We are delighted to announce that The Origins of Balance Deficits and Falls research cluster has been awarded a Grant for Catalyzing Research Clusters (GCRC) from UBC for a second year in a row. A cluster of research excellence is defined as a “network of researchers spanning multiple disciplines at UBC who organize to solve key challenges facing society”. The aim of these grants is to encourage researchers to engage in interdisciplinary research across departments, institutions, and internationally. Clusters are expected to target issues and engage in research that would not otherwise be possible (click here for more info). The OBDAF cluster aims to understand the mechanistic principles of healthy balance control and origins of balance deficits and falls in order to develop new tools, therapeutic interventions and technologies to reduce the likelihood and impact of balance instability and falls. There remains to be a significant lack of reliable and effective assessment, treatment, and prevention options for even the most common causes of balance deficits and falls. Since the conception of the cluster in January 2018, the cluster has developed one of the most comprehensive collections of cutting-edge balance measurement tools and techniques. Few other research groups have the capacity and expertise to study balance from the single-motor unit and primary sensory afferent level, all the way to whole-body postural responses, and measure all aspects of human balance control.
Over the next year, the cluster intends to continue to strive towards achieving it’s goals through further research collaborations, community outreach and engagement, education, and knowledge mobilization efforts.