Past Lab Members
Liraz Arie, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, MGH Institute of Health Professions
I completed my PhD in 2024 where I studied dual-task costs in walking for individuals with bilateral hearing loss under the supervision of Dr. Anat Lubetzky. I graduated from Tel Aviv University with an MSc in Physical Therapy and have extensive experience in sports rehabilitation and research, having worked as a senior physical therapist in Israel. I hold several professional certifications, including Pilates and Yoga instruction. My long-term research goal is to understand the interaction between motor control and cognitive processes, contributing to the development of interventions for fall risk assessment, prevention, and rehabilitation in aging adults and patients with neurological disorders.
Kristyn Cheng, DPT 
Doctor of Physical Therapy, New York University
Research Assistant
I am an NYU Doctorate of Physical Therapy graduate, class of 2024. I graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor and Master of Sciences in Kinesiology (2019 and 2021, respectively). Throughout my college career I have been involved in various research projects, ranging from human behavior analysis through sport psychology and affordances, to studying human movement with the use of EMG, force plates, VICON, etc. Thus far, I have observed and analyzed human movement from a Kinesiologist’s perspective and I am excited to further my learning by partaking in research from a physical therapy standpoint.
Jordan Zide, DPT
Doctor of Physical Therapy New York University
Research Assistant
I am an NYU Doctorate of Physical Therapy graduate, class of 2024. I attended Wake Forest University for my undergraduate degree. I have special interests in neurological, TBI, and amputee physical therapy. I have always been interested in research and hope to continue my involvement during my professional career.
Andrew Medlin, SPT
Doctor of Physical Therapy
, New York University
Research Assistant
I am an NYU Doctorate of Physical Therapy graduate, class of 2023. Originally I’m from Texas where I attended University of North Texas for my undergraduate degree. During my time there I had the privilege of working at UNT’s Applied Physiology Laboratory, where I mainly assisted in research surrounding sport performance, supplementation, and activewear testing. During my senior year I was chosen to represent UNT at the Texas chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine conference where I had the honor of earning undergraduate major of the year. Research has always been a passion of mine and I hope to have continued involvement throughout my career. Outside the program I have a love for martial arts and before leaving Texas I earned my blackbelt in Northern Shaolin Long Fist and Southern Taiwanese Hung Ga and I’m a certified instructor with the Taipei Chinese Martial Arts Association.
Sarah Mischianti, SPT
Doctor of Physical Therapy, New York University
Research Assistant
I am an NYU Doctorate of Physical Therapy graduate, class of 2022. I graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 2017, receiving my Bachelors of Arts degree with a double major in Biology and Business. During my time at Franklin and Marshall College, I assisted on research in developmental genetics and was captain of the women’s varsity soccer team. Prior to attending physical therapy school, I worked as an assistant at a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for the treatment of neurological disorders. In the two years prior to attending NYU, I worked at Boston Children’s Hospital as a clinical research coordinator on clinical trials specializing in rare neurogenetic diseases with a high incidence of autism and intellectual delay. My interests include research and working in vestibular, neurological and pediatric physical therapy.
Susie Lunardi, SPT, CSCS
Doctor of Physical Therapy, New York University
Research Assistant
I am an NYU Doctorate of Physical Therapy graduate (Class of 2021). I served as the NYPTA Student Special Interest Group’s Communications Chair. I graduated from UC San Diego in 2013 (B.S. in Cognitive Neuroscience / Dance minor), where I worked in computational & behavioral neuroscience research for 3 years. Becoming inspired in the fitness world, I completed my RYT-200 Hour with Yoga Alliance and earned a “Certificate in Kinesiology – Yoga Teacher” from College of San Mateo as well as numerous personal training certifications: CSCS, NASM-CPT and EXOS Fitness Specialist. Outside academia, I enjoy yoga, golf, bodybuilding, and studying nutrition.
Madison Pessel, SPT, CSCS
Doctor of Physical Therapy, New York University
Research Assistant
I am an NYU Doctorate of Physical Therapy graduate, class of 2021. I graduated from James Madison University in Virginia. At James Madison, I received my Bachelors of Science in Biology with a minor in Pre-Physical Therapy studies. I have special interests in neurologic, vestibular, and pediatric physical therapy.
Marta Gospodarek, PhD
PhD Music Technology, Music and Performing Arts Professions, Steinhardt, NYU
My research interests lie in the intersection of spatial audio, sound design, and psychoacoustics applied to the context of Virtual and Mixed Reality. My work in the lab is focused on the investigation of auditory influence on postural control. Besides that, as a member of NYU Future Reality Lab, I am responsible for sound design and audio engineering of experimental co-located VR projects. Currently, I am also pursuing the Chateaubriand grant in IRCAM (Paris) investigating sound perception in AR environments.
Gene Fu, PT, DPT, CSCS
Doctor of Physical Therapy Graduate, New York University; Research Assistant
|
Lorena Garcia, PT, DPT, CSCS
Doctor of Physical Therapy Graduate, New York University; Research Assistant |
Erin Kuchlewski, PT, DPT, CSCS
Doctor of Physical Therapy Graduate, New York University; Research Assistant
|
Erinn Kary, PT, DPT, CSCS
Doctor of Physical Therapy Graduate, New York University; Research Assistant |
Helene Darmanin, PT, DPT, CSCS
|
Wenbo Lan, MS
|
Amirhossein Khalilian Gourtani, MSc
|
Shashank Garg, MS
|
