Education

B.S., Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 2000
Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology/Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 2006
FIRST Postdoctoral Fellow, 2007 - 2008

Research Statement

Maintaining balance and upright posture during a perturbation is a seemingly simple task that requires the integration of sensory and motor systems. Despite years of investigation, the computational complexities during such a task are not well understood. My research interests involve studying the neural mechanisms underlying the control of posture and balance in people of varying skills. For instance, how do the balance capabilities and characteristics differ between highly trained Tai Chi practitioners and those people with impairments and deficits (i.e. clinical or aged populations). My research goals are to apply computational methods, such as non-negative matrix factorization, to decipher patterns of muscle activation, or muscle synergies, resulting from multidirectional platform perturbations in both highly trained and deficit populations. Furthermore, I hope to explore the neural mechanisms responsible for these differences in balance capabilities and use this information to develop novel rehabilitation strategies for clinical or aged populations.

Publications

Nichols, R., Ross, K.T. (2009) The implications of force feedback for the lambda model. Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 629:663-79.

Ross, K.T., Nichols, T.R. (2009)  Heterogenic feedback between hindlimb extensors in the spontaneously locomoting premammillary cat. J. Neurophys. 101(1): 184-197.

Nichols, T.R., Ross, K.T. (2006) The Implications of force feedback for the l model. In: Progress in Motor Control V: A Multidisciplinary Perspective. Ed. Latash, ML. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2006 (in press).

Ross, K.T., Nichols, T.R. Autogenic feedback among hindlimb extensors in the spontaneously locomoting premammillary cat. J. Neurophys. (manuscript submission September, 2008).

Georgia State University
Department of Biology
293 Kell
P. O. Box 4010
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-4010
Tel: 404.413.5070
Email: kyla.t.ross@gmail.com