People

Dr. Monica A. Daley (she/her)
Professor
Director,  Center for Integrative Movement Sciences
Equity Advisor,  School of Biological Sciences
Monitoring Editor, Journal of Experimental Biology

madaley@uci.edu
(949) 824-6654

About me:  I often wonder why I fall down so much more than the animals I study! I have always been fascinated by animals, and by the diversity of animal form and function.  I am an experimental physiologist, which means that I love to design experiments, make measurements and analyze data to reveal how and why animals move the way they do. When not doing science, I enjoy running, reading science fiction, exploring nature with my family, and making pottery.

Dr. M. Janneke Schwaner
Postdoctoral scientist
mjschwan@uci.edu

Janneke’s research focuses on the biomechanics of extreme and unsteady organismal behaviors with the aim to identify physical mechanisms used to overcome mechanical constraints in natural environments. With the use of engineering tools, she hopes to reveal underlying rules and limits to performance, and ways organisms circumvent these limits, with the ultimate aim to better understand system components, control, and internal energy flows of elastic systems.

Brooke A. Christensen (she/her)
PhD Candidate, University of California, Irvine

Brooke is interested in how animals navigate complex terrain. By integrating studies of muscle-tendon function with limb and whole-body dynamics, she hopes to better understand the balance between stability and energy regulation during high-speed bipedal locomotion.

Katrina Moore
PhD Student, University of California, Irvine

Katrina completed her Master’s degree in Behavioral Ecology at California State University, Long Beach in 2021 where she studied the role of anatomical defenses in behavioral adaptation in North American mammals. Her doctoral research will focus on analyzing how behavior can influence the biomechanics of mammalian locomotion. Katrina is interested in applying her research to aid in animal conservation and mitigation of human-wildlife conflict. She is also passionate about teaching and hopes to use the classroom to foster a new generation of confident, diverse, and inspired scientists.

Vittorio La Barbera
PhD Student, Royal Veterinary College, London, UK

Vittorio is investigating the relationship between morphology and locomotor behavior by synthesizing locomotor dynamics of anatomically realistic musculoskeletal models of exemplar bipedal and quadrupedal species (dog, ostrich, human, horse).  Vittorio is collaborating with John Hutchinson and Yuval Tassa at Google DeepMind to use deep reinforcement learning techniques to synthesize full-body dynamic locomotor behaviors. The simulated behaviors will be compared to experimentally measured dynamics of complex locomotor tasks.

Leslie Sanchez
Dr. M. Marlene Godoy Research Fellow in Movement Sciences

I am interested in the physiology and locomotion of bipedal animals. I’m currently involved in studying the interaction between substrate damping and muscle-tendon dynamics in guinea fowl through novel terrain perturbation experiments.

Lukas Amare
Undergraduate researcher

I run for UCI Cross Country and Track and Field Team here at UCI. I love to be in the outdoors and explore!

Charles Huang (he/him)
Undergraduate researcher

I am interested in physiology, biomechanics, and neuroscience. Currently, I am involved in a project that investigates the correlation between locomotor performance and behavior in kangaroo rats. My hobbies include tennis, basketball, and thrifting. 

Joey Huynh (he/him)
Undergraduate researcher

I am a 4th year Exercise Science major. I am interested in animal biomechanics in understanding energy returns and optimal ways to increase efficiency in movement. I hope to take my talents into the sports medicine field to minimize injury while maximizing performance. I enjoy exercising, sports, and hobbies that involve nature.

Cesar Jacques
Undergraduate researcher

I’m a fourth year Global Cultures Major with hopes of attending medical school. I enjoy rock climbing, outdoor adventures, eating/cooking, and spending time with family in my free time. I am excited to be apart of the locomotion lab here at UCI and look forward to learning and applying the knowledge in my future endeavors. 

Rubi Tapia (she/her)
Undergraduate researcher

I am a 5th year BME student interested in human and animal locomotion, biomechanics, and musculoskeletal modeling research. I enjoy going to the gym and the beach during my down time and I am always open to exploring new cities or hiking spots 🙂

Caitlin Zamora (she/her)
Undergraduate researcher

I am a 3rd year undergrduate student majoring in Exercise Science, pursuing a career in Sports Medicine. I’m interested in the physiological characteristics that drive in vivo locomotion, alongside the major contributions to physical performance. I love all activities outdoors!

Kamila Karimjee
Completed her PhD with Professor Daley and Professor Piercy at the Royal Veterinary College, London, UK

Kamila’s thesis focused on using wearable sensor technology to develop novel quantitative approaches for monitoring of activity, gait, and behavior in dogs for health and welfare assessment.

Sean Gabriel Furie Clement Gonzales (he/him)
Dr. M. Marlene Godoy Research Fellow in Movement Sciences

Hi, my name is Sean (he/him) and I am a fifth-year Exercise Science major.  I aim to do what I can to promote a deeper understanding and appreciation for movement and exercise, be it in research, healthcare, or coaching! I also dabble in video games (Pokémon Go, League of Legends), the grappling arts (BJJ, wrestling), and horror story podcasts (listening only).

Anahita Sadrossadat
Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Fellow

 I am interested in kangaroo rats’ bipedal locomotion specifically investigating how behavioral traits influence locomotor responses to novelty.

Laura German
Undergraduate researcher

I am interested in dog biomechanics and monitoring the different gaits and behaviors. I am interested in understanding how analysis of behaviors can lead to the discovery of behavioral changes associated with specific diseases, such as seizures and muscle weakness.

Nicholas Vargas
Undergraduate researcher

I am interested in investigating movement and behavior in dogs using video and IMU sensors. I aim to become a physical therapist and I think studying how other species move and interact can give me a different perspective and approach to understanding human movements. 

Oceanus Zhang
Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Fellow

I am an undergraduate student majoring in Biological Sciences and minoring in Bioinformatics. I love animals, especially birds, cats, dogs, and snakes. I’m interested in the physiology and biomechanics of animals, hoping to apply what I investigate through data analysis to better help and protect animals in the future. I am currently doing video analysis on wild kangaroo rats with Katrina Moore, investigating animal behavioral syndromes. In my free time, I love scuba diving and skiing.

Vivian Chong
Undergraduate researcher

I am interested in the anatomy of birds and how a bird’s biomechanics relates to their health and overall function. I am an undergraduate student majoring in Biological Sciences and I learn through interaction and hands-on experience.

Hayden Villandre
Undergraduate researcher

Hayden is interested in the biomechanics of maintaining balance and stability during bipedal agility tasks. She is interested in the coordination of movement to avoid injury, as well as strategies of rehabilitation, especially for the application of these principles to dancers and athletes.

Maggie Brown (she/her)
Undergraduate researcher

Maggie is interested in human biomechanics specifically focusing on hopping tasks and movement coordination. She is processing and analyzing data on the adjustment of muscle stiffness to maintain hopping frequency as load is increased.

Sarah Zakhary
Undergraduate researcher

Sarah is interested in human movement biomechanics, focusing on the coordination of landing in hopping and jumping tasks. Sarah I enjoys cooking, biking, and reading in her free time.

Blair Thompson: Project Coordinator. Blair coordinated our Integrative Movement Sciences Summer Research Institute in 2021 and is now in Medical School at UCSD.

Moira Williams: Undergraduate researcher. Neuromuscular control of leg stiffness in human hopping. Moira is currently working as an EMT.

Catalina Dentzel Helmy: Undergraduate researcher. Bird biomechanics on varied substrate conditions and the biomechanics of head-bobbing in birds. Catalina is currently working as a Research Specialist at UCI.

Zhiji Hu: Undergraduate researcher. Bird biomechanics on varied substrate conditions and the biomechanics of head-bobbing in birds. Zhiji is currently in a Masters program at Harvard University.

Dr. Suzanne M. Cox: Postdoctoral scientist. Neuromechanics of balance control in guinea fowl. Dr Cox is currently a Research Scientist with the Patek lab at Duke.

Shervin Abbasi Jafarinejad: Undergraduate researcher. In-vivo muscle-tendon function.

Dr. Jade Hall: Completed her PhD with Daley at RVC on behavior and personality expression in guinea fowl, in collaboration with Dr Siobhan Abeyesinghe.  Dr Hall is now working as a Science Policy Officer at Royal Society of Biology. She is working in science communication and policy to improve diversity and inclusion in STEM.

Flor Yanez: Undergraduate researcher. Bipedal locomotion in birds.

Bradley Allen: Masters student. Posture and balance control in pigeons at RVC in collaboration with Dr. Richard Bomphrey.