Spine Biomechanics & Neuromuscular Control Laboratory

Shawn Beaudette, PhD

Shawn is an Associate Professor with research specialties in spine biomechanics, sensory feedback and neuromuscular control. Shawn’s research program integrates aspects of biomechanics, neurophysiology and data science to understand how spine movement is controlled with a focus on the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of low back disorders. Shawn’s research program is aimed at objectively quantifying spine neuromuscular function to inform clinical and industrial decision-making processes.

Post Doctoral Fellowship: University of Ottawa, School of Human Kinetics (Supervisor: Dr. Ryan B. Graham)

MSc/PhD: University of Guelph, Human Health & Nutritional Sciences (Supervisor: Dr. Stephen H.M. Brown)

BSc: University of Guelph, Human Health & Nutritional Sciences (Supervisor: Dr. Lorraine Jadeski)

Jarrett Norrie, PhD(c)

Jarrett completed his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology at The University of New Brunswick, and Masters of Science at the University of Guelph.

Jarrett is a PhD Candidate at Brock University specializing in spine biomechanics, motor control, and advanced motion capture technologies. His research is focused on enhancing the assessment of golf performance by utilizing markerless motion capture from cell phone cameras, providing field-accessible methods for evaluating spine and pelvis movement mechanics in golfers. Given that a significant proportion of golfers report back pain linked to the repetitive and complex movements of the swing, Jarrett’s research aims to reduce injury risk and improve performance through innovative, accessible motion analysis techniques.;Accessible markerless motion capture particularly through cell phone cameras is a breakthrough for field-based testing. It allows coaches, clinicians, and researchers to gather objective biomechanical data on a large scale, providing immediate, quantifiable insights without a lab. This technology reduces the need for expensive, specialized equipment which leads to streamlined training, simplified data processing, large scale data acquisition, and is scalable for application and implication at the individual and population level. Modern data science makes high-level concepts tangible and applicable for performance and rehabilitation settings alike. These advances bring biomechanical analysis to a wider audience, leveraging AI machine learning to identify movement phenotypes for optimization of both performance and effective injury prevention.

Funding: MITACS Accelerate Fellowship (3MotionAI), Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS – Brock University), Validating Prototyping Manufacturing & Innovation ((VPMI – Brock University), Mitacs Research Training Award (MITACS), Graduate Tuition Scholarship (University of Guelph), Edwin Jacob Special University Scholarship (University of New Brunswick)

Chris Vellucci, PhD(c)

Chris completed his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology at the University of Waterloo and Masters of Science in Kinesiology at Brock University. 

Chris’s I interest lies in human performance, data science and AI, biomechanics technologies and neuromuscular control. Chris’s research aims to use data driven approaches to quantify key differences in how people perform. His current research project looks to use wearable sensors to identify key biomechanics differences between novice and advanced sprinters using a data driven approach. He hopes that this research will help sport practitioners to objectively quantify sport technique in addition to answering fundamental questions regarding sprint performance. 

Funding: MITACS Accelerate Entrepreneurship Fellowship (Chalk Monkey Labs), Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS – Brock University), Validating Prototyping Manufacturing & Innovation (VPMI – Brock University), Mitacs Research Training Award (MITACS)

Aurora Battis, PhD(c)

Aurora completed her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science at Brock University before completing her Master of Science with Dr. Beaudette.

Aurora is a PhD Candidate at Brock University under the supervision of Dr. Shawn Beaudette. Her interests lie in proprioception and neuromuscular control of the lumbar spine, in both healthy and low back pain populations.

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common causes of lived with disability in the world. The flexion-relaxation phenomenon, the silencing of the paraspinal musculature at full forward flexion, is notably absent in individuals with LBP. Aurora’s dissertation focuses on the sensory contributions to the flexion-relaxation phenomenon. Specifically, she aims to investigate how we can leverage vibrotactile feedback to identify the somatosensory systems contributing to the timing and magnitude of FRP, and use this to manipulate the timing and onset of FRP in healthy individuals and those experiencing pain.

Funding: Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS – Brock University)

Daniel Brickman, MSc(c)

Dan completed his Bachelor of Kinesiology (Honours) at Queen’s University

Daniel is an MSc student at Brock University, working under the supervision of Dr. Shawn Beaudette. He is interested in the intersections of disability and human movement, while also maintaining interest in data science and sports analytics. His research explores how psychosocial factors, such as a history of low back pain, affect how people proceed through activities of daily living. Specifically, he is investigating how lifting kinematics change in response to variations in load mass (light, intermediate, or heavy) and load knowledge (whether or not load mass is known).

Daniel’s research aims to bridge the gap between lab-based analysis and occupational settings through the use of markerless motion capture. This innovative modality allows for biomechanics research to be conducted outside the lab, without the burdens of traditional optical motion capture systems. In turn, the ecological validity and real-world significance of the research become ever greater. His work will be especially valuable when considering the workplace demands of employees who complete manual materials handling (MMH), such as those in warehouses or distribution centres, where task demands can vary greatly.

Jared Seick, MSc (c)

Jared completed his Bachelor of Science in Medical Sciences (Honours) at Brock University

Jared is an MSc student at Brock University under the supervison of  Dr. Shawn Beaudette. He is interested in motor unit activation and recruitment patterns in muscles of the upper extremity.  More specifially in areas prone to delayed-onset muscle soreness and musculoskeletal injury that are common in a gym or workplace setting. Jared’s research aims to understand the effect of delayed-onset muscle soreness on the topographical activation patterns of the biceps brachii muscle using high-density surface electromyography (HD-sEMG). His proposed research will expand the basic understanding of how muscles adapt to exercise induced micro-damage, and associated soreness. Previous work has explored this topic using bipolar sEMG; however, with novel HD-sEMG equipment, Jared is able to address the research question with a spatial resolution which was not previously possible. Using a large array of electrodes will  allow for a better understanding of muscle activation patterns across a wider area of the muscle. This project will be the foundation to future use of the HD-sEMG system in the Spine Biomechanics and Neuromuscular Control Laboratory, where the hope is to implement use of the system involving muscles around the spine. 

Emma Ratke, Undergraduate Student

Emma is an undergraduate student completing her Bachelor of Kinesiology at Brock University. Her past work as aimed to understand the motor and neuromuscular adaptations to fatigue in an ergonomic based lifting task, as a surrogate estimate of demand and injury risk. She has investigated the ability of a back support exoskeleton on mitigating fatigue related (mal)adaptions in complex lifting tasks and is currently investigating its effects on trunk propriocetption and the flexion relatxation phenomon. Additionally, Emma is completing her 4th Year Honours Thesis (co supervised by Dr. Shawn Beaudette and Dr. Stephen Klassen) and is investigating the effect of cerebral blood flow levels on motor cortical excitability. 

Funding: NSERC USRA 2023, NSERC USRA 2024, CSA Group Undergraduate Research Scholarship

Ian Doctor, Undergraduate Student

Ian is an undergraduate student completing his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology at Brock University. Ian is currently assisting PhD student Jarrett Norrie on his project using golf as a surrogate movement to study data augmentation and motor patterns of the golf swing. Ian’s primary research outside of Jarret’s project is studying the interpersonal biomechanics of rowing and the interaction between athletes and equipment. The focus of this research is to aid in the development of longitudinal performance and injury risk measuring procedures for rowing and other high cooperation sports.

Ian is on Brock’s Varsity Men’s Rowing team; the source of his interest in studying rowing and has gained influences from past coach Dennis Fronheiser (Rochester Community Inclusive Rowing) and their work with Pararowers, and current coach Scott Anderson (Brock Heavyweight Men, RowingCanada U23) and his work on longitudinal athlete wellness tracking.

Funding: Match of Minds 2023

Kelsie Czegeny, Undergraduate Student

Kelsie is a third year undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Medical Sciences at Brock University. She is currently working alongside Masters student Daniel Brickman on his project which utlilizes markerless motion capture to investigate how psychological factors interact to affect anticipatory postural control before and during lifting tasks with known and unknown loads. Currently, Kelsie is volunteering in the Spine lab with ongoing projects, but is planning on pursuing an undergraduate thesis project and conducting her own research in her fourth year of her undergraduate studies, the focus of which will be determined in the near future.