COBRE

Human Movement Variability

The majority of the students are in Biomechanics and/or Motor Development and Control, but we also have students from Mechanical Engineering, Neuroscience, Biology, etc. It is evident that our COBRE absolutely transforms the research culture in our institution by augmenting the research “know-how” assets within the University.

Why?

• To look at a variety of motor related disorders in the neuromuscular system.
• MOVCENTR scientists are researching optimal approaches for therapies on the restoration of variability and complexity of movement that could be applied across a range of diseases.

How?

• Funding through the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
• COBRE Award P20GM109090, is now in the 6th year of funding.
• Providing funding for research projects, pilot projects, faculty, student research experience and staff.

Watch

• Watch PI of the COBRE and Director of the MOVCENTR, Dr. Nick Stergiou in his TED talk, The Importance of Human Variation in Human Movement.
• Our grant has been able to fund new projects, reaching many young faculty members and their teams. To date, the grant has enabled us to fund three research associates, three laboratory technicians, 15 graduate students and 17 undergraduate students. These students are shared among the four research projects participating in all aspects of the projects. Thus, leading to success in several other fields.

Growth

• The MOVCENTR facilities more than doubled in size, expanding the Biomechanics Research Building to 53,000 sq ft.
• MOVCENTR has received national recognition for our state-of-the-art facilities, by our faculty presenting research at national conferences, and performing collaborative research across the country.

Education

• The Bachelor of Biomechanics degree and the Minor in Biomechanics is available for undergraduate students.
• The Master's in Biomechanics is the newest edition to our growth of education.

Impact

• The MOVCENTR conducted an economic impact evaluation through UNO's Department of Economic's to determine the economic impact the MOVCENTR has had on the Omaha Metropolitan area. It was determined that each year the COBRE award provides over $1.5 million dollars back into the community.
• Faculty research project lead's have received additional funding through the NIH, the American Heart Association, and the NSF, including an NIH R01, an NIH R15, and AHA fellowship, and an NSF EPSCoR FIRST award.
• Doctoral students funded by the MOVCENTR have received funding through the NIH, NSF, and AHA, including an NIH F31, NSF Fellowship, and AHA Doctoral Fellowship.

Recognition

The Stanford Research Institute (SRI) International provided a comprehensive report of the Biomedical Technology capabilities at the state of the Nebraska. In this report SRI stated that “The University of Nebraska Omaha is home to world class research in biomechanics.” Furthermore, Biomechanics was ranked as No. 9 (tied with Northwestern University and University of Pittsburgh) in the USA. This was the highest ranking achieved by any other biomedical technology field at UNO, UNMC, and UN. We are certain that our Center’s successes have allowed us to receive such a national ranking.