HMSC Faculty Research

Jan Busby Whitehead, Professor, Medicine

Incontinence in aging, preventing disability, interdisciplinary team building, community-university partnerships


Janet Freburger, Assistant Professor, Division of PT

Health Services Research: Patient centered outcomes of interventions; utilization of ancillary services in the treatment of and prevention of health conditions; access to ancillary services; survey research and psychometrics; evidence based practice in physical therapy. Measurement and examination techniques in orthopedic physical therapy


William Garrett, Professor, Orthopaedic Medicine

Chair of Orthopaedics at UNC. Research history includes a large body of work on muscle strain injury and studies ACL injury mechanisms with multiple colleagues from HMSC. Interested in the injury mechanism, care, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries to the articular cartilage of the knee as well as outcomes of arthroscopic surgery. Students have a conduit to all the subspecialties in orthopaedics through Dr. Garrett. Team physician for the US Soccer Federation.


Carol Giuliani, Professor, Division of PT

Effects of exercise to improve movement patterns in adults & children with neuromuscular dysfunction; identifying underlying factors for movement dysfunction in aging & adults with stroke; developmental motor control; aging motor control


Mike Gross, Professor, Division of PT

Prevention and treatment of ankle sprain injury; Effects of foot orthoses on lower quarter function; In general, prevention and treatment of lower quarter musculoskeletal dysfunction sports medicine/orthopedics/foot orthotics


Kevin Guskiewicz, Kenan Professor, EXSS

Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., A.T.C. was hired by the Department Exercise and Sport Science in July 1995, and was appointed Department Chair in July 2005. Kevin heads up the sport concussion program at UNC, while also serving as the Director of the Sports Medicine Research Laboratory and Research Director for the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes. Kevin's teaching responsibilities include Cadaver Anatomy, Therapeutic Modalities, Human Anatomy, and Research Methods & Statistics in Sports Medicine.

Kevin’s research is focused on the assESSMent of sport-related concussion and the long-term effects of concussion. He has been the recipient of over 15 funded research grants on this topic, and has published over 45 journal articles and five textbook chapters related to concussion in sport. He serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Athletic Training, and is on the editorial boards of two other journals. Kevin was the recipient of the 1997 Kenneth Knight Outstanding Research Manuscript for the Journal of Athletic Training, the recipient of the 1999 NATA-REF New Investigator Award for Athletic Training Research, and the 2006 Medal for Distinguished Athletic Training Research He was awarded Fellowship in the American College of Sports Medicine in May 2003, and was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education in September 2006. He and his wife Amy have 4 children Jacob, Nathan, Adam, and Tessa.


Anthony C. Hackney, Professor, EXSS

Tony’s research focus is on endocrine and metabolic responses to physical stress (e.g., exercise). He directed research for the Department of Defense into the human endocrine and metabolic adaptations associated with chronic cold exposure in humans. He conducts research on how reproductive steroid hormones are modulated by the stress of physical exercise. He is the author of more than 100 publications in the exercise physiology and endocrinology area. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in basic human physiology and exercise physiology. He lectures in the medical school on biochemistry and endocrinology. Dr. Hackney is a member of Sigma Xi, American College of Sports Medicine, Southeast American College of Sports Medicine and Triangle Consortium for Reproductive Biology. Currently, he is an external reviewer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Human Nutrition division, the National Academy of Sciences-Institute of Medicine and the U.S. Army, Department of Defense. Dr. Hackney is a two time recipient of Fulbright Scholar awards, one in Medical Sciences (in Lithuania) and one in Public Health (in Poland). He currently serves as the Assistant Chairman of the Department of Exercise & Sport Science.

Henry Hsiao, Professor, BME

Biomedical instrument design, microcomputer interfaces and telemedicine. He has designed operating room monitors, techniques to measure pulmonary function and devices to assess blood flow. He has also developed a system to measure audience responses for large groups. In telemedicine he has been involved in most of the telemedicine projects at UNC-Hospitals including remote ER consulting and remote infant monitors. His departmental website is http://www.bme.unc.edu/directory/faculty/hsiao.html.


Michael Lee, Professor, Rehabilitation Medicine

Prevention and management of secondary conditions in spinal cord injured; Management of Wound; Use of integrative medicine in patients with chronic pain; Clinical neurophysiology.


Michael Lewek, Assistant Professor, Division of PT



Dr. Lewek's research involves improvement of functional mobility following stroke. Specifically, he is interested in how peripheral sensory input influences motor commands during gait, and the specific role of muscle dysfunction on locomotion following neurological injury. Current projects involve improving muscle activation during the sit-to-stand task and characterizing the role of limb load on muscle function during gait.


Bonita Marks, Associate Professor, EXSS

Dr. Marks conducts research on the interaction between aging, exercise, brain structure/function, and cognitive decline; falls risk in older populations; tennis sports physiology


Bob McMurray, Professor, EXSS

Dr McMurray’s research is in pediatrics exercise physiology. He is currently working on a multi-site diabetes prevention project that includes 42 schools across the United States. He is also working on a family-orientated obesity reduction program. His main interests in pediatrics endocrinology focusing on the interaction of hormones and immune responses with exercise; the development and trajectory of cardiovascular disease risk factors in children and ways to reduce these risk factors. Finally he serves as the physical activity consultant for the Coordinating Center for the multi-site Hispanic Community Health Study which is examining the health of Hispanic adults across the United States.


Vicki Mercer, Associate Professor, Division of PT

Dr Mercer, PT, PhD studies postural control in older adults and in individuals with neurological dysfunction. She is particularly interested in anticipatory control prior to voluntary movement. Current areas of investigation include 1) paretic lower extremity loading and weight shifting abilities in the first 6 months after stroke and 2) interventions for improving lateral stability in stroke survivors and in older adults who are at increased risk of falls.


Joseph Myers, Associate Professor, EXSS

Joseph B. Myers, PhD, ATC Assistant Professor, Exercise and Sport Science. Dr. Myers is the Chair of the Academic Committee for the Human Movement Science Curriculum. His research focuses on the area upper extremity biomechanics and neuromuscular control, scapular dysfunction, rotator cuff injury, and upper extremity injury in the overhead athlete.


Darin Padua, Associate Professor, EXSS

Neuromuscular control of knee and shoulder joint stability, gender related risk factors associated with ACL and shoulder injury, injury prevention of ACL and shoulder injury, and assessment of scapula kinematics. Current research includes investigating the influence of trunk positioning during jump-landing maneuvers on knee joint kinetics and muscle recruitment, biomechanical comparison of ACL injury prevention interventions, and investigating the influence of fatigue and injury on scapula kinematics. Co-Investigator on an AOSSM Grant investigating the Epidemiology of ACL Injury and Jump Landing Movements.


Bill Prentice, Professor, EXSS

Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation.


Marie Reilly, Clinical Associate Professor, Division of PT

Motor learning in children; movement parameters in children with autism; strength training in children with cerebral palsy; assESSMent, treatment and outcome of premature infants


Debbie Thorpe, Associate Professor, Division of PT

Dr Thorpe is conducting research in several areas focusing on persons with developmental disabilities: 1) Effects of aging and the development of secondary conditions in persons with cerebral palsy, specifically effects on mobility and activity levels and quality of life; 2)Activity-based interventions (specifically aquatic intervention) for persons with developmental disabilities to improve function, fitness and quality of life and 3)Examining grip and load force coordination and anticipatory control during grasp in children with autism spectrum disorders and developmental delay. For more information please visit Project ACT NOW at http://www.med.unc.edu/ahs/physical/actnow and Project GRASP at http://www.med.unc.edu/ahs/physical/ProjectGRASP.html>


Paul Weinhold, Research Assistant Professor, Orthopaedics, BME

Biomechanics of musculoskeletal injury, repair, and adaptation with special focus on sports medicine-related ligament and tendon injuries. Specific topics of interest include investigating the development of in vivo and in vitro models to study the role of biomechanical factors in tendon overuse injuries, investigating the role of gender difference in motor control strategies on the occurrence of anterior cruciate ligament injuries of the knee, investigating the effect of pharmacological or tissue engineering approaches on enhancing the mechanical competence of healing ligament and tendon.


Bing Yu, Associate Professor, Division of PT

Function Evaluation for patients with osteoarthritic knees; prevention of ACL injury in sports; Musculoskeletal system modeling; Optimization of sport techniques biomechanics/movement analysis