophysiology; upper extremity motor control; neurorehabilitation clinical trials; statistical modeling in rehabilitation trials
Dr. Alvaro Gurovich, PT, PhD, FACSM
Professor of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences
Chair, Dept. of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences
Director, Clinical Applied Physiology Lab
agurovich@utep.edu
Specialization: Cardiac rehabilitation
Dr. Michelle Gutierrez
Clinical Assoc. Professor of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences
mgutierrez28@utep.edu
Specialization: Neuro-rehabilitation; traumatic brain injury; adaptive sports
Dr. Jaeho Jang
Assistant Professor of Kinesiology
jjang2@utep.edu
Specialization: Chronic ankle instability; joint degeneration; posttraumatic osteoarthritis; lower extremity injury prevention; sports biomechanics; musculoskeletal modeling and simulation
Dr. Levi Johnson
Visiting Clinical Asst. Professor of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences
lajohnson4@utep.edu
Specialization: Cervical pain and injury; lumbar pain and injury; orthopedic rehabilitation; preventative care
Dr. Rhonda Manning
Clinical Assoc. Professor of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences
rjeske@utep.edu
Specialization: Pediatric rehabilitation
Dr. Vannesa Mueller
Chair, Dept. of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
vtmueller@utep.edu
Specialization: Deafness; child development; cognitive skills; Autism Spectrum Disorder
Ms. Deena Peterson
Clinical Instructor/Supervisor, Dept. of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
deenag@utep.edu
Specialization: Language disorders; speech-language pathology
Dr. Priyanka Rana
Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences
prana@utep.edu
Specialization: Mechanistic-based approach to pain management; rehabilitation interventions; quantitative sensory testing; and examination of the role of the pain modulatory system in developing chronic musculoskeletal pain
Dr. Samuel Singleton
Clinical Assistant Professor, Dept. of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences
stsingleton@utep.edu
Specialization: Orthopedic rehabilitation; examination of factors making athletes more prone to injury
Dr. Camila Torriani-Pasin
Associate Professor of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences
Director, NueroEXCEL Lab
ctorrianip@utep.edu
Specialization: Neurorehabilitation; motor learning
Dr. Emre Umucu
Associate Professor of Public Health, Associate Dean for Research
Director, CHS REACHED
eumucu@utep.edu
Specialization: Health, wellbeing, and rehabilitation outcomes among individuals with chronic conditions and disabilities (including veterans); employment and education outcomes in individuals with chronic conditions and disabilities (including veterans)
Dr. Carolina Valencia
Director, Bachelor of Rehabilitation Sciences Program
Director, Experimental Pain Research Lab
cvalencia4@utep.edu
Specialization: Effects of pain modulatory system in the development of musculoskeletal chronic pain
