My research aims to improve the performance of activities of daily living in those living with mobility impairment. I bridge bridge basic and translational research to elucidate novel neuromusculoskeletal mechanisms underpinning functional deficits and leverage this mechanistic understanding to optimally deploy interventions. As an NIH F32 Postdoctoral Fellow, I am examining how foot & shoe properties influence muscle, joint, and whole-body mechanics and energetics to help older adults walk more efficiently.
During my PhD, I...
1) clarified the influence of toe dorsiflexion on foot arch stiffness during walking (Davis & Challis, PLoS ONE, 2022),
2) characterized the mechanical function of the foot's arch during walking, rearfoot strike running, and non-rearfoot strike running (Davis & Challis, J Biomech, 2023),
and 3) developed a computational multi-segment foot model to explore how foot properties alter the metabolic cost of gait in forward dynamics simulations (Davis & Challis, Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin, 2024 & Davis & Challis, Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin, 2025).
As a postdoc, I am training in...
1) cine B-mode ultrasound to explore how mechanisms underlying altered muscle efficiency (Davis et al., J Appl Physiol, 2025)
2) biplane fluoroscopy to examine age-related differences in foot bone motion (Cernucan et al., Footwear Science, 2025)
and 3) functional gait assessment in older adults to assess low-cost interventions (Davis et al., ISB 2025; Long et al. ASB 2025; Kundu et al., ASB 2025)