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Third-year Doctor of Occupational Therapy students Tina Bittle, Paige Beeney and Cristina Martinez developed their interest in research while working on a project with a local high school to provide modified ride-on toy cars to young children with physical disabilities.

The three presented “Partnering with community organizations to address early mobility,” one of 39 research posters at �����Թ�’s second annual Rehabilitation Research Day, held May 13 on campus.

“We really need relevant research in our field, so this is great,” Bittle said of the research day. “I think this was great practice for a poster presentation.”

The day-long event included the keynote address “Neuromodulation for Spinal Cord Injury: A Whole-Body Approach” by Susan Harkema, PhD, professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery, Anatomical Sciences & Neurobiology at the University of Louisville and associate director of the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center. The event also included panel discussions on neuromodulation and research collaboration among departments, 14 platform sessions and 39 poster presentations.

“The event was very successful and allowed each department to become better acquainted with the work each department is doing,” said Associate Professor Greg Ernst, PT, PhD, ECS, chair of the Department of Physical Therapy and one of the organizers of the event. “We hope that this will facilitate collaborative projects in the future.”

In addition to the Department of Physical Therapy, the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Occupational Therapy and the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders participated in the event, Dr. Ernst said.