Faculty Research Areas

Dr. Eckenrod's research interest revolves around sport psychology service provision, specifically on perceptions of sport psychology services and how sport psychology practitioners work with athletic department personnel (e.g., interprofessional team members, athletic administrators, and coaches) to best meet student-athlete needs. 

Dr. Galloway’s research focuses on childhood and early adolescent physical activity and the relation to obesity. He is currently working on a project titled Physical Activity Clearinghouse in Education (P.A.C.E.) which relates to in-school physical activity levels, influential factors, and strategies for improvement. In addition, Dr. Galloway investigates alternate exercise modalities and intensities for overweight and obese adults to provide the greatest health benefit while limiting associated risks.

Dr. Gould's research interests include the science and discovery of how sports materials and protective sport equipment interface with human biomechanics to prevent injury.

Dr. Graybeal’s research interests revolve around body composition and nutrition. Within this, Dr. Graybeal evaluates the influence of body composition and nutrition on the development of chronic disease and how interventions altering these parameters can improve this risk. Moreover, Dr. Graybeal investigates the efficacy of novel body composition techniques in identifying cardiometabolic disease risk.

Dr. Huye’s research interests are in the development and effectiveness of innovative nutrition programs in a variety of settings. Other areas of interest include impact of active learning strategies in higher education instruction.

Dr. Judge's research interests include autism spectrum disorder, motor skill development, video modeling, and eye-tracking technology.

Dr. Oliveira's research interests include the development of biofeedback-based interventions directed at improving human performance.

Dr. Piland's research interest revolves around prevention, diagnosis and management of the brain injury of concussion along with the development, design and evaluation of sport protective equipment to include body padding, bracing and headgear.

Dr. Smith’s research interest revolves around the impact physical activity has on the health of children and adolescents, specifically those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Current studies investigate the impact of physical (in)activity on cardiovascular health in young children with ASD and the feasibility of measuring cardiovascular health in this population. Her long-term research goals include the investigation of physical activity interventions in children and adolescents with ASD and the impact on overall health and well-being.

Dr. Stavres' research focuses on cardiovascular and autonomic control in humans. His current projects examine precursors to autonomic dysfunction in individuals at an elevated risk of cardiometabolic disease, as well as novel therapeutic strategies for mitigating cardiovascular and autonomic dysfunction.

Dr. Thompson's research interests include coaching education and development with specific emphasis on the impact of the coaching internship and the development of coaching ethics.

Dr. Thorsen’s research interests revolve around lower extremity biomechanics. Specifically, Dr. Thorsen investigates the impact of lower extremity biomechanics on gait function, the improvement of gait function from the implementation of exercise modalities, and the effects of footwear modification on lower extremity biomechanics.