Michigan Tech Laboratory Tours

Laboratory Tours will be at 2 pm on Saturday, August 27. Details will be sent to attendees who have RSVP'd on our registration storefront.

Steven Elmer, PhD

Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology

About the Elmer Lab

Dr. Steven Elmer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology at Michigan Technological University. He obtained his BS, MS, and PhD at the University of Utah. His research goals are to find better ways to restore musculoskeletal function, maintain health, and improve performance in healthy and clinical populations. Specifically, his research is focused on three key areas: 1) mechanics of skeletal muscle contraction, 2) coordination of locomotor tasks, and 3) exercise interventions to improve physical conditioning and mobility. Applications for his research range from basic aspects of muscle contraction to applied human performance in a variety of settings including injury, rehabilitation, ergonomics, and sport.

Hoda Hatoum, PhD

Department of Biomedical Engineering

About the Biofluids Lab

Dr. Hoda Hatoum obtained her BS degree in mechanical engineering from the American University of Beirut and her PhD degree from the Ohio State University (OSU). She was awarded the American Heart Association postdoctoral fellowship and right after graduation, she completed her postdoctoral training at the Ohio State University and at Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on tackling the complexity of: (a) structural heart biomechanics (adult and congenital); (b) patient-specific cardiovascular model development and in-vitro testing; (c) prosthetic heart valve engineering (surgical and transcatheter); (d) structure-function relationships of the heart in health and disease at the pediatric and adult stages; and (e) turbulence in blood flow in relation to blood damage. Dr. Hatoum has published in multiple journals spanning both clinical and bioengineering sides and given oral and poster presentations at national and international conferences. She has received several recognitions including the Presidential Graduate Fellowship from OSU, an invited talk at the Heart Valve Society, the best paper award from the Annals of Biomedical Engineering and she was a finalist in the American College of Cardiology Young Investigator Award 2021.

Kevin Trewartha, PhD

Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences

About the Aging Cognition Action Lab

Dr. Trewartha is an Associate Professor at Michigan Technological University in the Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences, and the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology. He completed his BA at the University of Western Ontario and later obtained his MA and PhD at Concordia University, Montreal. He specializes in cognitive neuroscience of aging with a focus on the cognitive mechanisms of motor behavior. These interests fall into two main streams: 1) identifying the changes in neurocognitive mechanisms in healthy aging and dementia that contribute to motor performance impairments in later adulthood, and 2) developing interventions aimed at improving cognitive and motor function in older populations. The overarching goal of this research is to understand the cognitive, computational, and neural basis of motor behavior, and to identify age-related changes in these factors.