In the field of muscle physiology, scientists study muscle movement at the molecular level—chiefly, proteins such as myosin, actin and titin—to understand how muscles contract.
Their research improves human health and quality of life in a wide range of areas, including rehabilitation engineering, prosthesis design and the treatment of neuromuscular diseases such as muscular dystrophy, which causes progressive weakness and loss… Read more
According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S.—higher than all forms of cancer and lung disease combined. Hemodynamics, how blood circulates throughout the body, are believed to play a major role in the progression of heart disease.
One of the… Read more
Northern Arizona University associate professor of practice Rob Kellar was recently selected as a finalist in the Phoenix Business Journal’s Health Care Heroes awards program in the Innovation category. The annual program, now in its 18th year, honors health care workers, including doctors, nurses and volunteers.
As a faculty researcher in NAU’s Center for Bioengineering Innovation, Kellar specializes in regenerative medicine—engineering the replacement or… Read more
A Northern Arizona University physicist who studies complex, hybrid nanomaterials has been recognized for his academic leadership and the quality and innovation of his research. The Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) recently named assistant professor John Gibbs a 2018 Cottrell Scholar. This award includes a three-year, $100,000 grant to advance his teaching and research.
One of only 24 early-career teacher-scholars selected nationally from the… Read more
Professor Loren Buck, environmental physiologist and associate director of Northern Arizona University’s Center for Bioengineering Innovation (CBI), is leading a new project that has the potential to change nothing less than the way scientists understand life on earth.
Titled “Predicting vertebrate responses to a changing climate: modeling genomes to phenomes to populations (G2P2PoP),” the project is designed to tackle one… Read more
St. Lawrence Island, just south of the Bering Strait in Arctic Alaska, is one of the most isolated places on the planet. Wild, mountainous and remote, the island is inhabited by 1,600 indigenous Yupik Eskimos who subsist by hunting and fishing.
Although the island’s natural environment may appear pristine, residents are exposed to high levels of persistent organic pollutants—toxic chemicals that remain in the environment… Read more