Balance Disorders Laboratory
Fay B. Horak, PhD
horakf@ohsu.edu
503 418-2600 (office)
503 418-2602 (main lab)
503 704-3988 (cell)
Education
BS Physical Therapy, University of Wisconsin, 1973
MS Neurophysiology, University of Minnesota, 1977
PhD Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, 1982
Recent Awards
National Translational Neurology Researcher Award, awarded by the Neurology Section of the American Physical Therapy Association for 2011
Professor of Neurology
Department of Neurology
Department of Biomedical Engineering (profile)
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology
Faculty Member
Neuroscience Graduate Program
Honorary Faculty
University of Oregon
Pacific University
University of Calgary
University of Waterloo
Training Opportunities
I welcome students and postdocs with clinical, engineering, neuroscience, psychology or kinesiology background to join my lab in one of three routes:
Neuroscience Graduate Program
Behavioral Neuroscience Graduate Program
Biomechanical Engineering Graduate Program
Grants (Current)
National Institutes on Aging MERIT AWARD 5R37AG006457-25: Peripheral and Central Disorders of Postural Control in the Elderly 4/1/89-3/31/14
National Institutes on Deafness and Communication Disorders R01DC00408207 : Adaptation of Spatial Orientation in Locomotion and Posture 5/1/06-4/30/11
National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke Collaborative Post-doctoral Fellowship at the NSI 9/1/05-10/31/10
NIA Supplement to promote re-entry into Biomed Research and Minority Fellowships 2005-2011
Australian Government NHMRC The contribution of dopamine to regulation of orofacial, limb and trunk control 2007-2010
Kinetics Foundation: Development of an Instrumented Clinical Test of Mobility: iMOBILITY 2009-2011
Kinetics Foundation: Automation of Measurement of Parkinson’s Disease 6/30/2008-12/30/2009
Research Interests
Patient using audio biofeedback to improve balance.
Dozza, M., Wall, C., Peterka, R., Chiari L., Horak, F.B. Effects of practicing tandem gait with and without vibrotactile biofeedback in subjects with unilateral vestibular loss. Journal of Vestibular Research 17:195-204, 2007. PMCID: PMC2474458
Dr. Horak examines how motor signals sent to muscles and sensory information about body position interact to maintain a person's balance while standing or walking. Diseases or injury that damage the motor (e.g. Parkinson's disease) or sensory (e.g., vestibular injury, diabetic peripheral neuropathy) pathways can disrupt balance. In the Balance Disorders Laboratory a person's balance is tested by having him/her stand on a movable force platform during a surface perturbation (simulated fall). Muscle activities, surface forces, and whole body motion quantify how the brain coordinates automatic balancing movements.
The insights Dr. Horak has gained about the nervous system has allowed her to develop innovative approaches to the diagnosis and rehabilitation of patients with disequilibrium, dizziness, and dyscoordination. Her work has revolutionized the rehabilitation of balance disorders by physical therapists.
PubMed Listing