Researcher Spotlight - Oluwatoyosi (Olu) Owoeye, PhD, MSc, BPT

Hi! I am Olu Owoeye, a Nigerian-Canadian residing in the United States. I am an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) at the Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training, Saint Louis University, MO. I am a research physical therapist with expertise in sports injury epidemiology and prevention. Before moving down south to work in the United States, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the International Olympic Committee funded Sport Injury Prevention Research Center, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada for 4 years. This position provided me the opportunity of leading research projects funded by the NBA and GE and other funding agencies. 

Studies from my postdoc projects and my previous research efforts have produced several scientific publications informing best practices and future research directions in the field of sports injury prevention and knowledge translation. Specifically, my research is focused on the discovery and translation of knowledge that informs the prevention of sport-related injuries and associated consequences in youth and young adults. 

My current project at the Saint Louis University – RICHLoad, meaning Reducing Injuries in Collegiate atHletes through Load Management, aims at developing an athlete monitoring system (mobile app and dashboard) for the daily tracking of psycho-physiological load (RPE) and weekly prediction of injury risk based on multivariable regression models in collegiate soccer and basketball athletes (details here: https://cs.slu.edu/projects/richload/). We are hopeful this innovative tool would be useful to college soccer and basketball coaches and sports medicine professionals in mitigating the risk of overuse and traumatic injuries among student-athletes in the United States.

Find me on Twitter at @owoeye_oba

Researcher Spotlight is a regular feature that highlights faculty research in the Saint Louis University Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training.  

2022 Billikens Impacting the Future Speaker Series

How Research Changes Lives

A Speaker Series Examining the Transformative Impact of Physical Therapy Research 

How Research Changes Lives is a two-part speaker series hosted by the SLU Program in Physical Therapy. Billikens Impacting the Future, an annual event sponsored by the SLU Physical Therapy Student Association, will raise funds for the Marquette Challenge for The Foundation for Physical Therapy Research. The Irma Ruebling Distinguished Lecture, in its 19th year, is the annual complimentary keynote speaker event hosted by the SLU Program in Physical Therapy.

Billikens Impacting the Future

SLU Physical Therapy Alumni and Faculty Discuss Their Research and its Potential Implications

Billikens Impacting the Future is an annual event sponsored by the SLU Physical Therapy Student Association (PTSA) to raise funds for the VCU-Marquette Challenge benefiting the Foundation for Physical Therapy Research. To learn more about SLU PTSA's fundraising goal, make a gift, or check the fundraising progress, please click here.

Dual-tasking in Neurodegeneration: Considering Attention Allocation and Cognitive-motor Interference in the Quest for Automaticity 

 

SLU Assistant Professor, Dr. Jason Longhurst

DATE: January 27, 2021

TIME: 5:00 p.m. CST

Register here.

Beyond the Kegel: Research Strategies in Pelvic Health

 

SLU Alum, Dr. Lori Tuttle

DATE: February 17, 2022

TIME: 5:00 p.m. CST

Register here.

Learn more about Billikens Impacting the Future. 

Irma Ruebling Distinguished Lecture

Innovative approaches to optimize performance in the real world in persons with neurological conditions

Dr. Theresa Ellis 

Boston University and Director of the Center for Neurorehabilitation

 

DATE: March 24, 2022

TIME: 5:30 p.m. CST

Dr. Ellis is a clinician-scientist at Boston University who leads interdisciplinary studies in people with Parkinson Disease and directs the Center for Neurorehabilitation. She has developed and tested rehabilitation/exercise interventions for modifying the progression of disease and disability in persons with Parkinson Disease and is a strong advocate for change in models of care to optimize long-term patient outcomes. For more information see https://www.bu.edu/sargent/profile/terry-ellis-pt-phd-ncs/

More information about the Irma Ruebling Distinguished Lecture presented by Dr. Terry Ellis and how to register is forthcoming.

SLU PT Faculty Member Oluwatoyosi Owoeye Presents at the 6th Annual IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury & Illness in Sport

Dr. Oluwatoyosi (Olu) Owoeye presents at the IOC Conference

 

SLU Physical Therapy faculty member Dr. Oluwatoyosi (Olu) Owoeye attended the 6th Edition of the IOC World Conference of Injury and Illness Prevention in Sport in Monaco from November 25 to November 27, 2021 and presented a workshop and two oral (podium) research talks.  You can view the full program of the conference on the International Olympic Committee's website.

Workshop Presentation 

Title: Making it Stick: Adherence Research in Sports Injury Prevention 

This was an engaging one-hour workshop that introduced participants to key concepts in implementation and adherence research, including research design and theories specific to adherence research. Dr. Owoeye was the sole instructor/facilitator. 

Research Presentation I 

Title: The Effectiveness of Neuromuscular Training Warm-up Program to Reduce Knee and Ankle Injuries in Youth Basketball: A Historically Controlled Study 

Research Presentation II 

Title: Supervised implementation of a neuromuscular training warm-up program to improve adherence and reduce injuries in youth basketball: A cluster-randomized trial  

Dr. Owoeye was also the sole presenter of the two abstracts above. These two research presentations emerged from the Youth Basketball Injury Prevention Project at the University of Calgary in Canada. This research work was funded by NBA/GE research grant and Dr. Owoeye was the project lead. The two studies have been combined into one large publication that recently was accepted in the Journal of Orthopedic & Sports Physical Therapy. Collaborators on the paper are Carolyn Emery, Anu Räisänen, Kimberley Befus, Tate HubkaRao, Luz Palacios-Derflingher, and Kati Pasanen. 

Learn more about Dr. Owoeye and his research on the Saint Louis University website.

SLU PT Student Sarah Sajewski had a Rewarding Learning Experience at ATI Physical Therapy in Oaklawn, Illinois

SLU PT Clinical Site Spotlight - ATI Physical Therapy in Oaklawn, IL 

By Sarah Sajewski (Class of 2022)

My first clinical at ATI Physical Therapy was very rewarding and a great learning experience. I learned so much from my clinical instructor and ALU Alumni (Class of 2016), Jon Landstrom, PT, DPT, OCS, as well as from the PTAs and one other PT I had the privilege to work with every so often. I was able to work with patients with a multitude of diagnoses ranging from ortho to neuro and learned how to evaluate them and how to best create their plan of care. Each week my CI would go over manual skills, along with tests and measures with me to let me practice and give feedback. Jon also would talk about my strengths and weaknesses each week with me, which was beyond helpful to see where I could improve. Jon is also specialized in dry needling, so I was able to observe this as well. I do not think I could have asked for a better first full-time clinical experience and wonderful CI!

Jon- I cannot thank you enough for everything you taught me during my clinical! I really enjoyed my time with you and our patients. You made the environment so fun and comfortable and I really appreciated that especially for my first full-time clinical experience.

This is one of a series of posts by the Saint Louis University Program in Physical Therapy students featuring their clinical site and their clinical instructors. The number, quality, and diversity of clinical instruction are major assets for the SLU PT Program.

APTA Level 1 & 2 Clinical Instructor Credentialing Course and SLU Physical Therapy

Dr. Carol Beckel, PT, Ph.D., taught the APTA Level 1 Clinical Instructor Credentialing Course on November 13 & 14, 2021 in a closed course for 30 clinical instructors at Advanced Training and Rehab (ATR). The Level 1 course assist clinicians in developing teaching skills to supervise PT and PTA students during clinical placements. SLU faculty offers trainers for either Level 1 or Level 2 Clinical Instructor Credentialing Courses. The Level 2 course aids in developing the clinical curriculum at clinical sites. If you are interested in these courses, contact us at slu_pt_clin_ed@health.slu.edu.

SLU PT student Bea Nottke (DPT Class of 2022), as part of Geriatric Seminar, WON the NATIONAL Geriatric Case Competition!

All Geriatric Seminar students participated in this year's Fall 2021 Interprofessional Geriatric Virtual Case Competition. They were assigned to interprofessional teams which focused on the development of a care plan for an older patient with multiple, chronic health challenges, including COVID-19. 

Fall 2021 Inter-University Interprofessional Geriatric Case Competition Winners Announced

The students created an innovative 20-minute pre-recorded electronic case presentation. Students had one month to prepare their recorded presentations with the top three teams advancing to a local semi-final round. 

The top-rated team from each semi-final round compete via live Zoom with the winning team from the University of Minnesota Geriatric Workforce Enhancement program on Monday, November 1, 2021. 

Bea Nottke was the student physical therapist on the winning team!  Sydney Phelan and Hannah Schumacher were on two teams that tied for second place in the semi-final round.

You can watch the winning presentation below:

Interprofessional Geriatric Case Competition 2021 - SLU Team Part 1

Interprofessional Geriatric Case Competition 2021 - SLU Team Part 2

Drs. Jill FitzGerald and Kelly Hawthorne also served as faculty mentor/coaches.  

You can learn more about the competition on the University of Minnesota website.

The Geriatrics Seminar is offered as an elective physical therapy course in the fall semester of the third year of the professional phase. It explores the causes of frailty in older adults and the financial burden in the U.S. of obtaining healthcare for this population. The course then explores services available to help frail older adults maximize their physical and psychosocial independence within the community and within institutions. The course consists of lectures, interviews, and site visits in the St. Louis area.

SLU PT and MD Students Engage in Research to Keep Student-Athletes Safe

Several undergraduate and graduate Physical Therapy and Medical students at Saint Louis University have seized the opportunity to work part-time and gain research experience in Dr. Oluwatoyosi (Olu) Owoeye’s lab.

Student assistants: Jemma Kim, Meena Chetty, Mark Moyer, Dr. Oluwatoyosi (Olu) Owoeye, Natania Nguyen, Ian Modde – Not pictured: Emily Redpath, Kendall Cunningham, Michael Illes, Abigail Frech

Jemma Kim (Class of 2023), one of the student project leads, conducting an isometric strength test on a student athlete's quadriceps muscle during a baseline testing session.  Jemma is also a co-author on a systematic review in preparation for Dr. Owoeye's lab.

The students have had the opportunity to assist Dr. Owoeye with enrolling participants, conducting baseline testing, data collection and management, and results dissemination for the RICHLoad project. The RICHLoad Project (Reducing Injuries among College atHletes through Load management) aims to investigate the relationship between weekly cumulative load (i.e., training, practice and game load) and musculoskeletal injury risk among soccer and basketball student-athletes using a multivariable prediction model (which considers other established risk factors for injury). Among other novel findings, the project will determine reference values for “safe” cumulative load thresholds that will be used to develop an algorithm in collaboration with the Computer Science Department for the RICHLoad Software.  This algorithm will comprise a mobile app and an athlete monitoring dashboard that will be implemented and evaluated in subsequent collegiate soccer and basketball seasons. Ultimately, the RICHLoad Software will guide coaches and medical staff in evidence-informed load management decisions and related interventions to minimize fatigue, reduce the risk of injury, and maximize performance among student-athletes. Further information about the RICHLoad Project and the preliminary RICHLoad - SLU data collection app can be found here.

This RICHLoad Project is a multidisciplinary and collaborative project and has required the assistance of many from the St. Louis community. Co-investigators include Dr. Jamil Neme (team physician for the Saint Louis Billikens) from the Department of Family and Community Medicine, Dr. Flavio Esposito from the Computer Science Department & School of Engineering, Dr. Paula Buchanan from the Center for Health Outcomes Research and Dr. Anthony Breitbach from the Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training, Robert Hornnet from the Department of Athletics and Andy Florian Irakoze from the Computer Science Department. This project has partnered with SLU and Harris Stowe Athletics and has received funding through the Applied Health Research Grant. Dr. Owoeye is the principal investigator on the RICHLoad Project and he directs the Injury Prevention and Health Promotion (P2) Lab within the Physical Therapy and Athletic Training Department.