Boise State team awarded $8 million to develop hub for human movement studies

Musculoskeletal health is critical to maintaining a high quality of life, yet about 50% of U.S. citizens suffer from musculoskeletal disorders costing nearly $1 trillion annually. With major support from the the National Institutes of Health in the form of $8 million over five years, Boise State researchers plan to combat these concerning statistics by developing the Lifelong Interdisciplinary Movement, Biomechanics, and Respiration (LIMBR) Center.

LIMBR will be a national hub for excellence in multidisciplinary human movement research across the entire lifespan. While biomechanics and respiration have traditionally been siloed, Boise State's innovative researchers will integrate these disciplines in a truly novel intersection of study.

With this award, the team will refurbish the campus' former aquatic center and merge team members' existing research labs, creating a comprehensive space where posture, movement and musculoskeletal health can be studied directly alongside pulmonary function throughout the lifecycle. The space will feature two main motion capture lab spaces, a separate respiratory lab, a clinical exam room and a mechanical testing room.

"This gives us a unique opportunity to expand on our existing work and deepen its impact, allowing us to conduct research that truly supports people across the entire lifespan," said Erin Mannen, associate professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering and director of the Boise Applied Biomechanics of Infants Lab. "At Boise State, our research spans the full lifecycle from one-month-old infants to the elderly, and the LIMBR Center will allow us to accelerate discovery and translation to improve health and mobility at every stage of life."

The center will be able to support interdisciplinary projects ranging from infant product safety, post-concussion injury assessment, respiratory and biomechanical impacts of wildfire smoke on firefighters and youth athletes, early detection of stress fractures, to fall-prevention for older adults. The team has multidisciplinary projects planned with investigators across campus - from radiological sciences, respiratory care, materials science, engineering, kinesiology and athletics, as well as regional and national clinical partners.

"Designing this space from the ground up allows us to rethink how human movement is studied. Rather than being constrained by an existing layout, we can build an environment around real human movement, creating new, more realistic ways to study injury risk, performance and health," said Tyler Brown, associate professor of kinesiology and director for the Center for Orthopaedic and Biomechanics Research.

In addition to Mannen and Brown, the awarded research team is led by principal investigator Nancy Glenn, the vice president for the Division of Research and Economic Development; and Matt Lundgren, assistant vice president of research integrity and infrastructure.

"This award to the College of Health Sciences and College of Engineering strengthens Boise State's leadership in biomedical research, expands our capacity to foster regional and national partners, and increases student access to state-of-the-art facilities and training," Glenn said. "Together with our recent $10.7 million award in clinical and translational research, this investment accelerates Boise State's continued growth in biomedical research excellence."

Research awards and sponsored projects would not be possible without the internal support of Division of Research and Economic Development personnel, including, but not limited to: Center for Research and Creative Activity assistant director, Kaitlin Maguire; project manager Denise Pfeifer; research development coordinator, Kathryn Lucas; research administrator, Adam Musser; grants and contracts officer, Kris Marshall; and post-award deputy assistant director, Sandi Yorita.

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award Number 1C06OD039937-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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