The Origins of Balance Deficits and Falls (OBDAF) research cluster is one of the 23 emerging research clusters funded by the UBC Grants for Catalyzing Research Clusters in 2018. The OBDAF Cluster is led by Drs. Mark Carpenter, Jean-Sébastien Blouin, and Tim Inglis, and includes five other Kinesiology researchers: Drs. Lam, Chua, Kramer, Siegmund, Dalton. These researchers are among the 26 active OBDAF cluster members that are drawn from 6 different departments and schools at UBC, and a wide network of institutions across BC (Univ. of Victoria, SFU), Canada (Univ. of Alberta, Guelph, Brock, Waterloo), and Europe (Basel, Nijmegen, Liverpool, Rotherdam). Cluster members are internationally recognized experts in the study of human balance and mobility, and share a passion for research that aims to understand the mechanistic principles of healthy balance control and origins of balance deficits and falls. The research cluster examines the sensori-motor, orthopaedic, psychological and neurological factors that contribute to fall risk in older adults, and individuals with Parkinson’s disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis, vestibular loss, and traumatic brain injury. This research is crucial for developing new tools, therapeutic interventions and technologies to reduce the likelihood and impact of balance instability and falls. Over the past 5 years, members of the cluster have attracted over $7.3M of funding for 78 projects, and generated over 630 publications with over 6,600 citations. The cluster continues to develop exciting new collaborative research projects and partnerships, and support its growing cluster of trainees. The ODBAF cluster is also excited to announce the recent launch of their new website.
Please visit the website to learn more about the OBDAF Research Cluster, its members, and upcoming activities and events.