Home

The Center for Recovery, Physical Activity, and Nutrition (CeRPAN) supports research in the School of Health Professions at UTMB

The Center is committed to creating relationships among basic and clinical scientists to translate and apply research findings for the benefit of persons with disability or chronic disease and their families. CeRPAN was originally established in 2001 as the Center for Rehabilitation Sciences to provide an infrastructure for research in disability, recovery, and rehabilitation at UTMB. The mission and focus of the Center were expanded in 2013 to integrate research involving physical activity, exercise, function and nutrition to provide new opportunities for education and scientific training.

Read about Research at CeRPAN or browse Mission, History and Facts & Figures.

Studies in Recruitment

News & Announcements

2018-2019 News

10/15-10/16/2020 - National Institutes of Health Rehabilitation Research Conference

NIH’s next Rehabilitation Research Conference, October 15–16, 2020, in Bethesda, Maryland. Learn more about the past meeting,
Rehabilitation Research at NIH: Moving the Field Forward.
08/04/2020 - Drs. Raji & Kuo receive $1.42M in second round of funding to study Opioid prescribing

Mukaila Raji, MD and Yong-Fang Kuo, PhD received a second round of funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH for grant, "Effectiveness, toxicity and safety of opioid and benzodiazepine substitutes," through 2024.
07/23/2020 - Dr. Pappadis receives NIA funding to study Geriatric TBI Care

Monique R. Pappadis, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Rehabilitation Sciences, has been awarded a new grant from the National Institute on Aging for her 5-year project, "Chronic Care Management of Geriatric Traumatic Brain Injury." Download Pappadis K01 Press Release.
07/20/2020 - Research Continues In-hospital and Post-discharge

The Volpi/Deer hospital research team, pictured in the Functional Testing Laboratory located on the 11th floor of Jennie Sealy Hospital, have been recruiting for in-hospital and post-discharge studies since late April 2020 when Phase 1 research came back online after the COVID19 shutdown at UTMB. Shawn Goodlett, Rachel Deer and Nicole Robertson are currently recruiting for the following randomized clinical trials investigating pragmatic interventions to slow muscle loss during hospitalization and accelerate recovery of physical function after discharge:

Translating Muscle anabolic Strategies into interventions to Accelerate Recovery from Hospitalization in Geriatric Patients (GRAMS)

A Phase I Randomized Clinical Trial of In-hospital and Post-hospital Whey Protein vs. Low-Quality Protein vs. Isocaloric Placebo Supplementation to Improve Recovery from Hospitalization in Older Adults (GRIPS)
04/09/2020 - Dr. Ottenbacher Receives New NIH/NIA Grant

Dr. Ottenbacher received a new 5-year grant from the NIH/NIA, titled “Academic Leadership Award in Data Science and Discovery” (K07AG064031)
04/07/2020 - Dr. Li Receives Two New Grants

Chih-Ying (Cynthia) Li, PhD, Dept of Occupational Therapy has been selected to receive a FY2020 AOTF Health Services Research Grant Award ($100K/2 years) for the project: “OT Service Intensity in Home Health and Impact on Health Outcomes”. Dr. Li will work with Dr. Ottenbacher (Project Mentor) and Dr. Mroz (Co-I) from the University of Washington on this project. In addition, Dr. Li received a K01 career development award from the NIH/NICHD, “Standardized Patient Assessment across Post-Acute Care: Opportunities and Challenges.” Congratulations, Dr. Li!