Description:

Northwestern Pepper Center and OAIC National Coordinating Center are pleased to present Pepper Center Rounds. Pepper Center Rounds is a venue to showcase high-quality research from scholars across the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Centers network. Please, join us!

"Investigating the age-related neural underpinnings of mobility disability, and future directions for targeted prehabiltiation interventions"

Guest:

Clayton Swanson, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor, 

Department of Neurology, 

College of Medicine, 

University of Florida

Research Health Scientist, 

Brain Rehabilitation Research Center, 

Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, 

Gainesville, FL

Bio:

Clayton Swanson is a Research Assistant Professor within the Department of Neurology at the University of Florida and a Research Health Scientist with the Brain Rehabilitation Research Center (BRRC) at the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center. Clayton’s training and research span the domains of motor control, neuromechanics, and neurophysiology. His primary area of interest is both mechanistic and translational. Mechanistically, he focuses on understanding the neural mechanisms of complex dynamic movements, such as turning while walking. Translationally, his research interest is in optimizing the neural control of complex movements to maximize neuroplasticity for enhancing mobility in populations demonstrating deficits such as older adults and people with neurological injury. Clayton completed his PhD in 2021 at Colorado State University and moved to Gainesville where he completed a post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Dave Clark. Since moving to Gainesville he has acquired career development funding through the UF Pepper Center and the VA. As a junior investigator, he has worked to develop measurement approaches to assess the cortical control of dynamic walking movements using wireless inertial sensors, transcranial magnetic stimulation, magnetic resonance imaging, and electromyography. Overall, his goal is to perform research that helps inform clinical care while meeting the needs of patients who demonstrate mobility disability.