Shultz receives new knee laxity research funding

Posted on February 19, 2021

Dr. Shultz, Dr. Schmitz, and Sam Seyedin discuss knee laxity research using a model knee.

Dr. Sandra Shultz has received two new grants for her research on knee laxity – the looseness of the ligaments that stabilize the knee joint.

The work is of interest to both researchers and health practitioners because greater knee laxity is associated with an increased risk for knee injury.

After participating in the I-Corps site program through LaunchUNCG, Kinesiology professor Shultz and her collaborators – Dr. Dennis LaJeunesse in nanoscience, Dr. Randy Schmitz in kinesiology, doctoral students and entrepreneurial leads Beth Bacon and Hunter Holder, and industry mentor Robert Koshniskie – were selected for the spring cohort of the NSF’s national-level I-Corps program, a highly prestigious grant that aids researchers in moving promising ideas and technologies from the laboratory to the marketplace.

The team is working to develop a knee sleeve that provides dynamic motion restraint to help prevent injury related to excessive knee laxity, or to stabilize the knee while an injury is healing.

Shultz has also received a Translational Research Grant (TRG) from the NC Center for Biotechnology for a project to develop and optimize a measurement system for knee laxity that is accurate, reliable, and easy to use.

The TRG program supports researchers as they explore commercial applications of their work, or as they begin the commercialization process for their inventions. Shultz’s co-PIs on the project are Dr. Randy Schmitz and Dr. Minjeong Kim.

Learn more about the Shultz lab’s knee laxity research and other recent innovations at UNCG at https://researchmagazine.uncg.edu/spring-2020/its-a-go.


About LaunchUNCG

LaunchUNCG is a one-stop-shop at UNC Greensboro helping innovators on- and off-campus get connected and start something special. Organizations and initiatives within LaunchUNCG include the Innovation Partnership Services Office, the NC Entrepreneurship Center, and Greensboro NSF I-Corps Site. Check out UNCG’s available technologies here.

About UNC Greensboro

UNC Greensboro, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is 1 of only 40 doctoral institutions recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for both high research activity and community engagement. Founded in 1891 and one of the original three UNC System institutions, UNC Greensboro is one of the most diverse universities in the state with 20,000+ students, and 3,000+ faculty and staff members representing 90+ nationalities. With 17 Division I athletic teams, 85 undergraduate degrees in over 125 areas of study, as well as 74 master’s and 32 doctoral programs, UNC Greensboro is consistently recognized nationally among the top universities for academic excellence and value, with noted strengths in health and wellness, visual and performing arts, nursing, education, and more. For additional information, please visit uncg.edu and follow UNCG on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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