Spring 2024
Celeste Condie won the 2024 Phil Mohan Award for Academic Excellence.Pepper Bisset won the 2024 William Reese Award for Outstanding Student Research.
Colby Hillend was awarded the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship from the University of Idaho Office of Undergraduate Research for a study of the effects of posture on movement between dyads.
Katherine Blomgren has accepted an offer of admission from the Clinical Mental Health Counseling (MS) program at Prescott University.
At the Pan American Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Congress in Cartagena, Colombia we presented a poster: Importance of informal care partner participation in interventions for people living with Parkinson’s disease.
Fall 2023
In collaboration with The Poise Project, a talk 'Partnering with Poise': Retention of Benefits 12 months after an Alexander technique online group course for care partners of people living with dementia was given at Alzheimer Europe in Helsinki, Finland.
Summer 2023
At the World Parkinson Congress in Barcelona, Spain we presented a poster: ‘Partnering with Poise’: Retention of cognitive, emotional, and physical benefits for care partners of people living with Parkinson's disease at 6 and 12 months after completion of an in-person Alexander-based group course.
Spring 2023
Riley Hayes won the 2023 Mohan award for undergraduate research and has been accepted to the MSW program at Boise State University.Caden Benzinger has been accepted to the Addictions Counseling program at Boise State University.
Dr. Molly Johnson & Dr. Cohen published a paper called "Altered coordination strategies during upright stance and gait in teachers of the Alexander Technique."
Dr. Jason Baer & Dr. Cohen published a paper based on Jason's dissertation research: Does neck flexion improve performance? Effects on reaction time depend on whether responses are expected.
Riley Hayes and Emma Griewe won an undergraduate research award for our project on the relation between postural tone and proprioception.
Fall 2022
We published a paper on the effects of postural instructions on balance in young adults in Gait & Posture.At the American Congress for Rehabilitation Medicine Conference in Chicago, we presented a poster: Poised for Parkinson's: Retention of benefits 6-7 months after Alexander technique synchronous online group course.
Dr. Cohen's 2020 paper was featured in a video on the Alexander Technique.
Summer 2022
At the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in San Diego, we presented a poster: ‘Partnering with Poise’: Alexander technique online group classes are a promising interventon to decrease loss-of-self and increase agency for care partners of people living with dementia.
Spring 2022
Jason Baer gave a talk at the Northwest Biomechanics Symposium.At the 4th Pan American Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Congress in Miami, Celeste Condie presented a poster: Poised for Parkinson’s: Adapting an in-person cognitive embodiment course to online delivery for people living with Parkinson's disease and their care partners.
Jared Grieb won the 2022 Phil Mohan Award for Undergraduate Research.
Jason Baer published a paper on the effect of posture biofeedback on cognitive load in Psychological Research as part of his dissertation.
Summer 2021
Dr. Cohen's work was featured on Medium.Jacquelyn Holton was accepted into the Forensic Psychology (MS) program at Arizona State University.
Spring 2021
Our paper comparing the effects of Alexander technique and exercise for neck pain was published in Applied Sciences.Caden Benzinger won the 2021 Phil Mohan Award for Undergraduate Research.
Fall 2020
Our colleague from the Alexander Technique science team, Andrew McCann has created a summary of our Alexander Technique theory paper.We presented a poster at the NIH Rehab Conference about Embodied Agency: Alexander Technique-based Group Interventions for People living with Pakinsons and their Care Partners.
We presented two posters at the ACRM Conference:
Poised for Parkinson's: Online Group Delivery of Alexander Classes for People Living with Parkinsons Disease/CarePartner Dyads
Poised for Parkinson's: Retention of Benefits from Alexander Technique Group Course for People Living with Parkinson's Disease.
We received a grant from the Mountain West Research Consortium to fund our research project developing an online Alexander Technique course for people with Parkinson's disease.
Summer 2020
Our paper, Potential Mechanisms of the Alexander Technique: Toward a Comprehensive Neurophysiological Model has been accepted for publication in Kinesiology Review.
Spring 2020
Dr. Cohen participated in a video symposium called: Current Scientific Research and Models for the Alexander Technique.Malori Basye won the 2020 Phil Mohan Award for Academic Excellence and was accepted to law school at the University of Idaho.
Our colleague from the Alexander Technique science team, Andrew McCann has created a summary of our Lighten Up paper.
Our paper, Lighten up! Postural intructions affect static and dynamic balance in healthy older adults has been accepted for publication in Innovations in Aging.
Fall 2019
We presented a poster at American Congress for Rehabilitation Medicine, Chicago - Poised for Parkinson's: Alexander Technique course improves balance, mobility and posture for people with Parkinson's.Dr. Cohen presented a poster: Postural instructions affect static and dynamic balance in healthy older adults at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.
Summer 2019
We presented a poster on Alexander Technique for care partners at the World Parkinson Congress in Kyoto.
Spring 2019
Malori Basye was awarded the Children of IDACORP scholarship.Teresa Moote was awarded the 2019 William Reese Award for Research Excellence.
Skylar Soelberg has accepted an offer of admission from the counseling psychology program at Idaho State University.
Jason Baer published a paper on inhibition and preparation for stepping.
Fall 2018
Jordan Becker published a paper on Alexander technique for neck pain in Human Movement Science.Jason Baer presented a poster on Posture v. Performance in a Dual-Task Paradigm at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego.
Ramyaa Ravichandra and Teresa Moote presented a poster on the Alexander Technique for care partners at the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine in Dallas.
Jordan Becker presented a poster on Alexander Technique vs. exercise for neck pain at the American Congress of Rehabilition Medicine Conference in Dallas.
Tara McIsaac presented a poster on multi-limb dual-task cost in Parkinson's disease at the Movement Disorders Society meeting in Hong Kong.
Summer 2018
Dr. Cohen gave a plenary talk at the 11th International Alexander Technique Congress: "Science Catches Up: Alexander Technique Principles and 21st Century Research."Our collaboration with The Poise Project has resulted in a grant from the Parkinsosn's Foundation to study the benefits of Alexander Technique group classes for people living with Parkinson's Disease in North Carolina. Other grants from the Alzheimer's Association for care partners were included along with a visonary award for Monika Gross.
Spring 2018
Jordan Becker was featured as an outstanding graduate in the college news.Dr. Cohen was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor, effective July 1.
We acquired a grant to purchase electroencephalography (EEG) equipment for the lab.
Dan Kral was runner up at UI's 3-minute-thesis competition. (Scroll to 44:30 to see Dan present.)
Addison Johnson has accepted an offer of admission to the Genetic Counseling program at the University of Texas Health and Science Center in Houston. UT Health is the largest medical center in the world and houses MD Anderson Cancer Center, the number one cancer treatment and research hospital in the U.S.
Wilson Trusty has accepted an offer of admission from the Clinical Psychology program at Idaho State University.
Wilson Trusty was awarded the 2018 Phil Mohan Award for Academic Excellence.
Jordan Becker was awarded the 2018 William Reese Award for Research Excellence.
Teresa Moote was accepted to the 2018 Summer Workshop in Cognitive and Brain Sciences at the University of Delaware.
We recieved a supplemental grant for our Alexander Technique project from the American Society for Alexander Technique.
Fall 2017
Jordan Becker has been accepted to a competitive NIH post-bac training program.Our Alexander Technique project was awarded its second grant from the Parkinson's Foundation for 2 classes in Washington, D.C.
Our collaborator, Tara McIsaac, was awarded an NIH grant for her project on upper and lower limb coupling during driving in Parkinson's disease (on which Dr. Cohen is a consultant).
Dr. Cohen and Dr. Shawn Copeland (our collaborator in the Lionel Hamptom School of Music) Presented at College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences Research Mixer.
Jordan Becker and Dr. Cohen presented a talk entitled, "Feasibility and efficacy of group Alexander technique lessons on neck pain in office workers" at the Northwest Occupational Health Conference.
Our collaboration with the Poise Project has resulted in a grant from the National Parkinson's Foundation to study the effects of Alexander Technique group classes on stress in care partners of people with Parkinson's disease.
Dr. Cohen gave an oral presentation entitled, "Lighten Up! A mindfulness-based approach to posture and movement in Parkinson's disease" at the 3rd annual meeting of the Inland Northwest Movement Disorder Society.
Dr. Cohen gave an invited talk entitled "Connections between cognition and posture in aging, Parkinson's disease, and neck pain" for the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Idaho and was awarded affiliate status in that department.
Dr.Cohen presented a workshop: "Cognition, Posture, and Balance: current research and tips" to a Parkinson's disease support group, Good Samaritan Village, Moscow, ID.
Summer 2017
Jason Baer presented a poster, Posture vs. performance in a dual task paradigm at the International Conference for Cognitive Neuroscience.Jordan Becker presented a poster, Alexander technique classes reduce neck pain and alter muscle activation at the Idaho Conference on Undergraduate Research.
Our Alexander Technique project was awarded its first grant from the Parkinson's Foundation for 8 Alexander technique classes in sites across North Carolina.
Spring 2017
Recovery from multiple APAs delays gait initiation in Parkinson's disease has been published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.An fMRI-compatible force measurement system for the evaluation of the neural correlates of step initiation was accepted for publication by Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group).
One of our recent papers was noted for receiving among the top 5% of views in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience in the last quarter of 2016.
Fall 2016
The clinical significance of freezing while turning in Parkinson's disease has been published in Neuroscience.Tyler Farmer (lab alumnus) has been accepted to Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and will be starting there this fall.
Mobility and Upright Posture Are Associated with Different Aspects of Cognition in Older Adults has been published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.
Jordan Becker was awarded a research grant from the University of Idaho Office of Undergraduate Research for a study of the effects of group lessons in the Alexander Technique on neck pain.
Dan Kral presented a poster at the World Parkinson Congress in Portland: Thinking in action: Alexander technique for Parkinson's disease.
Dr. Cohen presented at a pre-conference Round Table at the World Parkinson Congress in Portland: "Beyond exercise: Effects of postural instruction on balance and mobility."
Summer 2016
Cognitive Contributions to Freezing of Gait in Parkinson Disease: Implications for Physical Rehabilitation has been published in Physical Therapy.Dr. Cohen presented a talk and poster entitled Lighten Up: Modifying postural state to reduce fall risk in older adults at the Mountain West Research Consortium's Clinical and Translational Research Infrastructure Network conference.
Drs. Cohen & Cacciatore co-presented two talks at the annual conference and general meeting of the American Society for Alexander Technique in Minneapolis: "From Biomechanics to Brains: A Survey of Research Relevant to the Alexander Technique" and "Emerging Mechanisms of the Alexander Technique."
Spring 2016
Jason Baer completed his MS in Human Factors and is continuing on for his PhD in Neuroscience.Abigail Villeneuve has been accepted to a counseling MA program at Montana State University.
We recieved a Key Fund award from our college to study the effects of postural instruction on muscle activation.
Kennedy Woods presented a poster, "Measurement of Postural Control Associated with Fall Risk" at the University of Idaho Undergraduate Research Symposium.
Jason Baer has been awarded the 2016 William G. Reese Award for Outstanding Student Research in Psychology.
Addison Johnson has been awarded the 2016 Phil Mohan Award for Academic Excellence.
Isabella Orr was accepted into the Physician Assistant Program at Idaho State University.
Dr. Cohen was interviewed by the Lewiston Tribune for an article on cognitive aging: Use it or Lose it.
Fall 2015
Kennedy Woods was awarded a research grant from the University of Idaho Office of Undergraduate Research.Jason Baer presented a poster, "Cognitive factors influence postural alignment," at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Chicago.
Dr. Cohen presented a talk, "Lighten Up! Mindfulness-based approach to postural control improves coordination and reduces fall risk in older adults with and without Parkinson's disease," at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Chicago.
Cognitive contributions to freezing of gait in Parkinson disease - Implications for physical rehabilitation was published in Physical Therapy Journal.
Summer 2015
We were awarded a one-year grant from the Mountain West Research Consortium CTR-IN: Modifying postural state to reduce fall risk in older adults.Dr. Cohen presented a talk on the scientific foundations of the Alexander Technique at the annual meeting of the American Society for Alexander Technique in Boston.
Spring 2015
We were awarded a Summer Research Grant from the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences to further develop our Lighten Up protocol.Isabella Orr was awarded the 2014-2015 William Reese Award for Outstanding Student Research. Each year, one undergraduate in the Department of Psychology is chosen to receive the award, based on superior academic performance and involvement in psychological research.
Dr. Cohen presented a workshop at the UI Women's Leadership Conference: "Power & Poise - Inhabiting your body every day."
Lighten up: Specific postural instructions affect axial rigidity and step initiation in patients With Parkinson's disease was published in Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair. This paper was also featured by Andrew McCann's blog about the Alexander technique.
Dr. Cohen presented a lecture at the Parkinson's Power Summit, Spokane, WA: Balance, gait, and cognition in Parkinson's disease.
Fall 2014
Balance, gait, and cognition in Parkinson's disease: lecture at Parkinson's Power Summit - Spokane, WA.
Summer 2014
We presented a poster at the World Congress of the International Society for Posture and Gait Research, Vancouver, Canada: Forward Head Posture in Older Subjects is Associated with Executive Deficits.
Spring 2014
We have been awarded the Kurt Olsson Early Career Research Award for our preliminary work looking at the influence of different kinds of postural instruction on posture and gait.Ryan Seymore has been awarded the 2013-2014 Phil Mohan Award for Academic Excellence. Each year, one undergraduate in the Department of Psychology is chosen to receive the award, based on superior academic performance and involvement in psychological research. Ryan has been working in the Mind in Movement Lab since summer of 2013.
Justin Davich has accepted an offer of admission to Pacific Graduate School of Psychology at Palo Alto University.
Dr. Cohen presented a lecture for the American Parkinson's Disease Association in Clarkston, WA: Balance in Parkinson's disease: what it is, what goes wrong, and what you can do about it.
Our abstract titled "Forward Head Posture in Older Subjects is Associated with Executive Deficits" has been accepted for presentation at the 2014 World Congress of the International Society for Posture and Gait Research, Vancouver, Canada.
Fall 2013
Dr. Cohen presented a lecture at Parkinson's Disease Resource Center, Spokane, WA: Balance control in Parkinson's disease.
Spring 2013
We hosted a table on balance control at "Senses and Reflexes" Family Science Saturday, Palouse Discovery Science Center, Pullman, WA.We installed our camera system! Thanks to everyone who helped out. Click the image below to be taken to the Lab.
We have been awarded a seed grant and a Key Fund award from the University of Idaho for our work on the role of time pressure in forward head posture.