Jeffrey Stout Archives | �鶹ԭ�� News

�鶹ԭ�� Team Awarded $2.3M Grant for Innovative Intervention to Prevent Falls

Julie Harper ’01 — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 16:21:30 +0000

Falls — and the fear of falling — are the leading cause of injury, disability and hospitalization among low-income older adults, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To help address this critical issue and reduce disparities, a team of �鶹ԭ�� researchers is partnering with the City of Orlando on a $2.3 million project funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

The project seeks to address the public health problem and prevent falls with the optimization of technology that is low-cost and portable.

The work will help ensure older adults can “age in place,” and supports the City Beautiful Action Plan 2022-2025, which, as one of its primary goals, prioritizes the development of affordable housing options and services to help older residents safely stay in their homes.

“As the population of our city ages and residents are living healthier, more active and longer lives, it’s important we ensure Orlando is a well-designed, livable community that promotes health and sustains economic growth, creating happier and healthier residents of all ages,” says Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “We are excited to work with �鶹ԭ�� on this grant as it will play a significant part in understanding how we can improve the health and safety of our older adult population and better implement age-friendly initiatives, especially in underserved neighborhoods.”

Innovative Approach

With the new funding, , an associate professor at the College of Nursing and the project’s principal investigator, will work with an intradisciplinary team of experts to roll out a large-scale pilot in low-income, senior communities in Central Florida of an fall assessment intervention they’ve developed and tested.

“The primary goal is to prevent falls,” Thiamwong says. “With this real-world testing, we hope to be able to prove it works and is sustainable in order to scale up and prevent falls in more communities.”

The researchers’ Physio-Feedback and Exercise, or PEER, intervention program was successfully tested as part of an NIH-funded . Their work has also been published in Research in Gerontological Nursing.

The researchers showed that their intervention, which uses technology to help reduce people’s fear of falling and improve their balance, was feasible, safe, and improved balance, muscle strength and fall risk.

The technology resembles a small scale and links to a computer. It can be easily transported to rural or low-income communities to provide immediate physio-feedback.

The immediate part is important, Thiamwong says.

“Older adults trust the results more when it is immediate,” she says. “It begins a conversation and empowers them to do something about it, and with the technology able to show improvement over time, it is also encouraging.”

Perception versus Reality

For more than half of older adults, their perception of their fall risk and actual physical fall risk are not aligned, Thiamwong says.

She says a fear of falling is just as risky as poor balance as it may limit their physical activity.

To address this, the researchers’ intervention includes a fall risk appraisal matrix that categorizes participants into quadrants looking at both their fear and balance.

The objective is to bring all participants to low fear and normal balance by the end of the eight-week intervention.

The program includes cognitive reframing to reduce fear and both a group- and home-based exercise program led by a trained peer coach to improve balance.

“Social support from peers is important to build connections and hopefully continue to keep the physical activity going even after the intervention,” Thiamwong says.

Critical Collaboration

The researchers say collaboration with an interdisciplinary team is critical to address older adults falling and other healthcare challenges.

Thiamwong ��began her collaborations with the one of the�� project’s co-investigators, , after seeing some of his publications on aging research shortly after she joined �鶹ԭ��.

Stout, who is director of the college’s , says the collaborations have developed into a research partnership that has been very successful.

“There is a��great��potential for collaboration between programs and faculty expertise in different colleges at �鶹ԭ��,” Stout says. “Interdisciplinary collaboration is important because it allows different fields to share knowledge and ideas, which can lead to new breakthroughs.”

One of the ways �鶹ԭ�� fosters interdisciplinary collaboration is through research clusters, such as the Disability, Aging and Technology cluster that Thiamwong and project co-investigator Joon-Hyuk Park, an assistant professor in the , are a part of. The team has been successful in conducting NIH- and �鶹ԭ��-funded studies.

“The cluster is an excellent facilitator to promote interdisciplinary research,” Park says. “The most challenging questions we, as researchers and scientists, seek to address these days can’t be tackled from one discipline, especially when it comes to human science to understand human behavior and study instrumentations. We need expertise from various fields.”

, an assistant professor of and project co-investigator, says that many factors influence older adults’ fall risk, including physical health, socioeconomic status, as well as psychological motivations and feelings.

“In addition, if you want to launch a fall-risk intervention that involves technology, you have to consider factors like older adults’ ability to use the technology and cost effectiveness,” she says.

“It’s easy to see how problems like this require a team of experts that understand each factor and know how to conduct science across traditional disciplinary boundaries,” she says. “It’s a truly excellent team and an important problem we are trying to solve.”

Research Team

Thiamwong received her doctoral degree in nursing from Mahidol University in Thailand.

She joined �鶹ԭ�� in 2016. She’s an expert in healthy aging, fall prevention and gerontological nursing. She is leading a �鶹ԭ�� research team in implementing preventive interventions to transform practice, especially for older adults with limited resources.

Stout received his doctorate in exercise physiology from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. He joined �鶹ԭ�� in 2012. He’s an expert in physical assessments, such as body composition, handgrip strength and physical activity in aging populations, and he has published several studies examining the relationship between psychological and physical variables and the risk of falling.

Park received his doctorate in mechanical engineering from Columbia University. He joined �鶹ԭ�� in 2019. He’s an expert in engineering wearable sensors and assistive technologies. His role in the project is to apply his knowledge and experience in wearables-based physical activity monitoring and assessment.

Rui Xie is an assistant professor in the , which is in �鶹ԭ��’s . He received his doctorate in statistics from the University of Georgia. He joined �鶹ԭ�� in 2019.�� Xie is an expert in designing study designs that are appropriate for collecting data, while minimizing the risk of bias and ensuring the validity of the results, as well as data analysis and result interpretation.

“I was inspired to join this research team because I was fascinated by the multidimensional and multidomain data the team plans to collect in the project,” Xie says. “I felt that my skills and experience in data analysis and modeling could be of great value to the research.”

Lighthall received her doctorate in gerontology from the University of Southern California. She joined �鶹ԭ�� in 2015. She’s an expert in cognition and emotion across the adult lifespan, with a specific focus on age-related changes to decision processing and behavior. She is helping to determine the cognitive and motivational factors that impact older adults’ fear of falling by guiding the team’s measurement of these psychological factors.

a Beat M. and Jill L. Kahli Endowed Professor in Oncology and an associate professor in �鶹ԭ��’s College of Nursing, received her doctorate in nursing from �鶹ԭ��. She joined �鶹ԭ�� in 2005. She’s an expert in qualitative research and randomized clinical trials, aging populations, and health disparities, with experience in technology-based intervention development and testing.

“Interdisciplinary collaboration is important because one person cannot know it all or do it all,” she says. “You need the different perspectives and experiences from other disciplines to make your own work more complete and more relevant.��Without the teamwork of experts from different disciplines, your work and ideas will get stale very quickly.”

�鶹ԭ�� DPT Grads Achieve 100% First-attempt Pass Rate on National Exam for 3 Years in a row

Camille Dolan ’98 — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 15:54:39 +0000

For the third year in a row,��graduates have achieved a 100% pass rate on their��first attempt��on the��. That makes �鶹ԭ�� one of only 15 programs in the nation to achieve such outstanding exam performance in back-to-back years, putting the program among the top 6% in the nation for grad exam performance.

The �鶹ԭ�� DPT program has achieved a 100% ultimate pass rate each year in its 12-year-history as a program — with eight of the these cohorts achieving a 100% pass rate on their first try. This 100% first-attempt pass rate achievement includes six out of the last seven cohorts. Over that time span, only one of the fifteen DPT programs in Florida has met this mark just three times, making �鶹ԭ�� by far the most successful in this metric in the state of Florida.

“We are so proud of the class of 2021 for joining the classes of 2020 and 2019 in this major achievement,” says��Patrick Pabian, division chair and program director of the doctor of physical therapy program. “I wish the exam agency tracked this measure of student excellence beyond two years, because now with �鶹ԭ�� on year three, I know we are setting a very high record to break.”

Pabian says it is the students’ dedication to being excellent clinicians, coupled with the expertise of the �鶹ԭ�� DPT faculty who prepare them not only to be successful on the licensure exam, but also empower students to be science-informed physical therapists who are dedicated to excellence in all facets of patient care.

“The students in our doctor of physical therapy program represent the best and brightest that the nation has to offer,” says��, founding director of the��. “We are so proud of what they have achieved thus far and know this is only the beginning of their achievements.”

Stout, Hancock Elected as Fellows of National Academy of Kinesiology

Megan Pabian — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 14:15:33 +0000

Two �鶹ԭ�� faculty were recently honored as fellows of the National Academy of Kinesiology, a privilege considered the pinnacle career achievement in the discipline of kinesiology.

�ʱ𲵲��ܲ��ʰ��Ǵڱ��ǰ�� from the College of Health Professions and Sciences joins the 2021 class alongside the College of Sciences’ Pegasus Professor . Both are the first academy fellows at �鶹ԭ��; elected fellows have exemplified scholarship and leadership in the discipline throughout their career and have advanced the mission and goals of the academy.

“I am extremely honored to receive this recognition for my work in advancing the field of kinesiology and training the next generation of educators in the field,” Stout says. “I see it as the result that comes when you live your passion, which is what I’ve been doing in my field for over 25��years.”

Hancock

Hancock specializes in the field of human factors psychology and works closely with the U.S. military. His past committee appointments include the National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council’s Committee on Human Factors.

Both will be��officially recognized during the academy’s annual meeting in September.

“Jeff is very deserving of��this recognition,” says��Christopher Ingersoll, founding dean of the��. “He has��not only��been a major contributing scholar to kinesiology, but also helped build��a nationally-recognized program here at �鶹ԭ��.��His��contributions are going��to have an impact for decades to come.”

Meet the 2021 Pegasus Professors

Allison Hurtado ’12 — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 18:59:23 +0000

Five �鶹ԭ�� faculty members have been chosen for this year’s Pegasus Professor award, the university’s highest faculty honor. Professors who receive this distinction have well-established careers at �鶹ԭ�� and beyond, with national and international recognition for their impact on their area of expertise.

The group of Pegasus Professors crosses all disciplines from playwrights who captivate audiences, to scientists who explore the planets, to storytellers who keep history alive. They are selected by the president and provost, and are given a $5,000 award.

The men and women who are Pegasus Professors leave a lasting impact on students, their colleagues and our world. In a year where a global pandemic has changed how we live, �鶹ԭ�� faculty have been at the forefront of research to improve lives.

The 2021 Pegasus Professors are first-generation students, immigrants, groundbreaking researchers and embody what makes �鶹ԭ�� a great university that changes lives and livelihoods.

This year’s recipients are:

Issa Batarseh

Professor of Electrical Engineering

Director, Florida Power Electronics Center

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Don’t judge a book by its cover. Issa Batarseh might be an accomplished engineer but he has fought a bull in Spain, where he was kicked airborne. He says that may not have been his wisest decision, but coming to �鶹ԭ�� nearly 30 years ago was.

After earning a small grant to open a lab, Batarseh began his research to discover how to take forms of energy and make them usable. That small lab is now the Florida Power Electronics Center. Batarseh has created devices that allow us to use solar energy in our homes. His has created products that are cost-effective, safe and reliable, and he and his team have been called on by NASA to help fix power issues on the International Space Station.

Michael Georgiopolous, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, says Batarseh goes for his goals with determination until he reaches them.

“He has done things I never thought were possible, and yet he accomplishes them,” Georgiopolous says. “Because of this, he inspires people around him and makes them better.”

If there is one thing Batarseh loves more than his research, it’s his students. Many of them have gone on to lead companies and create products that Batarseh has helped influence. He says the young students inspire him with their bright attitudes and willingness to learn.

“Being a faculty member is the greatest thing in the world for me,” he says. “It is an opportunity to impact the lives of thousands of students.”

Cristina Fernández-Valle

Professor of Medicine

College of Medicine

Cristina Fernández-Valle left Cuba as an infant and moved to Miami with her sisters and parents to escape communism. Even though her father had been an attorney in Cuba, they had to rebuild their lives from the ground up in the United States. She remembers rolling newspapers with her mother for a paper route in the predawn hours. Her father put himself through law school again while working full time to support his family. The perseverance of her parents shaped her life.

“I had the example of hard work and that you can achieve anything,” Fernández-Valle says. “You can have everything taken from you, but you can never lose your education.”

She researches neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves and in the brain. It’s extremely painful and debilitating, and there is no cure. She is trying to find a therapy that can stop tumors from growing. Recently, a drug that she has been working on began a clinical trial —which is “like going to the Super Bowl,” she says.

“What she has done is given hope to people who have a chronic disease that is deforming and painful,” says Deborah German, dean of the College of Medicine and vice president for Health Affairs.

Fernández-Valle doesn’t take her work lightly and says lives depend on her and what she discovers in her lab. She mentors students and scientists and tries to create opportunities for everyone.

“I never stop learning,” she says. “I want to help our students become the best ‘them’ they can be. I open the doors to everyone I can. Having the opportunity to walk through an open door is the first step to building a successful career as a scientist.”

Luis Martínez-Fernández

Professor of History

College of Arts and Humanities

Luis Martínez-Fernández fell in love with history from listening to stories told to him by his grandmother, an immigrant who left Spain at the age of 15.

“My life has had historical complications,” he says. “I was born in Cuba, we fled to Peru in exile but then had to leave again after a military coup, to Puerto Rico. So from an early age, I have seen the power of history.”

It was his professors at the University of Puerto Rico that kept him in academia. He says they were true role models, and he knew he would be a historian and pass on what he had learned to future generations. He says he loves the curiosity that students bring to the classroom.

Since coming to �鶹ԭ�� in 2004, he relaunched an academic program and has written two books. His work goes beyond the walls at �鶹ԭ��, working with teachers in K-12 schools to give underserved students more opportunities, and he serves on the College Board and the National Council for History Education.

“My perspective in academia has been marked by my background as an immigrant,” he says. “There is something we call immigrant’s work ethic and not taking anything for granted. We know we have to work hard to excel.”

Marshall Schminke

BB&T Professor of Business Ethics

College of Business

Marshall Schminke grew up in Iowa as one of six children. He is a proud first-generation college student, who also owned a bar at age 24. Paul Jarley, dean of the College of Business, says Schminke has had a life and a career of purpose and impact — and he is one of the sincerest people you’ll ever meet.

Schminke left school twice before picking his path of business ethics. He and his wife, Maureen Ambrose (also a Pegasus Professor), came to �鶹ԭ�� in 1999 to build the doctoral program in the College of Business.

“When you can influence doctoral students, you’re shaping their professional life for the rest of their career,” he says. “You make sure when they leave, they are good researchers, good professionals, good mentors and that they care about students.”

He says his role models are his parents, who both grew up on farms. In one generation they raised six children who now all hold at least a master’s degree. His parents stressed that education was an important track in life.

His field of business ethics is making sense of what is right and wrong, and continuing to enforce what is right in the workplace. Schminke says people sometimes lose sight of what is right when faced with difficult decisions. He’s worked in the private sector with Fortune 500 companies, but his real interest is working with students.

“A lot of success comes in life from tenacity,” he says. “Many people are smart but not eager to work towards something. If you want to accomplish something meaningful, put your head down and work.”

Jeffrey Stout

Professor of Kinesiology

Director of the School of Kinesiology and Physical Therapy

College of Health Professions and Sciences

Jeffrey Stout had an expectant feeling twice in his life: when he first discovered the field of kinesiology, and when he was introduced to his wife. In those instances, he knew what his career would be, and who his life partner would be.

Stout, a first-generation student, didn’t know what kinesiology was until he was an undergraduate and a professor told him about the field. It has now become his passion.

“It’s all-encompassing,” he says. “It includes sports medicine, physical fitness, nutrition, movement and it applies to any age. Men, women, elite athletes, children and even the elderly.”

Stout’s latest research has been to find ways through nutrition and exercise to improve the quality of life for older people who have lost muscle tone and movement. Stout says he also has a passion for teaching, and he has served in various leadership roles, including as interim dean.

“Being a first-generation student has made me more aware of the students who are like me,” he says. “I was probably a little behind other students who had parents who went to college. So I look for them and try to mentor them.”

Christopher Ingersoll, dean of the College of Health Professions and Sciences, says one word describes Stout: humble.

“Jeff is the most widely published, frequently cited scholar in our college, but very rarely talks about himself,” Ingersoll says. “He is more interested in holding people up and supporting them. He is a natural-born leader who leads from behind.”

For Stout, his advice for success is simple.

“Stay passionate and keep family first,” he says.

�鶹ԭ��’s Doctoral Program in Exercise Physiology Ranks No. 1 in Florida

Camille Dolan ’98 — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 19:08:45 +0000

The �鶹ԭ�� School of Kinesiology and Physical Therapy recently earned the No. 1 ranking in Florida and ninth in the nation for its doctoral program in kinesiology by the National Academy of Kinesiology. The ranking includes 43 institutions with similar programs across the country.

The ranking is calculated on data such as faculty productivity, including publications, presentations, funding and visibility, and also student achievements, such as GRE scores, assistantships, employment and doctoral publications.

“This ranking speaks to the impactful research being done by our faculty and doctoral students,” says Jeffrey Stout, founding director of the school. “It shows our commitment to preparing the next generation of educators and researchers in human movement.”

The exercise physiology track in the program provides advanced studies in exercise physiology and wellness, sport and exercise science. The research infrastructure of the school is led through the Institute of Exercise Physiology and Rehabilitation Science, which includes more than 16,000 square feet of facilities with numerous basic, applied clinical, and community research laboratories.

“We are very proud of the work of our students, faculty and staff that has helped position our program among the top 10 in the nation.” — Christopher Ingersoll, dean of College of Health Professions and Sciences

Nine tenured or tenure-track faculty members are involved in the kinesiology doctoral program. Stout says that when it comes to the productivity of faculty, they are “lean and mean” as exemplified by �鶹ԭ��’s No. 2 ranking on number of faculty peer-reviewed publications within the review.

Results of the national review represent data collected from 2015-19. This is the second time the �鶹ԭ�� doctoral program participated in the review since the program was established in 2010. In the previous review for 2010-14, the �鶹ԭ�� doctoral program ranked sixth in the country, and second in Florida. While more programs are participating in the review now than before, �鶹ԭ�� has made concentrated efforts to improve its metrics and maintain a top 10 national ranking.

“We are very proud of the work of our students, faculty and staff that has helped position our program among the top 10 in the nation,” says Christopher Ingersoll, founding dean of the College of Health Professions and Sciences. “Among the various criteria used in the rankings, I’m especially proud of our program being among the top in the country for faculty publications adjusted for faculty size. This leads to transforming healthcare and improving lives of people everywhere.”

�鶹ԭ�� Athletics, Kinesiology Program Team Up for Student-Athletes’ Well-Being

Wed, 12 Sep 2018 16:49:34 +0000

�鶹ԭ�� Athletics and the university’s new are partnering to enhance the well-being and performance of the university’s student-athletes.

Kinesiology faculty member Michael Redd is now working with coaches as the first director of sports science appointed by the athletics program. He also is supervising �鶹ԭ�� students selected for a new sports science internship program.

“Having a sports scientist on the performance team is not a novel concept,” said Jeff Stout, interim dean of the new College of Health Professions and Sciences, home to the school. “But giving sports science students the ability to work with Division I athletes is an opportunity that few students may experience.”

“We’re not aware of any other universities that offer such an internship opportunity for select graduate and undergraduate students,” said Redd, who completed his doctorate in exercise physiology (an area of kinesiology) in August.

Under Redd’s supervision, the interns will help bridge the gap between science and application.

“Wearable devices provide physiological, performance and biomechanical data points that require special advanced training to interpret,” Stout said. “Sports scientists can then create specific algorithms to analyze the data to inform coaches of their team’s training volume and its relationship to an athlete’s fatigue scores, hydration, heart-rate variability and performance.”

Sports scientist Michael Redd (right) with soccer player Gianluca Arcangeli

Redd was a doctoral student at �鶹ԭ�� last year when he worked with the men’s soccer team during a pilot study. He attended the practices and analyzed thousands of data points produced by tracking bands worn by the players.

His analysis of the data gave head coach Scott Calabrese another tool to assess his trainings and ensure the athletes got just what they needed. For example, in some cases Calabrese would adjust the duration and intensity of the training drills to enhance recovery and optimize performance.

The team went on to win eight consecutive games and compete in the American Athletic Conference championship final. The Knights are now this year’s preseason favorite in the conference.

Following the success of the pilot study, Redd and Stout worked with �鶹ԭ�� Athletics to establish a new sports science internship to enable more students from the school to learn and assist.

Redd has started selecting graduate and undergraduate students as interns. They will learn how to collect and interpret data produced by devices worn by student-athletes. Redd will review the data and use it to inform the coaches of the findings.

Eventually, the health and performance of some 400 student-athletes could be monitored, he said.

Undergraduate Maxine Furtado is among the first students selected for the internship. She is working with the university’s soccer programs.

“I’ve always been interested in the analytics portion of sports science and this internship is going to provide me with an opportunity to learn, to understand and to enjoy all the hard work it takes to form a good athlete,” said Furtado, a former high school athlete. “This opportunity has already made a huge positive impact in my life and my future career choices.”

�鶹ԭ�� Athletics is excited for the partnership, said Eric Wood, deputy athletics director for competitive excellence.

“In Danny White, we have the most innovative athletics director in the country,” Wood said. “He views this cutting-edge opportunity as a win-win situation because it benefits our coaches and student-athletes as a competitive advantage on their respective playing fields, while providing practical experience and research opportunities for �鶹ԭ�� students.”

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�鶹ԭ�� to Hold Free Nutrition and Training Forum Wednesday

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:00:07 +0000

Young athletes and their coaches and parents are invited to attend a �鶹ԭ�� forum focusing on conditioning, training and nutrition.

The event, sponsored by �鶹ԭ��’s College of Education, will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5, in the Morgridge International Reading Center at �鶹ԭ��’s main campus. The forum is free and open to the public, and registration is required.

The forum will be led by professors Jay Hoffman and Jeffrey Stout from the Sport and Exercise Science program. Experts on conditioning, strength training and nutrition, they’ll discuss how to improve and monitor athletes’ performances.

The forum will feature opportunities for athletes, parents and coaches to test on equipment in �鶹ԭ��’s Human Performance Laboratory. Experts also will answer questions about hydration, nutritional needs, overtraining, dietary supplements and other topics.

Free parking will be available in Garage A. For more information on the event, call 407-823-0211.