Academic Appointment

• Associate Professor

Education

• PhD, Ohio State University, 1998
• MSPT, University of Pittsburgh, 1999

Research Interests

Dr. Sparto’s primary focus in research is the study of the impact of aging on postural control. This is manifested in research into a) the use of sensory feedback for balance in older adults and children, and b) the effect of white matter lesions on balance function in older adults. He has secondary interests in exploring how virtual reality can be used as an intervention for people with vestibular disorders, and in studying how knee stability training functional and neuromuscular outcomes in people with knee osteoarthritis.

Recent Publications

• Whitney SL, Sparto PJ, Brown KE, Furman JM, Jacobson JL, Redfern MS (2002) The potential use of virtual reality in vestibular rehabilitation: Preliminary findings with the BNAVE. Neurology Report, 26:72-78.
• Latt LD, Sparto PJ, Furman JM, Redfern MS (2003) The steady state postural response to continuous sinusoidal galvanic vestibular stimulation. Gait and Posture, 18:64-72.
• Childs JD, Sparto PJ, Fitzgerald GK, Bizzini M, Irrgang JJ (2004) Alterations in lower extremity movement and muscle activation patterns in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. Clinical Biomechanics, 19:44-49.
• Whitney SL, Jacob RG, Sparto PJ, Olshansky E, Detweiler-Shostak G, Brown EL, Furman JM (2005) Acrophobia and pathological height vertigo: indications for vestibular physical therapy? Physical Therapy, 85:443-58.
• Mahboobin A, Loughlin PJ, Redfern MS, Sparto PJ (2005) Sensory re-weighting in human postural control. Experimental Brain Research, 167:260-267.
• Furman JM, Sparto PJ, Soso M, Marcus D (2005) Vestibular Function in Migraine-Related Dizziness:  A Pilot Study. Journal of Vestibular Research, 15: 327-332.
• Musolino MC, Loughlin PJ, Sparto PJ, Redfern MS (2006) Spectrally similar periodic and non-periodic optic flows evoke different postural sway responses. Gait and Posture, 23:180-188.
• Sparto PJ, Redfern MS, Jasko JG, Casselbrant ML, Mandel EM, Furman JM (2006) The influence of dynamic visual cues for postural control in children aged 7-12 years. Experimental Brain Research, 168:505-516.
• Krell JM, McCoy MS, Sparto PJ, Hostler DP, Fisher GL, Stoy WA (2006) Comparison of the Ferno Scoop™ Stretcher to the Long Backboard for spinal immobilization. Prehospital Emergency Care, 10:46-51.
• Whitney SL, Sparto PJ, Hodges LF, Babu SV, Furman JF, Redfern MS (2006) Responses to a Virtual Reality Grocery Store in Persons with and without Vestibular Dysfunction CyberPsychology & Behavior, 9:152-156.

Courses Recently Taught 

• PT 2025, Physiology of Exercise

Biographical Profile

Professional positions held

• Chair, SHRS Executive Committee, 2005–07 

Professional society membership

• American Society of Biomechanics, 1994–present
• American Physical Therapy Association, Member of Research and Neurology Sections, 1997–present        
• Association for Research in Otolaryngology, 2000–present        

Teaching Interests

• Sparto’s teaching interests include biomechanics, exercise physiology, and vestibular function and rehabilitation.

External Service and Assignments

Editorships

• Associate Editor, IEEE - Transactions on Neural Systems andRehabilitation Engineering; 2003–present
• Associate Editor,  Clinical Biomechanics;2004–present

Journal Refereeing

• IEEE - Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering,1999–present
• Physical Therapy,2000–present
• Gait & Posture,2001–present
• Journal of Vestibular Research,2001–present
• Clinical Biomechanics, 2002–present
• Experimental Brain Research, 2003–present
• Journal of the American Geriatrics Society,2003–present
• Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy,2004–present
• Journal of Applied Biomechanics,2004–present
• Cognitive Brain Research,2004–present
• Journal of Sports Sciences,2005–present