Dr. Alison Schinkel-Ivy

Areas of Specialization:

Biomechanics, with focus on aging and clinical populations.

Research Interests:

Our Canadian population is aging, and identifying ways to better support older adults in maintaining functional mobility, independence, and quality of life is becoming increasingly important. Biomechanical changes in the performance of everyday, functional tasks (such as walking, lifting, and standing up from a chair) that occur as a result of aging have been well-established. However, less attention has been given to the relationships between different types of biomechanical signals, and how these relationships change with age or health conditions. In my lab, we use an integrated approach incorporating motion capture, force plates, and/or electromyography to investigate relationships between different biomechanical aspects of movement (such as postural stability, joint movement and coordination, and spatiotemporal parameters), and changes in these relationships across adulthood, with a focus on older adulthood. We are also seeking to link these relationships to functional outcomes in older adults, such as impaired mobility and falls; as well as exploring how these relationships are disrupted in clinical populations with perturbed gait (e.g., individuals with stroke or Parkinsonism).

Current and Future Research:

Funding:

Towards an improved understanding of aging: Quantifying changes in movement during healthy aging using an integrated biomechanical approach (2020 – 2027). Discovery Grant, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Projects:

Relationships between biomechanical domains (e.g., spatiotemporal parameters, joint kinematics, dynamic postural stability) during functional, everyday activities; and how these relationships are affected by healthy aging, stroke, and Parkinsonism.

Relationships between biomechanical domains and functional/clinical outcomes (e.g., impaired mobility, falls) in older adults.