Faculty Notes

In 2025, Dr. Batavia focused on community outreach through creative and educational publishing. He contributed flash fiction pieces to Meniscus Literary Journal, Slackjaw, and Little Old Lady Comedy, as well as editorial and educational cartoons for organizations such as the Hearing Health Foundation, the Rapid City Journal, and Little Old Lady Comedy.

Inspired by his own frustrating experiences with the healthcare system—including a $13,000 PET scan bill and an $8,000 overnight hospital stay with confusing insurance coverage—Dr. Batavia wrote the satirical piece “The Uninsured Diners.” The essay imagines what might happen if health insurance companies took over your dining experience. (Read it on Slackjaw: “The Uninsured Diners”).

Since earning his fourth degree in 2022 - this time in Graphic Design - Dr. Batavia has “spread his wings” artistically, publishing numerous editorial and educational cartoons across various venues. His recent cartoon, “The Waiting Room,” published by the Hearing Health Foundation, humorously explores the irony of trying to hear your name called in a hearing clinic. (View the cartoon).

On a more academic note, Dr. Batavia is currently drafting a new book titled Journal Club Boot Camp, which will explore innovative methods for enhancing journal clubs. The book will feature the use of AI and on-screen animation tools (such as Animaker.com) to help teach complex research concepts, including intention-to-treat analysis, effect sizes, and precision.

Dr. Gao and Dr. Wen Ling are pleased to announce that their abstract, “Using the Axial Rotation Technique to Generate Three-Dimensional Stereoscopic Anatomical Models,” has been accepted for poster presentation at the APTA Combined Sections Meeting (CSM) 2026 in Anaheim, February 12–14, 2026. 

Their work introduces a cost-effective method for teaching human anatomy through 3D visualization, moving beyond traditional two-dimensional images and videos that limit understanding of spatial relationships. 

The team developed the Axial Rotation Technique (ART), which produces a true 3D stereoscopic image (3DSI) effect, enabling realistic depth perception using affordable devices such as Google Cardboard–style viewers or other side-by-side (SBS) displays.

This research highlights a practical, accessible way to enhance anatomy education for Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students and demonstrates how simple technology can transform how future clinicians learn human anatomy.

The lab continues to pursue several exciting interdisciplinary collaborations. Specifically, the following three projects will begin in Fall 2025:

“A single sensor AI-facilitated platform to evaluate and enhance balance anywhere, anytime” is led by Dr. Elzabeth Coker (NYU Tisch) and in collaboration with Dr. JR Rizzo (NYU Rusk). In this project, funded by a NYU Langone Health Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Award, we will validate and enhance a phone app developed by Dr. Coker to measure balance “anywhere, anytime”. 

“Unraveling Hidden Factors in Fall Risk and Fall Prevention” is led by Dr. Lubetzky and in collaboration with clinicians and researchers from Mount Sinai and the University of Pittsburgh. In this project, funded by a NYU Steinhardt, Center of Health and Recalibration Research Seed Award, we will look at factors that increase fall risk, but are not typically evaluated in falls clinics, such as hearing and vestibular status,  or gait kinematics. 

In addition, Tej Mehta, a PhD student in Rehabilitation Sciences, will begin a study entitled “Neural Correlates of the Sensory Integration of Balance: A Preliminary Study in Young Adults.“ In this study, Tej will evaluate brain activity via EEG when participants are balancing themselves while observing virtual environments and listening to different sounds. She will investigate the relationship between balance and brain responses to these sensory stimuli.

We completed a three-year study that tested the effects of sound on balance and included people with dizziness and balance problems and those with hearing loss on one side. In this study, we used a virtual reality headset to create different scenes and tested the influence of sound and visual movement on people’s balance. We wanted to see how sounds and visual scenes affect balance in people with hearing loss, balance problems, or neither. We used a headset to display virtual environments and measured how much each person moved with each of the scenes. We found that when the scene was complicated with lots of moving people, subway cars, etc., people with dizziness had worse balance, especially when sounds were present.  The type of sound did not matter. When the scene had no moving parts but a constant sound, people with dizziness seemed to use sounds to improve their balance. These findings were presented in a short NYU video and published in two manuscripts: 

For a summary, see:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=eOyH-8I90MY

A. V. Lubetzky, M. Cosetti, D. Harel, M. Sherrod, Z. Wang, A. Roginska, J. Kelly. Real Sounds Influence Postural Stability in People with Vestibular Loss but Not in Healthy Controls. PLoS One. 2025 Jan 24;20(1):e0317955.

A. V. Lubetzky, M. Cosetti, D. Harel, K. Scigliano, M. Sherrod, Z. Wang, A. Roginska, J. Kelly. Frequency Analyses of Postural Sway Demonstrate the Use of Sounds for Balance Given Vestibular Loss. Gait Posture. 2024 Dec 14:117:129-135. 

In a subsequent manuscript, we showed that People with hearing loss on one side did not have obvious balance problems in our study. But they were more likely to report a fall in the past year.  Balance was worse in people who had a fall in the past year regardless of vestibular testing results.

A. V. Lubetzky, J.L. Kelly, K. Scigliano, B. Morris, K. Cheng, D. Harel, M. Cosetti. The relationship between unilateral hearing loss, balance function and falls is not informed by vestibular status. Otolo Neurotol. 2025 Feb 1;46(2):221-228.

We also completed a project in collaboration with a team at Casa Colina Hospital in California. 

Daniel Humphrey recruited and tested patients with Traumatic Brain Injury and we observed how the virtual reality assessment that we developed at NYU was sensitive to their visual dependence. The findings were published in the prestigious Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy (JNPT):D. Humphrey, J. Kelly, E. R. Rosario, T. K. Johnson, A. V. Lubetzky. Moving Sounds Increase Postural Visual Dependence in Adults with Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury. J Neurol Phys Ther. 2025 May 6. Online Ahead of Print.

As an awardee of the 2019 Hearing Health Foundation grant, Dr. Lubetzky was invited to deliver a research webinar entitled Does what we hear matter for balance? In January 2025. 

For all other news visit Dr. Lubetzky’s lab website at: 

https://wp.nyu.edu/ptsensorimotorlab/

Dr. Merriwether has had an active and collaborative year, marked by significant contributions to research, mentorship, and community engagement. This July, she participated in the fifth cohort of the Intersectionality Summer Institute, a prestigious program designed to deepen scholars’ understanding of intersectionality in research and practice. The institute fostered collaboration among interdisciplinary scholars and featured distinguished faculty, including Dr. Patricia Hill Collins, one of the foremost theorists of the intersectionality framework. 

In August 2024, Dr. Merriwether began serving as Co-Chair of the Veterans Administration Rehabilitation Research and Development (RR&D) Scientific Review Committee, a leadership role she will hold through August 2026. In this capacity, she helps guide and support multidisciplinary collaborations that advance rehabilitation research and promote equitable health outcomes for veterans.

She also recently completed her service as a Guest Associate Editor for a joint special issue of the Journal of Pain and Health Psychology titled “Accelerating the Science of Equity: Insights and Innovations from Health Psychology on Pain Disparities.” Scheduled for publication in January 2026, the issue reflects Dr. Merriwether’s commitment to scholarly collaboration and her ongoing outreach to broaden participation and awareness in health equity research.

In addition, Dr. Merriwether has authored four recent publications in Obesity (Silver Spring), Neurobiology of Pain, Journal of Pain, and Health Psychology, further demonstrating her collaborative approach to advancing the science of pain and health disparities.

Dr. Moffat continues to exemplify excellence in physical therapy education, research, outreach, and global collaboration. Recently recertified as a Rock Steady Clinician in 2025, she remains dedicated to advancing evidence-based care for individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Through her ongoing outreach and partnership with Rock Steady Boxing’s Connie Fiem, Dr. Moffat co-authored the poster “Strike Back at Parkinson’s: Merging Student Physiotherapist Expertise with Rock Steady Boxing for Enhanced Patient Outcomes,” presented at the 2025 World Physiotherapy Conference in Japan.

Her recent scholarly contributions include the following peer-reviewed publications:

• Denny PA, Izdihar HN, Moffat M. The effect of neurodevelopmental treatment on gross motor function and activities of daily living in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. African Journal of Disability. 2025.
• Denny PA, Izdihar HN, Moffat M. The effect of non-invasive neurodevelopmental treatment on trunk control and upper extremity functional ability in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. Physical Therapy Journal of Indonesia. 2025; 6(1): 83–87.

Dr. Moffat’s global outreach and collaborative spirit are further reflected in her international presentations in Indonesia and Trinidad and Tobago. Her co-presented, “Confronting the Triple Threats to Aging Well: PT Strategies for Sarcopenia, Osteopenia & Frailty,” has been accepted for presentation at the APTA Combined Sections Meeting in Anaheim, CA, in February 2026.

In addition to her research and teaching, Dr. Moffat serves as Co-Investigator on NIH-funded projects in exercise and neuromodulation, contributes as a journal reviewer, and provides pro bono care for patients with multiple sclerosis. Her leadership and outreach extend globally as Adjunct Professor at Universitas Indonesia, Advisory Board Member for MindGlee (Lebanon), and Vice-Chair of the World Rehabilitation Fund.

In recognition of her outstanding scientific contributions, Dr. Moffat was elected to Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society, in 2025.

Dr. Rao and her PhD student, Dannyelle Long, completed extensive work establishing that knee joint movements assessed using markerless motion capture are comparable to traditional marker-based approaches in clinical and sport-specific tasks. Their abstract, “Comparison of Knee Kinematics Assessed with Markerless and Marker-Based Approaches During a Basketball-Specific Task,” was presented at the Combined Sections Meeting in Houston, Texas. Dr. Rao and her PhD student, Soniya Kadam, also presented their abstract titled, “Surface Electromyographic Analysis of Knee Muscles During Yoga and Daily Activities (ADLs)” at CSM 2024. Dr. Rao and recent PhD graduate Dr. Vaibhavi Rathod published a study titled “Proximal and Distal Impairments in Runners With Achilles Tendinopathy Compared With Matched Controls” in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. They also collaborated with imaging scientists at the Department of Radiology at NYU Grossman and co-authored a manuscript titled, “Feasibility of a UTE Stack-of-Spirals Sequence for T1ρ Mapping of Achilles Tendinopathy” in NMR Medicine. 

In collaboration with Dr. JR Rizzo, MD, the Ilse Melamid Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Rehabilitation Medicine, and his team at Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Dr. Rao co-authored, “Gaps in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation for Blindness and Low Vision: The Imperative of Rehabilitation for Visual Disability,” a special communication in the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. This line of work has the potential to motivate a paradigm shift in the rehabilitation and musculoskeletal care of individuals with blindness and low vision. 

In collaboration with Dr. Mark Vorensky, PT, DPT, SCS, OCS, PhD, Dr. Smita Rao co-authored a viewpoint in JOSPT Methods titled, “Improving ChatGPT’s Performance in Orthopedics: Opportunities Using the CRISPE Framework”. They shared how prompt engineering can be leveraged to enhance the accuracy and reliability of ChatGPT’s responses and serve as valuable tools in orthopedic practice, education, and research. 

This spring, Dr. Weaver was invited to present his seminar, “Physical Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain,“ as part of the 2025 Occupational Medicine Seminar Series hosted by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai—The Page and William Black Post-Graduate School for Continuing Education. Dr. Weaver presented to physicians, residents, and fellows, outlining an evidence-based approach to managing pain through functional exercise, psychosocial screening, and patient education on ergonomics, sleep, and pain neuroscience—empowering patients to take an active role in their recovery.