LSUS Human Performance Lab Boosts Biotech Innovation in Northwest Louisiana

Leading in Human Performance Evaluation

On what used to be six racquetball courts, there are now three top-notch research labs dedicated to the study of human movement at LSU Shreveport (LSUS)—an exercise science lab, a motion analysis lab, and a motor behavior lab—collectively known as the Human Performance Lab. Through its doors come entrepreneurs, coaches, physical therapists, athletes, and regular people with questions: “Why does my knee hurt when I run?” “Is this ankle brace doing what it’s supposed to?” “What kind of shape am I in, really?”
 
Cory Coehoorn, director of the lab, works with them to find answers. He also engages students in the process, who learn to run advanced tests on initially bewildering equipment, such as the VO2 Max machine, which measures maximal oxygen consumption, and the Bod Pod, which analyzes body composition.
 
With the addition of the Human Performance Lab, LSUS aims to establish itself as a national leader in human performance evaluation. The combined capabilities can analyze an individual from a physiological, biomechanical, and cognitive perspective. And through growing synergy with the LSUS Cyber Collaboratory, the Human Performance Lab is enabling innovation in the surrounding business community.

“I can go straight from prototyping at the Cyber Collaboratory to test my device at the Human Performance Lab and quickly be able to show benefits that have been well validated through research. And if it doesn’t work quite right, I can go back to the Collaboratory to change the prototype, print it out, and go right back to testing.”

Eric Rippetoe, owner of Bishop, a Shreveport startup that manufactures knee braces and now develops new products and engages with his clients through both the LSUS Cyber Collaboratory and the LSUS Human Performance Lab