The goal of this proposal is to attain support for a new Interdisciplinary Graduate Education in Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences (IGE-MRS) program, created at Northwestern University between the department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences (PTHMS) and the Biomedical, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science departments. The mission of the IGE-MRS program is to expose students to a graduate education that combines engineering, neurobiology and physical therapy and human movement sciences course work along with the associated research experiences through a DPT (Doctor in Physical Therapy) - PhD (Engineering) dual degree. The proposed IGE-MRS program is the first program of its kind to combine a solid training in fundamental neurobiology and clinical physical therapy with solid training in engineering disciplines. This interdisciplinary training will allow the development of the scientific basis required for understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying movement disorders and for designing effective rehabilitation interventions. The training program will focus on the neurobiology of movement and rehabilitation sciences, with three main goals: 1) understanding the neurobiology of movement behavior and disorders, 2) identifying and addressing the need for quantitative methods and technologies in MRS and 3) applying this knowledge to the development and implementation of effective rehabilitation interventions based on a solid understanding of current state-of-the-art rehabilitation practices. Northwestern University has a long and recognized history in the study of motor control, motor disability and recovery, and neural reorganization. Extensive research is performed in these areas at various levels, from basic animal and human studies focused on the control of movement and movement disorders to the development of novel rehabilitation interventions that address these movement disorders. This research has been conducted mainly through collaborations among individual investigators but not at the interdepartmental level. The interdisciplinary nature of the DPT-PhD program will provide an ideal environment for close interactions between basic and applied sciences and clinical departments. It will therefore provide a unique opportunity for training in translational research, going from the laboratory to the bedside. We intend to support a total of 2 DPT-PhD students in year 1 of the training program, 4 in year 2 and a total of 6 trainees in subsequent years. The program will provide support for a total of three years for each trainee.

Public Health Relevance

The number of individuals with movement disabilities continues to increase with a clear impact on the need for developing more effective rehabilitation interventions. The proposed graduate program will train rehabilitation/clinical scientists based on solid fundamental neurobiology principles combined with engineering to allow them to establish research programs to develop effective rehabilitation interventions and more importantly, transfer them to the clinic.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
Type
Institutional National Research Service Award (T32)
Project #
3T32EB009406-03S1
Application #
8327357
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZEB1-OSR-E (J1))
Program Officer
Erim, Zeynep
Project Start
2009-09-01
Project End
2012-08-31
Budget Start
2011-09-15
Budget End
2012-08-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2011
Total Cost
$46,631
Indirect Cost
Name
Northwestern University at Chicago
Department
Physical Medicine & Rehab
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
005436803
City
Chicago
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60611
Nelson, Christa M; Murray, Wendy M; Dewald, Julius P A (2018) Motor Impairment-Related Alterations in Biceps and Triceps Brachii Fascicle Lengths in Chronic Hemiparetic Stroke. Neurorehabil Neural Repair 32:799-809
Thompson, Christopher K; Negro, Francesco; Johnson, Michael D et al. (2018) Robust and accurate decoding of motoneuron behaviour and prediction of the resulting force output. J Physiol 596:2643-2659
Binder-Markey, Benjamin I; Murray, Wendy M (2017) Incorporating the length-dependent passive-force generating muscle properties of the extrinsic finger muscles into a wrist and finger biomechanical musculoskeletal model. J Biomech 61:250-257
McPherson, Laura Miller; Negro, Francesco; Thompson, Chris K et al. (2016) Properties of the motor unit action potential shape in proximal and distal muscles of the upper limb in healthy and post-stroke individuals. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2016:335-339
Nelson, Christa M; Dewald, Julius P A; Murray, Wendy M (2016) In vivo measurements of biceps brachii and triceps brachii fascicle lengths using extended field-of-view ultrasound. J Biomech 49:1948-1952
Wilson, Jessica M; Thompson, Christopher K; Miller, Laura C et al. (2015) Intrinsic excitability of human motoneurons in biceps brachii versus triceps brachii. J Neurophysiol 113:3692-9
Hawe, Rachel L; Dewald, Jules P A (2015) Development of a method to quantify inter-limb coupling in individuals with hemiparetic stroke. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2015:3476-9
Abbott, Rebecca; Pedler, Ashley; Sterling, Michele et al. (2015) The geography of fatty infiltrates within the cervical multifidus and semispinalis cervicis in individuals with chronic whiplash-associated disorders. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 45:281-8
Hawe, Rachel L; Dewald, Jules P A (2014) Assessment of the contralesional corticospinal tract in early-onset pediatric hemiplegia: Preliminary findings. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2014:5336-9
Sukal-Moulton, Theresa; Krosschell, Kristin J; Gaebler-Spira, Deborah J et al. (2014) Motor impairment factors related to brain injury timing in early hemiparesis. Part I: expression of upper-extremity weakness. Neurorehabil Neural Repair 28:13-23

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