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By Kate Hunger 

Department of Physical Therapy Assistant Professor Gustavo Almeida, PT, Ph.D., is exploring how blood flow restriction exercises during rehabilitation can help people with knee osteoarthritis strengthen their muscles with less physical exertion—and less pain. His research recently received a major boost with his selection as an RL5 Scholar by the San Antonio Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (SA OAIC).  

“It will mean a big jump start in my research career, in developing my own line of research and becoming a leader in the area of exercises using blood flow restriction in individuals with knee osteoarthritis,” Dr. Almeida said of his participation in the career development research program.

Dr. Almeida is the first School of Health Professions faculty member to receive an RL5 award through the SA OIC, said Timothy Reistetter, Ph.D., OTR, FAOTA, associate dean for research and professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy. Dr. Almeida’s blood flow restriction exercises pilot research in knee osteoarthritis also has been supported by a grant from the School of Health Professions. 

“It’s an extension of work he started on his pilot, and he’s going to grow it,” Dr. Reistetter said. “It’s a good synergistic collaboration between the School of Health Professions and the School of Medicine, the Pepper Center, and potentially, the community.”

The opportunity to connect with other researchers from a variety of specialties is a major benefit of the program, Dr. Almeida said.

“That will open the door to collaborate with people I’ve never met before, from clinical to basic-science researchers,” he added. 

Funded by the National Institute on Aging, the RL5 award safeguards 75% of Dr. Almeida’s time for career development and his research program, covers half of his salary for two years, and provides $40,000 over two years in research support.

“The RL5 is protected time for you to dig into what you want to learn,” said Dr. Almeida, who as part of the program will take courses on research methodology, statistics, and clinical and translational science beginning in January. “This is all about career development, to develop a skill that you have not mastered yet. And that’s me—I always focused on clinical research, and now I’m learning the basic science and translating it into clinical research.”

Joint pain prevents people with knee osteoarthritis from tolerating the appropriate resistance to gain muscle strength in their rehabilitation workouts. Blood flow restriction exercises use a band on the thigh to restrict the blood flow, allowing the patient to perform exercises with much lower resistance than the traditional resistance training.

“I’m going to be looking at muscle composition and muscle strength in older adults with knee osteoarthritis,” Dr. Almeida said. “They are going to go through this blood flow restriction training, and I am going to be looking at the more basic science to see how does changing muscle composition affects strength and function.”

in the United States are named after the late U.S. senator and congressman from Florida, Claude D. Pepper, who advocated for research to improve the lives and health care of older Americans. Dr. Almeida, who earned his Ph.D. in rehabilitation science at the University of Pittsburgh, was previously funded by and obtained research training at the Pepper Center in Pittsburgh. 

In another recognition of his research success, Dr. Almeida in December received the School of Health Professions’ George Kudolo Award for Research Excellence, named in honor of Dr. George Kudolo, a full professor with tenure in the Department of Health Sciences and a leader in nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular disease research.