Jason’s primary research interest intersects head trauma biomechanics with clinical outcomes in civilian athletes and military warfighters. He investigates the effectiveness of innovative concussion assessment, management, and rehabilitation technologies. He is additionally interested in the interrelationships between ocular and vestibular function, as well as the utility of neuroimaging and neurophysiology, in the context of the concussion management paradigm. He has developed smartphone applications designed to assist lay rescuers in recognize concussion signs and symptoms and intervene accordingly. Jason also studies field management of neurotraumatic spine-related injuries.

Her research projects have addressed occupational-related and athletic-related injuries and illnesses in athletes of all ages, commercial fishermen, carpenters, certified athletic trainers, military cadets, firefighters, and university hospital employees. Community engagement surrounding implementation of best practices for prevention and improved reporting of catastrophic sports-related injuries and medical conditions are areas of current interest. Dr. Kucera’s work has been funded by The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and the National Operating committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment.

Adam’s research takes a complex systems approach to both performance enhancement and injury prevention in sport. He integrates portable technologies with artificial intelligence (AI) to improve training and clinical outcomes. His expertise in behavioral dynamics and AI provides an innovative approach to measuring, modeling and analyzing the complexity of healthy and pathological human performance in a variety of contexts. His most recent work is focused on modeling athlete phenomics and phenotypic plasticity in the context of athlete health.

Erik’s primary research focus includes exercise testing and training in clinical populations, with an emphasis in prostate cancer. He is interested in the role of exercise to improve skeletal muscle function during anti-cancer therapies. He also examines how the immune system responds to acute and chronic exercise during cancer treatment, both as a potential therapy and means of reducing disease recurrence. 

Dr. Courtney’s research is focused on applying advanced data analytics to identify the patterns, determinants, and outcomes associated with engagement in health behaviors. Dr. Courtney primarily studies two health behaviors – physical activity and alcohol use. Her research aims to uncover the within-person temporal and contextual dynamics of physical activity and alcohol use behaviors, as well as the reasons underlying engagement in these health behaviors (both individually and in tandem with one another), through a variety of research methods, including (a) intensive longitudinal device-based measures of physical activity and alcohol use, (b) ecological momentary assessments of psychosocial variables such as motivation, affect, and behavioral intentions and (c) short- and long-term measures of physical health outcomes (e.g., obesity, inflammation). Dr. Courtney employs advanced statistical modeling approaches, such as multilevel and latent growth curve modeling, to model the within- and between-person associations of health behaviors, predictors, and outcomes. My long-term goal is to improve human health by using my research to increase knowledge about predictors and outcomes of engagement in multiple health behaviors to inform intervention development and public health recommendations.

Dr. Blue’s research is focused on components of cardiometabolic health with a special interest in racial and ethnic minority populations. Specifically, Dr. Blue evaluates body composition, muscle characteristics, and cardiovascular function and how these components are interrelated in overall health and disease risk. Additionally, Dr. Blue’s research interests include the relationship between body composition, performance and injury risk in various athletic populations.

Dr. Battaglini’s research focuses on the effects of acute and chronic exercise on physiological, psychological, and physical functioning in cancer patients.

I’m a public school product, advocate and supporter – and have enjoyed training future physical therapists at UNC for many years. Neurologic PT practice has been my focus since a rehab rotation as a student, I’m especially interested in cognitive processes and how they interact with motor function. This is an area that I’ve researched in older adults and in individuals with brain injury, with recent efforts emphasizing mTBI in the military population.

Areas of Interest: Biomechanics and motor learning aspects of gait rehabilitation for individuals with stroke or Parkinson disease.