{"689222":{"#nid":"689222","#data":{"type":"event","title":"PhD Defense by Charles [Jake] Creech","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EDoctor of Philosophy in Applied Physiology\u003Cbr\u003EIn the\u003Cbr\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECharles [Jake] Creech\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EWill defend his dissertation\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECENTER OF MASS CONTROL DURING OVERGROUND WALKING IN\u003Cbr\u003EPEOPLE WITH INCOMPLETE SPINAL CORD INJURY\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EApril 13th, 2026\u003Cbr\u003E9 AM EST\u003Cbr\u003EApplied Physiology Building (555 14th St.), Room 1253\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EVirtual Platform Link Available Upon Request\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EThesis Advisor:\u003Cbr\u003EDr. Edelle Field-Fote, PT, Ph.D., FAPTA\u003Cbr\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003Cbr\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECommittee Members:\u003Cbr\u003EEdward Balog, Ph.D.\u003Cbr\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003Cbr\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EYoung-Hui Chang, Ph.D.\u003Cbr\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003Cbr\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EGreg Sawicki, Ph.D.\u003Cbr\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences, Mechanical Engineering\u003Cbr\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ETrisha Kesar, PT, Ph.D.\u003Cbr\u003EDivision of Physical Therapy, School of Medicine\u003Cbr\u003EEmory University\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EABSTRACT:\u003Cbr\u003EAmong people with motor incomplete spinal cord injury (PwMISCI) who are ambulatory, most falls occur during walking. Maintaining balance during walking requires control of the body\u2019s center of mass (CoM). As control of the CoM is influenced by kinematics of the lower extremities, altered motor control in PwMISCI can lead to instability during walking. To characterize control of the body\u2019s CoM in PwMISCI, this thesis has two main aims: 1) assess the relationship between CoM acceleration and lower limb kinematics (i.e. gait quality) in PwMISCI and 2) compare mediolateral (ML) CoM acceleration during stance phase in individuals who are neurologically intact (NI) to PwMISCI. In Aim 1, we investigated the impact of commonly utilized and clinically modifiable measures of gait quality on acceleration of the CoM during overground walking in PwMISCI. We found that gait quality significantly impacted CoM acceleration with intralimb coordination and propulsion accounting for most of the variance. In Aim 2, we investigated ML CoM acceleration across the stance phase in PwMISCI compared to people who are NI. We found that PwMISCI demonstrated an increased magnitude of gait speed-normalized CoM acceleration in comparison to their NI peers. Furthermore, we determined that PwMISCI demonstrated altered patterns and magnitudes of acceleration that differ from people who are NI. Overall, these analyses provided insights toward the relationship between lower limb kinematics and dynamic stability during walking in PwMISCI that may supply clinicians with useful information for developing plans of care.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECENTER OF MASS CONTROL DURING OVERGROUND WALKING IN\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPEOPLE WITH INCOMPLETE SPINAL CORD INJURY\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"CENTER OF MASS CONTROL DURING OVERGROUND WALKING IN PEOPLE WITH INCOMPLETE SPINAL CORD INJURY "}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2026-03-27 16:34:01","changed_gmt":"2026-03-27 16:34:34","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2026-04-13T09:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2026-04-13T11:00:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2026-04-13T11:00:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2026-04-13 13:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2026-04-13 15:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2026-04-13 15:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"Applied Physiology Building (555 14th St.), Room 1253","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"100811","name":"Phd Defense"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78771","name":"Public"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}