People

MARL Staff

headshot of Vipul Lugade, PhD

Vipul Lugade, PhD

Associate Professor and Director of the MARL

Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences
HSB 620/WG SB 202/203

Research Interests

  • Gait balance control in older adults at risk of falling
  • Development of remote activity monitoring tools
  • Return-to-play decision making in adolescents with mild traumatic brain injury
  • Dual-task motor and cognitive evaluations
  • Personalized single- and dual-task intervention in adolescents with concussion and older adults with balance impairment
  • Longitudinal change in health outcomes following joint arthroplasty

Isiah Turner received a BS in kinesiology from Penn State University in 2015 and a MS in biomechanics and motor control from East Carolina University in 2022. As lab technician in the MARL, his role includes data collection and helping with research projects. Turner is particularly interested in understanding how humans move, while using computer science as a tool to analyze movement data and to help answer complex questions. He is looking to improve his computer science techniques while gaining experience collecting data.

Faculty Collaborators

headshot of Gauri MacDonald, PT, DPT, OCS

Gauri MacDonald, PT, DPT, OCS

Clinical Assistant Professor

Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences
HSB 614

Research Interests

  • Social determinants of health and physical therapy outcomes
  • Physical therapy’s role in public health
  • Psychosocial aspects of physical therapy
headshot of Kristen Mooney, PT, DPT, NCS

Kristen Mooney, PT, DPT, NCS

Director of Clinical Education and Assistant Professor, Division of Physical Therapy

Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences
HSB 623

Research Interests

  • Best practices in clinical education
  • First full-time clinical education experiences
  • Clinical outcomes in the treatment of patients with neurologic conditions
headshot of Sue O’Brien, PhD, PT, NCS, CEEAA

Sue O’Brien, PhD, PT, NCS, CEEAA

Associate Professor, Physical Therapy

Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences
HSB 621

Research Interests

  • Balance and falls in older adults
  • Clinical reasoning development and measurement
headshot of Chao Shi

Chao Shi

Assistant Professor

Systems Science and Industrial Engineering
EB J18

Research Interests

  • Human Factors
  • Human-computer interaction
  • Situation awareness
  • Visual behavior and cognition
  • Virtual reality, depression and AI
  • Multi-robot system
  • Autonomous driving in healthcare
headshot of Patima Silsupadol, PT, PhD

Patima Silsupadol, PT, PhD

Assistant Professor

Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences
HSB 616

Research Interests

  • Falls in older adults
  • Balance and gait
  • Training and rehabilitation
  • Smartphone-based assessment and intervention
headshot of Gurpreet Singh, PhD, PT

Gurpreet Singh, PhD, PT

Assistant Professor

Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences
HSB 611

Research Interests

  • Gait and balance disorders as a result of neurodegenerative disorders, with a focus on developing novel exercise strategies to reduce falls in this population

Graduate Student

Alison Helmetsie
Alison Helmetsie

Alison Helmetsie, PT, DPT, OCS, is an adjunct instructor, graduate research assistant and licensed physical therapist who has been in clinical practice since 2007. She is pursuing a PhD in systems science at the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science. Her clinical specialties include orthopedics and occupational health, and her research interests include ergonomics, work-related injury prevention and enhancing worker well-being

Undergraduate Students

Anthony Albanese
Anthony Albanese

Anthony Albanese is a senior majoring in computer science who is assisting in providing security and functionality for the MARL feedback website. He is interested in programming and algorithms and creating small projects such as discord bots.

Sara Bautists
Sara Bautista

Sara Bautista is a psychology major and digital data studies minor who is developing a website to provide data feedback for those participating in the studies conducted in the MARL. Her interests include coding, data analysis and learning principles in psychology. Upon graduation (expected in May 2024), she aims to pursue a master's degree in computer science. She also intends to combine her interests in psychology and computer science into a career developing artificial intelligence.

Natalia Gierlachowski
Natalia Gierlachowski
Natalia Gierlachowski is a junior psychology student with a digital data studies minor on a pre-occupational therapy track. Her interests include mental health advocacy. She is a member of POPTA, a club for physical and occupational therapy students. She hopes to explore data collection and patient interaction at the MARL.

Sirei Jace
Sirei Jace

Sirei Jace is a junior nursing major assisting in the MARL alongside nursing clinicals, combining the skills learned in both to help patients and participants. His interests include medicine, public health and patient care in all units of the hospital. He hopes to utilize the care and experience of nursing alongside medical diagnostic and prognostic aspects in the future.

Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson

Eric Johnson is a junior studying biological sciences. He plans to pursue a doctorate in physical therapy. His interests include watching baseball, going to the gym and playing basketball. He is also a member of POPTA, a Binghamton University club for physical and occupational therapy students.

Noah Pulakos
Noah Pulakos is a pre-occupational therapy student going into his junior year at Binghamton. He is a member of POPTA, a campus club for physical and occupational therapy students. His hobbies include basketball, weight training and cooking. He is also interested in computer science, which he’s looking forward to further exploring in the MARL and during the remainder of his college career.

Alumni

  • Arianna Cole
  • Jessica Neuner
  • Molly Torbitt