The day-long conference highlights emerging research across the interdisciplinary fields of kinesiology, exercise science, rehabilitation sciences and biomedical engineering.
Several members of the Elon University faculty and students presented at the annual Human Movement Science Conference on April 4, including Matt Wittstein, associate professor of exercise science, who gave the keynote address.
Each spring, graduate students in the human movement science curriculum at UNC-Chapel Hill organize a day-long conference highlighting emerging research across the interdisciplinary fields of kinesiology, exercise science, rehabilitation sciences and biomedical engineering.
Wittstein offered a deeply personal account of his academic and professional path, tracing his journey from his undergraduate days at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, through his pivot into human movement science, to work in industry and eventually the pursuit of a doctorate. Reflecting on more than a decade at Elon, he emphasized the balance he has found between research, mentorship and teaching. He also spoke candidly about challenges along the way, including periods of depression, the search for personal and professional identity and purpose, and how the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped his engagement with professional societies and institutional service.
The conference also spotlighted original research by students and faculty. Jill Dolman ’25 and Srikant Vallabhajosula, professor of physical therapy education, presented their collaborative study, “Concurrent Validity of Wearable Sensors for Walking in Young Adults.” Their work supports the use of wearable technology to evaluate gait in real-world settings, with implications for pediatric assessment.
Another project, “Comparison of Peak Hip Joint Angles in Static and Dynamic Positions with Active Range of Motion in Bharatanatyam Dancers,” combined biomechanics and cultural dance analysis. The study was conducted by Doctor of Physical Therapy students Kaitlin Kerr-Osman, Avery McCamy, and Kayla Liles, in collaboration with faculty members Jack Magill and Vallabhajosula.
In a fitting full-circle moment, the conference also marked the ten-year anniversary of a formative connection. It was in spring 2013, at this event, that Wittstein and Vallabhajosula first met—unaware that their paths would later converge as colleagues and collaborators in the field of human movement science.