Centers & Institutes
Applied Health Behavior Research Laboratory (AHBRL)
High-quality applied health behavior research is facilitated by a climate that promotes communication, coordination, and collaboration among and between the faculty and the several communities and settings we serve. The mission of the Applied Health Behavior Research Lab is to enable the Department of Applied Health Science (AHS) to fulfill the research goals of Indiana University by providing resources for faculty to conduct research and to apply for and obtain external research funding. The guiding principles and goals of the lab include: AHBRL is a shared resource open to faculty from every unit of AHS, AHBRL will incubate research efforts that are under development as well as promote and facilitate research that is well underway. AHBRL will support research being conducted by individual faculty as well as by collaborative teams that include a member of the AHS; and Collaborative teams may include other AHS faculty members, members of other unit in HPER and of IU as well as the local, state, and national government agencies, community organizations, and private establishments.
Biochemistry Lab
Research in the exercise biochemistry laboratory is directed toward examining the inflammatory mediators responsible for airway inflammation in asthmatic subjects during exercise and examining oxidative stress and antioxidants during exercise.
Biomechanics Lab
The primary objective of the Biomechanics Laboratory is to gain a better understanding of the cause-effect mechanisms of sports motions, mainly through film analysis. Athletes are filmed in the course of their sport activities.
Center for Minority Health
The Center for Minority Health has the mission of research, outreach, programming and training with regard to health disparities.
Center for Sexual Health Promotion
The Center for Sexual Health Promotion is a collaborative of sexual health scholars from across the campuses of Indiana University and strategic partner academic institutions around the globe who, in partnership with practitioners from community-based health organizations, government and industry, work toward advancing the field of sexual health through our research, education and training initiatives.
Clinical Exercise Physiology Lab
The goal of the clinical research in this lab is to establish the most effective exercise prescription in health and disease. The current diseases of interest include hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. The measurement of endothelial function is a new direction for the laboratory.
Counsilman Center
Named after legendary swim coach and educator James E. "Doc" Counsilman, the center honors his seminal work in developing the science of swimming. The Counsilman Center seeks to establish fellowships for students who wish to study the science of coaching; continue Doc's pursuit of coaching innovations by exploring the use of new video and electronic technology to assess the performance of competitive swimmers; serve as a resource for coaches, swimmers, and scholars on the history of swimming, training techniques, and competition; provide a source for independent perspectives on training techniques and swimming-related equipment; and act as a testing facility for the physiologic, psychological, and biomechanical status of athletes.
Eppley Institute for Parks and Lands
As an outreach arm of Indiana University, the Eppley Institute for Parks & Public Lands is currently working on research or technical assistance programs in cities in Alaska, Washington, D.C., Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, and for the National Park Service with total annual contracts exceeding $1.8 million. The Institute's current staff represents more than 200 years of combined experience in the field.
Heartland OSHA Training Institute Education Center
The Heartland OSHA Training Institute Education Center, a collaboration between Indiana University and University of Wisconsin - Whitewater, is an education center providing training for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Indiana Prevention Resource Center
The Indiana Prevention Resource Center (IPRC) offers a wide range of services to inform the public on Alcohol Tobacco, Other Drugs, (ATOD) and Gambling issues and enable prevention and treatment professionals to deliver effective, evidence-based programs, policies and practices. Services include providing technical assistance, education, training opportunities, grant writing technical assistance, and evaluation services. The IPRC conducts the annual survey of alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) use by children and adolescents in Indiana. It surveys students in grades 6 through 12 across Indiana, surveying over 150,000 each year. There is an extensive library and clearinghouse for information dissemination on ATOD and problem gambling. The IPRC uses sophisticated GIS technology to create maps and visual displays of prevention and treatment data. Projects of the IPRC include Afternoon’s R.O.C.K. in Indiana, the Tobacco Retailer Inspection Program, and the Indiana Problem Gambling Awareness Program.
Industrial Hygiene Laboratory
Industrial Hygiene is the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of physical, chemical, biological hazards that may result in injury, illness, impairment, or affect the well-being of workers and harm the environment. The hygiene laboratory includes a variety of equipment designed to provide data on industrial contaminants or environmental conditions that may be harmful to workers. Students are introduced to the most common types of field measurements, sampling methods and technical equipment to conduct risk assessments and determine mitigation strategies. The Industrial Hygiene Laboratory includes a variety of equipment designed to provide data on industrial contaminants or environmental conditions that may be harmful to workers. The mission of the industrial hygiene laboratory is to contribute to a safer and healthier workplace, and community through applied research, teaching and service related activities and establish beneficial partnerships with industry to further the transfer of safety education and research.
Leisure Research Institute
The Leisure Research Institute (LRI) facilitates research and provides leadership in scholarly inquiry in the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Studies. This is accomplished through the systematic study of leisure and recreation-related phenomena by department faculty and students; dissemination of research-related publications prepared by faculty and students that serve the professional practice and theoretical development of the leisure, recreation, and tourism fields; organization and support of conferences, seminars, colloquia, and workshops for faculty and students; facilitation, through funding grants, research team formation, and research consultancy advisement, for both faculty and students; and leverage of partnerships within and outside the university that support research.
Living Lab
The Living Lab offers opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborative education and research in applications of pervasive and ubiquitous computing to support health and healthy behaviors. Projects include: a) an investigation of ethical issues in home-based ubiquitous computing environments for older adults, b) a comparison of multi-media and text-based surveys to provide education about staying safe online and c) the development of a wii-type game to improve balance and gait for older adults. These projects are led by a collaborative team of faculty from the Schools of HPER and Informatics. The Living Lab offers HPER students an opportunity to learn how technology can support health through classes in the Lab and opportunities to be involved in on-going research.
Motor Control Lab
The Motor Control Laboratory specializes in the neuromuscular mechanisms involved in human movement, with an emphasis on aging and postural control. Using a variety of EMG, H-reflex, and balance protocols, the Motor Control Laboratory investigates the plasticity or adaptability of the human reflex system through training. Focus is on functional tasks and on the postural muscles of the lower limb. Current experiments are investigating the corrective responses in young and old adults to postural perturbations, and the ability to train these responses. Spinal mechanisms responsible for mediating these changes are being investigated.
National Center on Accessibility
NCA is committed to the full participation in parks, recreation, and tourism by people with disabilities. Through education, technical assistance, and research solutions, the Center provides comprehensive services resulting in the development of knowledge, awareness, skills, and ultimately action. The Center provides cutting-edge technical assistance, education, and research on accessibility issues to the parks, recreation, and tourism industries.
Neuro-Behavioral Lab
The Neuro-Behavioral Lab provides insight into the neural regulation of goal directed movements. Recent lines of inquiry include visuo-motor control of prehensile (reaching and grasping) movements in closed-land, open-loop visual modalities; spatial accuracy of goal-directed movements in memory dependent contexts; sensorimotor transformations (visual to kinesthetic) involved in pointing to remembered targets; visual and non-visual components of skill acquisition; and the cerebral specialization for speech and limb movement.
Nutrition Science Laboratories
The Nutrition Science Laboratories are University research facilities dedicated to nutrition science and include research labs and a classroom teaching lab for food science courses. The laboratories were completed in 1994, and feature state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. Other laboratories located close by including the exercise physiology labs, contain unique equipment that is shared in a collaborative research agreement throughout the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. This arrangement helps make the Applied Health Science Nutrition Science Laboratories an outstanding research facility.
Office of Community Health Engagement (OCHE)
The mission of the Office of Community Health Engagement is to enhance and sustain community health in the state of Indiana by providing the foundation for a collaborative process that supports the profession of public health through developing community partnerships, promoting workforce development and continuing education opportunities, and encouraging community-student engagement.
Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention
The Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention (RCAP), which began operations in March, 1994, and is headquartered at Indiana University, is a joint project of Indiana University, University of Colorado, and University of Kentucky. The major focus of the RCAP is the promotion of HIV/STD prevention in rural America, with the goal of reducing HIV/STD incidence.
Sport Psychology Lab
The Sport Psychology Laboratory specializes in psychobiological aspects of performance. Focus is on the relationship between psychological variables of stress/anxiety and physical performance.
Tobacco Control and Wellness Research Working Group
The Tobacco Control and Wellness Research Working Group is an initiative designed to provide advanced research training to graduate students who are interested in tobacco control and wellness research as well as to cultivate tobacco control and wellness research partnerships between faculty and graduate students.
