SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Dr. Kanika Bansal, assistant professor of physical therapy at the University of Mount Union, was recently presented with the 2022 Post Professional Student Research Award at the American Physical Therapy Association's Combined Sections Meeting. 

Bansal earned this prestigious honor from the National Physical Therapy Association for her research titled, “Objective Measurement of Perceived Walking Challenge Differentiates between Home and Community Ambulation Levels Post-Stroke.” She also led a platform presentation at the event on this research. 

“I am really honored to have achieved this award for the second time in my career!” Bansal said. “The awarded presentation was a part of my dissertation work. Through this work, we showed that perceived challenge of walking (as assessed by sympathetic nervous system activity through stress responses) during complex tasks can distinguish between household ambulators and community ambulators post-stroke.” 

Bansal is also launching a new study to validate consumer friendly, low-cost devices like FitBit and Garmin against research-grade devices. This extension to the research will examine sweat responses and heart rate variability in older adults and individuals with neurological disorders during complex walking tasks.

Learn more | PT Program