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The Center for Recovery, Physical Activity, and Nutrition (CeRPAN) supports interdisciplinary research 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

SPARXUTMB is participating as a clinical site for the Study in Parkinson's Disease of Exercise Phase 3 Clinical Trial. The SPARX3 (NCT04284436) study is the first randomized control trial designed to investigate the effects of moderate- and high-intensity aerobic exercise on disease progression in untreated patients with Parkinson’s. Blake Rasmussen, PhD is site PI for this study. 
NCMRR-NIH-planNIH’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.
graphic with photos of three researchersNew School of Health Professions / School of Nursing Grant: "Multidisciplinary Development of Walk and Talk Videos to Increase Physical Activity Among Diverse Older Women"

Annalyn DeMello PhD, MPH, RN (SON) Elizabeth Lyons, PhD, MPH (SHP), and Monique Pappadis, MEd, PhD (SHP) were awarded a fiscal year 2021 SHP/SON grant for a new project that aims to increase physical activity in older women. The team will survey participants to learn about preferences for streaming walk-along videos and exercise equipment. Videos will be created by UTMB experts about various topics. Drs Pappadis and Lyons are members of CeRPAN. Dr. Pappadis is a scholar and Dr. Lyons is a leader-in-training in the Clinical Research Core at the UTMB Pepper Center. 
photo of Dr. DeerRachel Deer, PhD is leading the research arm of a new Post-COVID Recovery Clinic at UTMB. Dr. Deer is Principal Investigator of a new study, “Post-COVID Recovery Clinic: Study on long-term health and well-being.” Clinic patients are given the opportunity to participate in an observational COVID-19 study. Participation is voluntary, and patients don’t have to register to get care at the clinic. The study collects data to help us understand the effects of COVID-19 on long-term health and well-being.
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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.
Dr. Pappadis New K01

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.
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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)
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Dr. Ottenbacher received a new 5-year grant from the NIH/NIA, titled “Academic Leadership Award in Data Science and Discovery” (K07AG064031)
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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!

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301 University Boulevard Galveston, TX 77555-1137
Phone: (409) 747-1637
Fax: (409) 747-1638
Email: rehab.info@utmb.edu