Auburn native, Morehouse student gains research experience in Kinesiology lab

Summer semester is the ideal time for students to complete internships, job shadowing and explore career and learning opportunities. This summer, the Sensorimotor and Rehabilitation Technology Neuroscience Lab at Auburn University hosted Morehouse College undergraduate student Jared Russell II for hands-on research exploration.

An Auburn native, Russell is also an honors student and track and field athlete at Morehouse. The experience gave Russell a glimpse into what research looks like at an R1 university, while also giving Auburn graduate students an opportunity to sharpen their mentorship skills.

The lab, housed in the College of Education’s School of Kinesiology, is led by Harsimran Baweja, who is also founding director of the new Doctor of Physical Therapy program.

“I was able to work with members of Dr. Baweja’s research team, assisted with data collection in both laboratory and field settings, cataloged research findings and contributed to a range of ongoing projects,” Russell said. “This experience has given me a better understanding of what goes on in kinesiology labs, and I have also gained more technical skills, including proper data collecting, management and research documentation.”

As a kinesiology major at Morehouse, Russell said the summer experience at Auburn gave him a deeper appreciation of kinesiology and a clearer vision of what it entails to focus in that field. Part of his work over the summer consisted of working with the general public and clients from multiple age groups, which was invaluable experience as he moves toward a career goal of becoming an orthopedic surgeon.

“This experience will help me reach my goals by giving me experiences, connections and a better understanding of my path forward in the field of kinesiology,” he said.

For graduate student Nawara Mansour AlSalmie, who conducts research in the lab, the experience opened her eyes to something she had never done before.

“I have mentored physical therapy students in clinical settings plenty of times, but there is something special and different about guiding them through research,” she said. “It has been such a joyful and rewarding experience, even more than I anticipated.”

AlSalmie’s research investigates how limits of stability change throughout the human lifespan and examines how focus of attention affects learning and balance outcomes.

“This work addresses a critical gap in understanding dynamic postural control across different age groups and between sexes,” she said. “Additionally, it contributes essential knowledge for clinicians working with diverse populations and provides researchers with normative frameworks for future studies in postural control and motor learning.”

Valeria Robles-Cerdas, a doctoral student and graduate teaching assistant in the lab, also worked with Russell over the summer.

“Right now in the lab, we are working on our Normative Balance study, which aims to understand how balance develops and changes across the lifespan,” Robles-Cerdas said. “This research is important because it helps bridge the gap between the research and clinical worlds. One of our goals is to help the community improve quality of life as we age.”

As graduate students, she said, it is essential to not only gain research experience but also to develop mentoring skills.

“Our work with Jared Russell and past undergraduate students involves introducing them to research, teaching them how to use our lab’s equipment, explaining the data collection processes to them and preparing them to present at undergraduate research conferences — providing opportunities to work in both laboratory and community settings.”