DMBL Graduating Students – Spring 2025
Following the Spring 2025 semester, graduate students Dustin Tran (left) and Jordyn Lopez (right) graduated with their MS in Kinesiology, and undergraduate student Jacob Sheppelman (not pictured) graduated with his BS in Kinesiology. Congratulations!
DMBL Represented at the 2025 Undergraduate Research Symposium
Kendell MacDonald (left) and Clare Cao (right) presented their independent undergraduate research projects at the 18th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium at the University of Illinois. Kendell’s project explored sex differences in dominant and non-dominant shoulder range of motion in young adult manual wheelchair users, and Clare’s project examined the association between shoulder pain and rotator cuff tendon thickness in young adult manual wheelchair users. Kendell and Clare were mentored by DMBL graduate research assistants, Jungsun Moon and Dustin Tran, respectively. #TeamEffort
DMBL Recognized at the 2025 HK Honors and Awards Ceremony
Jungsun Moon (left) and Sam Pagnucci (right) were recipients of prestigious named awards at the 2025 HK Honors and Awards Ceremony. Moon received the Reginald J. Alston Award for Excellence in Community Health and Rehabilitation which is awarded to a student with a focus on rehabilitation, disability, and chronic illness and who have applied scholarly work to clinical and practical applications within the community. Sam received the Beulah Drom Scholarship which is awarded to a student excelling in the field of body mechanics and movement. Additionally, Sam and fellow DMBL undergraduate research assistants, Clare Cao, Kendell MacDonald, Lydia Kohlenberger, Jakob Sheppelman, and Brandon Huanca, were recognized as Edmund J. James Scholars, undergraduate students who have achieved academic excellence and have engaged in unique learning opportunities.
DMBL Presents at the 2025 International Seating Symposium / Successful Master’s Thesis Defense
Dustin Tran presented his research talk, “Methods for Novel Anthropometric and Kinematic Measures of Manual Wheelchair Parameters and User Fit,” at the 2025 International Seating Symposium in Pittsburgh, PA. Dustin’s talk highlighted the innovative and systematic methods he developed for his Master’s thesis, “Associations among Manual Wheelchair Fit, Supraspinatus Tendon Properties, Scapular Kinematics, and Shoulder Pain in Young Adult Manual Wheelchair Users.” Following the conference, Dustin successfully defended his Master’s thesis and will graduate in Spring 2025.
DMBL Presents at the 2024 Howard H. Steel Conference
Dr. Hanks presented at the 2024 Howard H. Steel Conference on Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury/Dysfunction in Scottsdale, AZ. His talk, “Intrinsic Factors and Shoulder Pain in Young Adult Manual Wheelchair Users with Pediatric-Onset Disability,” explored the biological, physiological, and lifestyle factors associated with shoulder pain in young adult manual wheelchair users. Their analyses show that shoulder pain and its determinants in young adults are highly individualized and uniquely different from older adult manual wheelchair users. These findings warrant the need for more research to be done with young adult manual wheelchair users to better understand the development and consequences of shoulder pain in this unique population.
Wheelchair Athlete Performance Testing in the DMBL Featured by the College of Applied Health Sciences
To start the Fall 2024 semester, second-year Health and Kinesiology Assistant Professor, Dr. Hanks, and graduate students in the Disability and Movement Biomechanics Laboratory brought in the Men’s and Women’s Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Track and Racing student-athletes and Paralympians training at the University of Illinois for a variety of human performance and shoulder health surveillance tests.
The College of Applied Health Sciences filmed and interviewed students and staff from the student-athletes and collaborators from Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES), to learn more about this budding athletics and research partnership at Illinois.
DMBL Featured in Article by the University of Illinois’ Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute
Dr. Hanks and the DMBL’s research evaluating shoulder health and function in manual wheelchair users were featured in the article, “Health from all angles: Celebrating health researchers and innovators across campus.” The article, published by the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute at the University of Illinois, celebrates 10 years of health by featuring health researchers and innovators across campus. “These faces represent the many disciplines and perspectives that come together at Illinois to improve personal, public, and planetary health challenges.”
DMBL Presents at the 2024 American Society of Biomechanics Conference
Jungsun Moon (left), Dustin Tran (middle), and Dr. Hanks attended the 2024 American Society of Biomechanics (ASB) conference in Madison, WI. Moon was awarded a prestigious ASB Student Travel Award for her research entitled, “Scapular kinematics and supraspinatus tendon occupation ratio in wheelchair users,” which explored the association between bilateral scapular kinematics and supraspinatus tendon occupation ratio, a clinical risk factor for shoulder impingement and pain, in manual wheelchair users and wheelchair athletes. Dustin presented his research entitled, “Bilateral shoulder strength and rotator cuff tendon thickness in wheelchair users,” which explored bilateral shoulder strength asymmetries and the associations of shoulder strength on rotator cuff tendon health in manual wheelchair users and wheelchair athletes.
DMBL Featured on the University of Illinois Wheelchair Athletics Meet The Team Series
Jordyn Lopez and Dr. Hanks were interviewed for the University of Illinois Wheelchair Basketball’s Meet The Team series which highlights the various individuals and resources on campus that support the wheelchair basketball student-athletes at Illinois. Jordyn discussed her role as the Strength and Conditioning Coordinator with the student-athletes and the importance of foundational strength and fitness to improve performance and prevent injury, primarily to the shoulders and arms which are critical for wheelchair athletes. Dr. Hanks discussed the importance of the research conducted in the DMBL to better understand multifaceted shoulder health, and how this research can benefit wheelchair athletes on and off the court for improved quality of life after sport.
Jordyn’s interview: https://www.facebook.com/IllinoisWheelchairBasketball/videos/365535699889476
Dr. Hanks’ interview: https://www.facebook.com/IllinoisWheelchairBasketball/videos/1301554930814337