(Re)habilitative Sciences
Optimizing function and independence for those who experience injury, illness, disability, or developmental delay.
In 2024, Department of Physical Therapy faculty Shane Koppenhaver, PT, PhD, Clinical Professor and Associate Chair, and Laurel Proulx, PT, DPT, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor, received a four-year $2.5 million grant award from the Department of Defense to test a novel intervention for female service members suffering from debilitating chronic pelvic pain. The potential outcomes of this research could include better access to care and rapid yet effective treatment, expediting service members’ return to duty.
Congratulations to the 2024-2025 Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences internal seed funding award recipients! In addition to the Robbins College Research Program, this year saw the introduction of two new internal funding programs: the Pedagogical Scholarship Award Program and the Dr. Mike and Mrs. Micki Maris Endowed Seed Fund for Student Research.
Jessica Feda, PT, DPT, DSc, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy in Baylor University’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, has received a $200,000, two-year Paris Patla Manual Therapy Research Grant from the Foundation for Physical Therapy Research to study how to best identify patients with neck pain likely to benefit from cervical spinal manipulation.
Parkinson’s disease is chronic and persistent, and individuals living with Parkinson’s often have trouble controlling the movement of their bodies due to tremors, and can experience impaired balance, slowness of reflexes, and stiffness in their body. The Department of Occupational Therapy in Baylor University’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences is contributing to novel research in neurological conditions like Parkinson’s, as Barbara Doucet, PhD, OTR, Clinical Associate Professor, Program Director of the Post-Professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program, and Director of Faculty Development and Scholarship, gains national recognition as an expert in Parkinson’s scholarship.
Megan Flores, PhD, PT, Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy in Baylor University’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, has received a two-year, National Institutes of Health (NIH) subaward in partnership with Sandra Vanegas, PhD, Research Assistant Professor in the Texas Center for Disability Studies in the University of Texas at Austin’s Steve Hicks School of Social Work. Baylor received $74,063 from the $275,000 award, and Flores will serve as Baylor’s principal investigator (PI).
Cory Smith, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation in Baylor University’s Robbins College of Health and Human Services, has received a $149,683 award from Horses and Humans Research Foundation for his proposal, “Measurement of brain activation responses to equine interactions in youth with autism during a 10-week manual based therapeutic horseback riding intervention.”
Novel intervention to be tested by Robbins College faculty could have a “substantial impact on the health and wellbeing of countless women service members”
Baylor University researcher Megan Flores, PT, PhD, Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, is working to improve the quality of life for individuals with Down syndrome. Flores is exploring whether an orthotic garment, called Hip Helpers®, could accelerate the acquisition of gross motor skills for infants with Down syndrome.