UD Physical Therapy Faculty
Biographical Sketch

Darcy Reisman , PT, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Department of Physical Therapy 
University of Delaware 
301 McKinly Lab. 
Newark, DE 19716
Ph: (302) 831-0508
fax: (302) 831-4234
E-mail: dreisman@udel.edu
Back to Dr. Reisman's Personal Home Page
Education Current Research
Professional History Publications
Honors & Awards Presentations
Professional Organizations/Societies Courses Taught/Coordinated
Service Student Advising
Grants The Lab

EDUCATION

PROFESSIONAL HISTORY

  • Research Assistant Professor, University of Delaware, Department of Physical Therapy and Graduate Program in Biomechanics and Movement Science, Newark, DE. Teaching: Neurophysiologic Evaluation and Treatment Academic Director: Neurologic and Older Adult Physical Therapy Clinic. 5/06-present.
  • Temporary Assistant Professor, University of Delaware, Department of Physical Therapy and Graduate Program in Biomechanics and Movement Science, Newark, DE. Teaching: Neurophysiologic Evaluation and Treatment, Rehabilitation, Neurologic and Older Adult Integrated Clinical Experience. Academic Director: Neurologic and Older Adult Physical Therapy Clinic. 9/03-5/06.
  • Post-doctoral research training, Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Mentor: Amy Bastian, PhD, PT. 9/03-9/05.
  • Supplemental Faculty, University of Delaware, Department of Physical Therapy, Newark, DE. Advanced Neurotherapeutics. 1/00-2/01.
  • Adjunct Faculty/Lab Instructor, Ithaca College, Department of Physical Therapy, Rochester Campus, Rochester, NY for Neurology I & II. 9/97-5/98.
  • Consultant Physical Therapist, Lifetime Assistance, Inc., Rochester, NY. Responsibilities: Physical Therapy services for developmentally disabled persons. 1/9 -11/98.
  • Per Diem Physical Therapist, Unity Health System, Rochester, NY. Responsibilities: Per diem Physical Therapy services for Brain Injury Unit, Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center, Acute Care and SNF. 8/96-11/98.
  • Primary Physical Therapist, Elm Manor Nursing Home, Canandaigua, NY. Responsibilities: Physical Therapy services for geriatric population, supervision of PTA & Rehabilitation Aide, ongoing program development. 7/96 -11/98.
  • Staff Physical Therapist, Virginia-Mason Medical Center, Seattle, WA. Responsibilities: Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit, Outpatient Neurologic Rehabilitation Program (CARF -accredited interdisciplinary outpatient program), Clinical Instructor. 10/94 -6/96.
  • Staff Physical Therapist, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH. Responsibilities: General Acute Care with an emphasis in Orthopaedics and General/Vascular Surgery patient populations, Clinical Instructor. 1/93-10/94.
  • Graduate Teaching Assistant, The College of St. Scholastica, Physical Therapy Department. 9/91 -5/92.

HONORS/AWARDS

  • Nominee; Margaret L Moore Award for Outstanding New Academic Faculty Member, 2007.
  • Graduation Speaker; University of Delaware Department of Physical Therapy, January, 2006.
  • Recipient; University of Delaware Competitive Fellowship, Academic year 2002-2003.
  • Recipient; University of Delaware Competitive Fellowship, Academic year 2001-2002.
  • Recipient; Mary McMillan Doctoral Scholarship, Academic year 1999-2000.

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS/SOCIETIES

SERVICE

GRANTS

Funded

  • Principal Investigator (75% effort). K01 HD050582-01A1 Locomotor Adaptations Following Stroke, $604,015. Primary Mentor, Amy Bastian. Secondary Mentor, Lynn Snyder-Mackler. Funding period: 4/20/06-3/31/2011
  • Principal Investigator (20% effort). AHA 0765314U Relationship Between Speed and Walking Function Post-stroke , $100,000. Co-Investigators: Katherine Rudolph, William Farquhar. Funding period: 7/1/2007-6/30/2009.
  • Co-Investigator (5% effort). Fast Treadmill Training and Functional Electrical Stimulation (FastFES) to Improve Walking Post-stroke, $2,231,992 over 5 years. Principal Investigator: Stuart Binder-MacLeod. Additional Co-Investigators: Katherine Rudolph, William Farquhar, Jill Higginson. Funding period: TBA.

Pending

  • Co-Investigator (5% effort). Observation of physical and occupation therapy treatment for people with hemiparesis after stroke. Principal Investigator: Catherine Lang. Submitted to the Foundation for Physical Therapy.

Completed

  • Co-Investigator. NIH/NCRR 1S10RR22396-01 Motion Analysis System for Study of Human Movement Dysfunction, $222,492. Principal Investigator: Lynn Snyder-Mackler. Additional Co-Investigators: Katherine Rudolph, John Scholz, Irene Davis. Funding period: 4/01/2006-3/31/2007.
  • Co-Investigator (20% effort). NIH R21 HD047468-01 Smart Knee Brace, $275,000. Principal Investigator: Katy Rudolph, Additional Co-Investigators: Stuart Binder-Macleod, Jian-Qiao Sun. Funding period: 9/1/04-8/31/06.

CURRENT RESEARCH

  • Principle Investigator. Locomotor Adaptations Following Stroke. K01 HD050582-01A1. Collaborators: Amy J. Bastian, PhD, PT; Lynn Snyder-Mackler, ScD, PT Funding period: 4/20/06-3/31/2011.

    • Click image for video.       		Of the 700,000 persons affected by stroke each year, 50% will continue to demonstrate long term walking dysfunction, some caused by poor coordination between the legs. This research investigates the potential of a novel type of treadmill walking to influence coordination between the legs in persons who have sustained a stroke. The goal of the present research is to understand the capacity of persons with post-stroke hemiparesis to adapt locomotor interlimb coordination and the influence of this on gait symmetry. The long-term research goal is to develop scientifically-based therapies to advance the physical rehabilitation and recovery of locomotion in persons following a stroke. The current research tests the general hypothesis that persons with post-stroke hemiparesis are able to adapt their locomotor patterns following walking on a split-belt treadmill, where each leg is moved at a different speed.
      It is hypothesized that the adapted pattern of interlimb coordination following split-belt treadmill locomotion may be used to improve gait symmetry and function in persons post-stroke. Specific aims will test: 1) the capacity of persons with post-stroke hemiparesis to adapt interlimb coordination, 2) the generalization of adapted patterns to overground locomotion and, 3) the feasibility of using split-belt treadmill training to improve gait symmetry in persons post-stroke. Click here for video.
  • Speed Manipulation and Locomotion Post-Stroke.
    • An understanding of the relationship between walking speed, walking patterns and energy costs is critical to the development of optimal walking interventions for people with hemiparesis after a stroke. The long term goal of this research is to develop speed dependent treadmill training programs that improve walking speed, symmetry and ultimately community participation in people with hemiparesis after stroke. Asymmetry and slow walking speed are hallmarks of gait dysfunction in people with hemiparesis. Walking speed is important because it predicts community participation in these persons.Changes in walking patterns are dependent upon the level of impairment of the subject and the speed at which subjects are asked to walk. Understanding how the level of impairment and speed interact to differentially affect walking patterns will likely lead to the development of a dose-response curve that is specific to the level of impairment so that training programs will be enhanced. Walking speed not only affects walking patterns, but also energy expenditure. It is well known that in healthy young and older adults aerobic demand is lowest at the self-selected speed and it increases at faster and slower speeds.
      Although slow walking speed is one of the most consistent gait impairments observed following stroke, remarkably few studies have investigated the aerobic demand of walking in subjects with hemiparesis. It is unclear if the self-selected speed at which people with hemiparesis walk represents the speed of lowest energy cost. An understanding of the relationship between walking speed and energy expenditure in persons post-stroke is critical for determining the optimal training speeds to be used in treadmill training interventions. This project involves the systematic manipulation of walking speed in persons with hemipareis with varying levels of walking impairment to determine the effect of speed on walking patterns and energy expenditure.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Journal Articles

PRESENTATIONS
Peer-Reviewed Abstracts and Presentations

  • Roos M, Rudolph K, Kesar T, Reisman D. Systematic increases in walking speed have varied effects on post-stroke walking patterns. Platform Presentation (Accepted), Combined Sections Meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association, February, 2008.
  • Rudolph KS, Reisman DS, Wagner C. The influence of speed on walking function after stroke. International Society for Posture and Gait Research, Burlington, VT, July, 2007.
  • Reisman DS, Bastian AJ. Generalization of split-belt treadmill walking adaptation to over ground walking. Poster Presentation, Neural Control of Movement, March, 2007
  • Reisman DS, Wagner C, Cifelli S, Rudolph K, Farquhar W. Self selected walking speeds are energy inefficient post-stroke. Platform Presentation, Combined Sections Meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association, February, 2007.
  • Reisman DS , Wityk R, Silver K, Bastian AJ. Does split-belt treadmill walking adaptation transfer to over ground walking post-stroke? Poster Presentation, Society for Neuroscience, October, 2006.
  • Reisman D, Bastian A. Split-belt treadmill adaptation and gait symmetry post-stroke. Poster Presentation, Combined Sections Meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association, February, 2006.
  • Reisman D, Wityk R, Bastian A. Split-belt treadmill walking adaptation in post-stroke hemiparesis. Poster Presentation, Society for Neuroscience, November, 2005.
  • Reisman DS, Block H, Bastian AJ. Split-belt locomotion: adaptation and after-effects from short-term training. Poster Presentation, Society for Neuroscience, October, 2004.
  • Reisman DS, Scholz, JP. The influence of workspace location on the kinematics of seated reaching in persons with hemiparesis. Poster Presentation, North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity, June, 2004.
  • Reisman DS, Scholz JP. Joint and surface force coordination during reaching motions involving the trunk in persons with hemiparesis. Platform Presentation, Combined Sections Meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association, February, 2003.
  • Reisman DS, Scholz JP. Differences in coordination of joint motion timing in persons with hemiplegia and healthy persons during a seated, reaching task. Platform Presentation, Combined Sections Meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association, February, 2002.
  • Tseng Y Reisman DS, Yang JF, Schöner G, Scholz JP. Joint coordination underlying the control of a pointing task with and without vision. Progress in Motor Control III, conference abstracts, August, 2001.
  • Reisman DS, Yang JF, Tseng Y, Scholz JP. Joint coordination underlying the control of a pointing task in healthy and hemiparetic persons. Poster Presentation, Progress in Motor Control III, August, 2001.
  • Reisman DS, Scholz JP. Effects of varying perceptual information on the control of body momentum in a sit-to-stand task. Platform Presentation, Combined Sections Meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association, February, 2001.
  • Reisman, DS, Scholz JP. Effect of task constraints on coordination of sit to stand. Poster Presentation, Combined Sections Meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association, February, 2000.
  • Schwartz D., Giroux J., Neva R., Sunsdahl B. EMG and Mechanical Analysis of Focal and Postural Muscle Activity in Hemiplegic and Healthy Subjects During a Reaching Task. Poster Presentation at the Annual Conference of the American Physical Therapy Association, June, 1993.

Invited Presentations

  • “Locomotor inter-limb coordination in post-stroke hemiparesis”, Sensory Motor Performance Program Seminar Series, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, March, 2006.
  • “Locomotor Adaptation Following Stroke”, University of Maryland-Baltimore, Physical Rehabilitation Science Graduate Program Seminar Series, February, 2006.
  • “Exercise and the Older Adult”, Geriatric Medicine Symposium, Delaware Academy of Family Physicians, December, 2005.
  • “Locomotor Adaptation Following Stroke”, National Rehabilitation Hospital, Center for Applied Biomechanics and Rehabilitation Research Seminar Series, October 10, 2005.
  • “Physical Therapy and Stroke Rehabilitation”, Delaware Stroke Intitiative’s 5th Annual Stroke Education Conference, October, 2005.
  • “Physical Health in Retirement”, Peninsula United Methodist Homes’ 50th Anniversary celebration, September, 2004.

UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE COURSES TAUGHT/COORDINATED

STUDENT ADVISING

    Advisor

    		   
    (Current) Christine Malecka PhD Biomechanics and Movement Sciences, University of Delaware
    (Current) Jennifer Breithupt BS Peter White Fellow, University of Delaware
    2006 Stacey Cifelli BS Peter White Fellow, University of Delaware
       
    Committee Member  
    (Current) Wei-Li Hsu PhD Biomechanics and Movement Sciences, University of Delaware (Advisor: John Scholz)
    (Current) Sara Farquhar PhD Biomechanics and Movement Sciences, University of Delaware (Advisor: Lynn Snyder-Mackler)
    (Current) Trisha Kesar PhD

    Biomechanics and Movement Sciences, University of Delaware (Advisor: Stuart Binder-Macleod)

    (Current) Ming Xiao PhD Biomechanics and Movement Sciences, University of Delaware (Advisor: Jill Higginson)
    (Current) Megan Wenner PhD Biomechanics and Movement Sciences, University of Delaware (Advisor: Bill Farquhar)
    (Current) Allison Altman MS Biomechanics and Movement Sciences, University of Delaware (Advisor: Irene Davis)
    (Current) Debbie George MS Biomechanics and Movement Sciences, University of Delaware (Advisor: Jill Higginson)
    2006 Hui Min Li MS Biomechanics and Movement Sciences, University of Delaware (Advisor: Cole Galloway)
    2006 Andrew Davidson MS Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Delaware (Advisor: Jian Sun)
    2006 Chris Wagner BS Undergraduate Senior Thesis, University of Delaware

THE LAB

    People in the Lab

    Director
  • Dr. Darcy Reisman

    Doctoral Students:
  • Christine Malecka

    Clinical Doctoral Students:
  • Amy Novotny
  • Heather Takeguchi

    Undergraduate Researcher:
  • Jen Breithaupt

     

    		•
    Top row : Heather Takeguchi, Dr. Darcy Reisman
    Bottom row: Amy Novotny, Jen Breithaupt, Christine Malecka

       Equipment used in the Lab:

  • 8 camera (60/120Hz) Vicon Motion capture system
  • AMTI instrumented split-belt treadmill
  • 16 channel Motion Lab System EMG system

    Contact Information for the Lab:

     University of Delaware
     Department of Physical Therapy
     060 McKinly Lab
     Newark, DE 19716-2591
     Phone: 302-831-8675

     

    Directions to the Lab:

     From I-95 take Exit 1 North onto Route 896 North.   Continue on 896 to Delaware Ave.  Turn Right on  Delaware Ave.  McKinly Lab is the third building on  the right.  The Instrumented Treadmill Lab is on the  third floor, room 331.

     Parking is available in an hourly pay lot located on  the left of Delaware Ave., directly across from  McKinly Lab.

302 McKinly Lab| University of Delaware | Newark, DE 19716 | phone 302-831-8910| fax 302-831-4234
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