The Orthotic and Prosthetic Education and Research Foundation (OPERF) has announced that research supported by its Small Grant Award program will be featured in the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (the Academy) Thranhardt Lecture Series. This marks the first time an OPERF award recipient has been selected as a Thranhardt Lecture winner.
Andrew Sawers, PhD, CPO, an assistant professor of kinesiology and nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the recipient of a 2016 OPERF Small Grant Award, will present his paper “A Narrowing Beam Walking Test Differentiates Lower-Limb Prosthesis Users With and Without a History of Falls With Greater Accuracy than Other Clinical Tests” during the 44th Academy Annual Meeting & Scientific Symposium in New Orleans, February 15.
Three other individuals will also present OPERF-supported research at the Academy annual meeting:
• Sara Peterson, CPO, MBA, FAAOP, the director of the Master of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics program at the University of Pittsburgh, received an OPERF Fellowship Award in 2014. She will present her free paper, “Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Use in Transtibial Amputations: A Pilot Study.”
• Gary Wall, CPed, CFo, a 2017 graduate of the Georgia Tech master of science in prosthetics and orthotics program, received an OPERF Fellowship Award in 2016. He will present his poster, “Residual Limb Cooling Under Heat Stress and its Effect on Perspiration: A Pilot Study.”
• Jessica Zistatsis, a mechanical engineering graduate student at the University of Washington in Seattle, received an OPERF Fellowship Award in 2017. She will present her poster, “Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Passive Pediatric Exoskeleton to Improve Walking Ability in Children with Cerebral Palsy.”
