Nicholas Heebner, PhD, ATC
Performance and Job Task Demands of Special Tactics Support Airmen
Air Force Research Laboratory
This project will develop an occupational task analyses, physical assessment, and intervention selection framework to enable AFSOC and USAF commands to quantify the physical capacities required for specific occupational specialties that would be needed to inform physical readiness standards and develop military occupational specialties-specific physical readiness training program tailored for these warfighters.
Period of Performance: 09/2023 to 12/2026
Award: $3,400,000
Kyle Kosik, PhD, ATC
Revealing the progression of pain pathways and identifying chronification of pain predictors after an isolated lateral ankle sprain: Project RECOIL
Army Medical Research and Development Command
This study aims to prospectively identify the prevalence of chronic ankle pain after a lateral ankle sprain and examine its relationship with healthcare utilization patterns, subsequent musculoskeletal injury, and the development of new co-comorbidities. Secondly, the study will identify the susceptibility and resiliency factors underlying the transition from acute to chronic pain by prospectively assessing pain-generating pathways, clinician-based outcomes, and patient-reported outcomes after a lateral ankle sprain.
Period of Performance: 09/2023 to 09/2027
Award: $1,066,469
Kyle Kosik, PhD, ATC
Physical Rehabilitation Through Telehealth for an Ankle Sprain: A Randomized Controlled Trial
NATA Research & Education Foundation
The purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to illustrate the value of immediate follow-up via telehealth by an athletic trainer for initial care for an ankle sprain.
Period of Performance: 06/2020 to 06/2025
Total Value: $55,921
Brian Noehren, PT, PhD, FACSM
Leveraging Wearables to Transform Patient Recovery after Tibial Fracture Surgery
National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases
The overarching goal of this work is to generate the knowledgebase and tools that will enable us to reimagine and elevate the standard of care for individuals after tibial shaft fracture surgery, by monitoring and managing tibial bone forces in daily life.
Period of Performance: 08/2023 to 06/30/2028
Award: $2,675,844
Brian Noehren, PT, PhD, FACSM
Accelerating recovery following a lower extremity fracture through speed HIIT
U.S. Department of Defense
This objective of this three-year study is to test a speed walking intervention originally used to treat patients with a neurological condition combined with high intensity interval training.
Period of Performance: 08/2021 to 07/2025
Total Value: $1,430,476
Brian Noehren, PT, PhD, FACSM, and Christopher Fry, PhD
Sex-based muscular adaptations, capillary dysfunction and functional decline impact knee-related psychosocial outcomes after acute knee injury (SMACK)
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
This study will define the muscle molecular and cellular sex-based differences underlying poor functional recovery, the recovery of muscle function and gait mechanics, as well as determine if biological and functional differences between males and females predict the worse psychosocial response observed in females after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
Period of Performance: 08/2021 to 05/2026
Total Value: $3,211,654
Brian Noehren, PhD, PT, FACSM and Caitlin Conley, PhD (College of Medicine)
Altering Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis After Patellar Dislocation
Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
The purpose of this innovative randomized clinical trial is to determine if knee aspiration and saline injection or blood flow restriction training (BFRT), either individually or combined, will improve outcomes after patellar dislocation.
Period of Performance: 07/2020 to 06/2025
Total Value: $2,889,181
Matt Hoch, PhD, ATC
Musculoskeletal Health Considerations to Improve Resiliency and Lethality in Female Marines
US Office of Naval Research
This project integrates field deployable technology to assess physical performance characteristics which will be analyzed through machine learning techniques to provide new insights into potential risk factors for injury. The hypothesis is that male and female Marines exhibit different injury patterns, healthcare utilization patterns, contributing factors to musculoskeletal injury, and threats to resiliency following injury
Period of Performance: 08/2021 to 08/2025
Total Value: $4,016,764
Matt Hoch, PhD, ATC
Optimizing Clinical Outcomes for Patients with Chronic Ankle Instability Using Foot Intensive Rehabilitation (FIRE)
Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
The purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to demonstrate that a novel Foot Intensive Rehabilitation (FIRE) protocol will create more effective clinical outcomes compared to standard of care rehabilitation
for patients with chronic ankle instability.
Period of Performance: 09/2020 to 09/2025
Total Value: $2.5M
Matt Hoch, PhD, ATC
Visual-Motor Coordination Assessments for Patients with Chronic Ankle Instability
Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
This study will provide patients with chronic ankle instability (CAI) with visual-motor coordination (VMC) assessments that can be used as decision support for returning to duty. The VMC assessments will highlight a full spectrum of impairments associated with injuries related to CAI.
Period of Performance: 09/2022 to 08/2026
Total Value: $1,494,315
Johanna Hoch, PhD, ATC
The Influence of Resilience and Grit on Post-Operative Outcomes after ACL Reconstruction
Southeast Athletic Trainers’ Association
This longitudinal cohort study examines psychological factors associated with optimal physical activity, patient-reported, and clinician-based outcomes in patients after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
Period of Performance: 04/2021 to 04/2025
Total Value: $4,991
Phillip Gribble, PhD, ATC, FNATA
Addressing Neuromuscular Deficits for Improved Outcomes in Ankle Sprain Rehabilitation
U.S. Department of Defense, Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
This project compares a novel sensorimotor rehabilitation protocol for lateral ankle sprain against a standard of care protocol to determine if it is more successful at producing successful one-year outcomes and lower rates of re-injury and improved health.
Period of Performance: 03/2018 to 03/2025
Total Value: $2,494,695
Phillip Gribble, PhD, ATC, FNATA
Safety, Health, and Injury Mitigation in Firefighter Training (SHIFT)
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The purposes of this study are to examine specific mechanisms of musculoskeletal injury sustained by firefighters during occupational and physical training activities and explore the role that health care practitioners have on improving care for these injuries.
Period of Performance: 09/2022 to 09/2025
Total Value: $1,117,760
Kirby Mayer, DPT, PhD
Remotely Monitored, Mobile Health Supported High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) to Improve Functional Recovery of Survivors of Critical Illness (REMM-HIIT-COVID19)
Duke Clinical Research Institute
This project will determine the impact of a HIIT rehabilitation program on function, quality of life, and muscular outcomes in patients that survive COVID-19.
Period of Performance: 09/2021 to 08/2026
Total Value: $47,396
Kirby Mayer, DPT, PhD
A Cardiorespiratory Fitness Test for Acute Illness: Validity, Reliability, and Clinical Utility of Functional Incremental Stepping-in-Place Test
Foundation for Physical Therapy
The purpose of this multi-site prospective study is to assess the criterion and construct validity of the Duke Functional Incremental Step Test (DFIST) compared to the gold-standard cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and physical testing. Subject testing will be able to determine the utility of DFIST and its clinical utility. The findings from this study will demonstrate that DFIST is a valid test for measuring cardiorespiratory fitness in a diverse patient population, including hospitalized individuals and those surviving ICU admission.
Period of Performance: 03/2024 to 02/2026
Total Value: $80,000
Kimberly Tumlin, PhD, MS, MPH and Michael Keener, PhD
I-Corps: Translation Potential of an Objective and Customizable Concussion Assessment and Rehabilitation Tool for Specialized Populations
National Science Foundation
The objectives of this study are to assess the desirability of a subscription model and prices for technology on individual and organizational levels, to evaluate the likeliness of equestrian organizations providing subscription access to the members, and to evaluate the desirability of future models in other underserved populations regarding field concussion assessment.
Period of Performance: 02/2024 to 07/2025
Total Value: $50,000
Danielle Torp-Kosik, PhD, ATC
Optimizing Retention on Duty in Patients with Chronic Ankle Instability using Auditory Biofeedback Gait Training: A Multi-Site Randomized Controlled Trial
Department of Defense
The overall objective of this study is to examine the effects of gait training with auditory feedback (AudFB) on gait biomechanics, ankle joint health, and patient-centered outcomes. The hypothesis of a 6-week (12 sessions) gait training with AudFB will lead to short and long-term improvements in walking, rucking, and running biomechanics, talar cartilage deformation patters, and re-injury rates and severity of symptoms.
Period of Performance: 09/2024 to 09/2028
Total Value: $2,480,330
Michaela Keener, PhD
Administration of Programs FY 24-25: The Graham
University of Louisville
Clinicians, trainers, and coaches frequently face the challenge of making immediate field-side decisions regarding an athlete's return to sport (RTS) after potential concussions of musculoskeletal injuries. However, athletes often conceal pain or symptoms to expedite their return, increasing the risk of re-injury. The Graham is a portable device that is in the testing phase of being used to objectively determine athlete’s ability to return to sport.
Period of Performance: 10/2024 to 04/2025
Total Value: $41,750