CEDHARS

CEDHARS co-director Dr. Yuying Chen has been awarded a 2-year, $199,029 grant from the Paralyzed Veterans of America Research Foundation to lead a national study on traumatic spinal cord injury. uab.edu/shp/news/home/…

CEDHARS is pleased to announce its latest pilot grant funding opportunity, supporting innovative research aimed at improving the health and well-being of adults and children with disabilities. Up to five projects at $35,000 will be funded. uab.edu/cedhars/educat…

What if we could amplify the effects of physical therapy with gentle electrical stimulation — no surgery required? CEDHARS Lab Director Alex Evancho’s team is pairing tVNS with PT to see if gains last longer. Read more: uab.edu/news/research-…

Dr. Christine Loyd has lived with chronic pain for years. Now, she's teaming up with Dr. Tyler Wright to explore whether the gut microbiome holds clues to its science. CEDHARS is proud to fund this data-driven approach to understanding pain. Read more: uab.edu/shp/news/home/…

CEDHARS-backed research at UAB is testing a wearable earbud to deliver non invasive vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) during physical therapy. Early results show it may deliver longer sustained positibe outcomes for neurological conditions. Read more: uab.edu/news/research-…

By analyzing stool samples & microRNA, they aim to find biological markers for pain — moving us beyond the 1–10 scale. This research could reshape how we diagnose and manage pain across conditions.

A new pilot grant has been awarded to Drs. Christine Loyd & Tyler Wright to explore links between the gut microbiome and chronic pain in MS patients. Read the story here: uab.edu/shp/news/home/…

Zhang’s CEDHARS-funded project seeks to fill a critical gap in national data and research related to opioid use in Medicaid-insured individuals with disabilities – a population he describes as “high risk for opioid use and opioid-related harms. uab.edu/shp/news/home/…

Reminder: Join our friends Fast FWD Summits on Monday for the first time in Birmingham for an unifying morning designed for stroke and TBI survivors. The event will be at the UAB Alumni House from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 13. Learn more at fastfwdsummits.com.

“I’m sort of a product of some excellent mentoring I received in my career,” Mehta said. “So, this has always been extremely important to me—not just to help someone grow professionally, but to invest in their life, their goals, their dreams.”

For Mehta, vice chair of research in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and a core director of CEDHARS, the award is both a personal milestone and a reflection of the vibrant research and mentoring community he's helped cultivate. uab.edu/shp/news/home/…

Join our friends at the Kennedy Krieger Institute tomorrow 9-10 a.m. for the “Room to Grow Virtual Conference 2025.” CEDHARS Core Director Dr. Robin Lanzi, will be delivering the keynote. CEU’s are available. Register here: eventscalendar.kennedykrieger.org/event/room-to-…

The CEDHARS-funded project will lay the groundwork for the larger, 3-year, $750,000 NIDILRR study. The grants will address a rarely examined question: how service dog handlers with disabilities navigate the healthcare system and the barriers they face. uab.edu/shp/news/home/…

Dr. Hao Zhang, assistant professor in the UAB Department of Health Policy and Organization, has received a pilot grant from CEDHARS that will investigate the unique challenges faced by people with disabilities in the context of the opioid crisis. uab.edu/shp/news/home/…

Dr. Tapan Mehta has never viewed mentorship as just a professional responsibility, but more as a legacy. That perspective was recently recognized with the 2025 Graduate Dean’s Excellence in Mentorship Award. Read more: uab.edu/shp/news/home/…

Join our friends Fast FWD Summits for the first time in Birmingham for an unifying morning designed for stroke and TBI survivors. The event will be at the UAB Alumni House from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 13. Learn more at fastfwdsummits.com.

Dr. Meghan Mills’ CEDHARS-funded project will lay the groundwork for the larger, 3-year, $750,000 NIDILRR study launching Sept. 1, which will be one of the largest research studies on service dog handlers ever conducted. uab.edu/shp/news/home/…

Check out all the various research projects based out of the AHPL here: uab.edu/cedhars/core-f…

The Adaptive Human Performance Lab is looking for candidates for interns for all the research currently based out of our lab. To learn more and apply, click here: uab.edu/cedhars/grants…

We awarded four projects in our recent Pilot Grant Funding Program $25,000 a piece. Check out the projects these investigators are working on here: uab.edu/cedhars/grants…