Dr. Brian Schmit Professor, Biomedical Engineering RESEARCHER 1 2
One step at a time Collaborators seek to improve the functionality of individuals with spinal cord injuries As a professor of biomedical engineering, Dr. Brian Schmit understands that using a combination of approaches is often the best way to answer questions and solve problems. For his latest research initiative, Schmit drew collaborators from across Marquette — in fields like physical therapy, exercise science and statistical mathematics — to study cardiovascular systems during exercise in people with incomplete spinal cord injuries. “When you hear spinal cord injury, you think paralysis,” Schmit says. “But only about half of people with spinal
By Jesse Lee
marquette university discover magazine 2014
cord injuries are paralyzed. Exercise is extremely important. They can’t move as much or as well, so cardiovascular health is compromised.” Schmit’s research, which recently earned him a $325,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, is expected to have a direct impact on the clinical management of rehabilitation in people with spinal cord injuries. “The results of this study will have implications for exercise training to improve functional movement — including walking — in these patients,” Schmit says. “We’re looking at issues like blood flow, cardiovascular health and muscular activity, all done in a clinical setting.”