Dr. Christi Williams, Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy at Belmont, has received a research grant from the Tennessee Physical Therapy Association (TPTA) for her project entitled, “Certified Therapy Animal Effect on Biometric Measures and Stress for Graduate Professional Students.”  The study, utilizing Layla, a certified therapy dog, will assess stress and anxiety by measuring heart rate and blood pressure and filling out an anxiety questionnaire before Kinesiology lab practicals – comparing those with exposure to Layla and those without exposure.  Results will come at the end of the semester after the final practical.

TPTA also has accepted four research projects by Belmont University physical therapy faculty and doctoral students for poster presentation at their upcoming spring meeting.  Dr. Cathy Hinton and her student research group of Kylie Cook, Teresa Brennan, Lauren Land and Breanna Poore will present a poster on their research entitled,  “A Comparison of the Effects of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation and Stretching on Hamstring Extensibility.”  Dr. Suzanne Greenwalt and her student research group of Grace Cronin, Ladi Stallard, and Katie Spruell will present the results of their research on the “Effect of Dual-Task on Gait Velocity in Geriatric Subjects with Mild-Moderate Cognitive Decline.”   Dr. John Halle, along with students Josh Baker, Chris Van Fleet and Emily Loehrlein will showcase their research on the “Impact of Time on POST Warm Up Club Head Speed in Low Handicap Golfers.”  Dr. Kevin Robinson and his student group of Ciara Garcia, Ashley Gowen, Ashley Henley and Amy Krichau will present their research on the “Retrospective Analysis of the Pre-Season Screen Used in a Professional Ballet Company with Recommendations for Improvements in the Screen.”

The TPTA spring meeting will be held April 8^th & 9^th at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Franklin.