Associate Professor of Epidemiology
Specialty Areas: osteoarthritis, physical therapy, physical activity, chronic musculoskeletal pain, musculoskeletal injury, health disparities, biomechanics, biomarkers
Chronology: BS Physical Therapy: The Ohio State University, 1998; MS Human Movement Science: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2005; PhD Epidemiology: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2010. Physical Therapist, Jefferson Hospital Pittsburgh, PA, 1999-2001;Physical Therapist, Avante Physical Therapy, Inc., Cary, NC, 2001-2002; Physical Therapist, Rex Healthcare, Raleigh, NC, 2003-2004; Project Coordinator/Research Assistant, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham, NC, 2003-2010; Physical Therapist, Physical Recovery, Durham, NC, 2004-2005; Physical Therapist, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, NC, 2005-2009; Postdoctoral Fellow, Thurston Arthritis Research Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2010-2012; Research Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2012-2016; Interim Project Director, Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2014-2015; Grants Program Officer, Osteoarthritis Action Alliance, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2014-2020; Co-Director of Research, Osteoarthritis Action Alliance, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2020-present; Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2016-2021; Adjunct Assistant Professor, Division of Physical Therapy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2016-2021; Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2021-present; Adjunct Associate Professor, Division of Physical Therapy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2021-present.
Description of research and/or clinical interests: Dr. Golightly is a musculoskeletal epidemiologist and a physical therapist whose research focuses on the long-term effects of musculoskeletal injury and disorders of the lower extremity. These long-term consequences include osteoarthritis, pain, and disability. She is especially interested in identifying modifiable risk factors for injury and OA, and developing non-pharmacologic/non-surgical treatments and prevention strategies for musculoskeletal disorders.
Selected Bibliography:
Flowers P, Nelson AE, Hannan MT, Hillstrom HJ, Renner JB, Jordan JM, Golightly YM. Foot osteoarthritis frequency and associated factors in a community-based cross-sectional study of White and African American adults. Arthritis Care and Research [In press, accepted for publication 2020 Aug].
Smith-Ryan AE, Blue MNM, Anderson KC, Hirsch KR, Allen KD, Huebner JL, Muehlbauer MJ, Ilkayeva OR, Slentz CA, Kraus VB, Kraus WE, Golightly YM, Huffman KM. Metabolic and physiological effects of high intensity interval training in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a pilot and feasibility study. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Open 2020 Dec; 2 (4): 100083.
Goode AP, Cleveland RJ, George SZ, Kraus VB, Schwartz TA, Gracely RH, Jordan JM, Golightly YM. Different Phenotypes of Osteoarthritis in the Lumbar Spine Reflected by Demographic and Clinical Characteristics: the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project. Arthritis Care and Research 2020 Jul; 72 (7):974-981.
Shiue KY, Cleveland RJ, Schwartz TA, Nelson AE, Kraus VB, Hannan MT, Hillstrom HJ, Goode AP, Flowers PPE, Renner, JB, Jordan JM, Golightly YM. Is the association between knee injury and knee osteoarthritis modified by the presence of general joint hypermobility? Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Open 2020 Jun; 2 (2): 100045.
Shmuel S, Lund JL, Alvarez C, Hsu CD, Palta P, Kucharska-Newton A, Jordan JM, Nelson AE, Golightly YM. Polypharmacy and Incident Frailty in a Longitudinal Community-based Cohort Study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2019 Dec; 67 (12): 2482-2489.
Golightly YM, Hannan MT, Nelson AE, Hillstrom HJ, Cleveland RJ, Kraus VB, Schwartz TA, Goode AP, Flowers P, Renner JB, Jordan JM. Relationship of joint hypermobility with ankle and foot radiographic osteoarthritis and symptoms in a community-based cohort. Arthritis Care and Research 2019 Apr; 71 (4): 538-544.
Gullo TR, Golightly YM, Flowers P, Jordan JM, Renner JB, Schwartz TA, Kraus VB, Hannan MT, Cleveland RJ, Nelson AE. Joint hypermobility is not positively associated with prevalent multiple joint osteoarthritis: a cross-sectional study of older adults. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. 2019 Apr 11; 20 (1): 165.
Goode AP, Cleveland RJ, Schwartz TA, Nelson AE, Kraus VB, Hillstrom HJ, Hannan MT, Flowers P, Renner JB, Jordan JM, Golightly YM. Relationship of joint hypermobility with low back pain and lumbar spine osteoarthritis. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. 2019 Apr; 20 (1): 158.
Flowers PPE, Cleveland RJ, Schwartz TA, Nelson AE, Kraus VB, Hillstrom HJ, Goode AP, Hannan MT, Renner JB, Jordan JM, Golightly YM. Association between general joint hypermobility and knee, hip, and lumbar spine osteoarthritis by race: a cross-sectional study. Arthritis Research and Therapy 2018 Apr 18; 20 (1): 76.
Golightly YM, Allen KD, Ambrose KR, Stiller JL, Evenson KR, Voisin C, Hootman JM, Callahan LF. Physical activity as a vital sign: a systematic review. Preventing Chronic Disease 2017 Nov 30; 14: E123
Nelson AE, Golightly YM, Renner JB, Schwartz TA, Liu F, Lynch JA, Gregory JS, Aspden RM, Lane NE, Jordan JM. Variations in hip shape are associated with radiographic knee osteoarthritis: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project. Journal of Rheumatology 2016 Feb 43 (2): 405-10.
Golightly YM, Allen KD, Jordan JM. Defining the burden of osteoarthritis in population-based surveys. Arthritis Care and Research 2016 May 68 (5): 571-3.
