The Brain Health Research Institute at Kent State is very pleased to announce two new additions to its leadership: Dr. Angela Ridgel has agreed to serve as BHRI Associate Director for a three-year term starting August 1, 2021, and Dr. Julia Jones Huyck will serve as Assistant Director for the new BHRI Neurocognitive Collaboratory for a two-year term starting August 1, 2021.
Dr. Ridgel is Professor of Exercise Science and Exercise Physiology in the School of Health Sciences, based in the College of Education, Health and Human Services (EHHS) at Kent State. She has been involved in BHRI since its inception, and currently serves as a member of the BHRI Executive Committee and Vice-Chair of the BHRI Symposium Committee. She also previously served as a co-organizer of the BHRI Seminar Series, and along with Dr. Merri Rosen, helped launch that program. She has an active research program focused on how aging and neurological disorders affect movement in humans, and how exercise can be used to promote neurorehabilitation and brain health. Dr. Ridgel has current funding from the NIH (NINDS) to study effects of exercise in Parkinson’s disease, and from the Davis Phinney Foundation, a major funder of Parkinson’s disease research. In 2018, she was elected a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
Dr. Huyck is Associate Professor of Speech Pathology and Audiology in the School of Health Sciences of the College of Education, Health and Human Services (EHHS) at Kent State. She is also Program Coordinator for the Speech Pathology and Audiology Degree Program in the School of Health Sciences of EHHS. Her research, currently funded by the National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders (NIDCD) and the Akron Children’s Hospital Foundation, focuses on the development of hearing and listening abilities from childhood into young adulthood. She has active collaborations with other BHRI researchers at both NEOMED and Akron Children’s Hospital, as well as with the Cleveland Clinic as part of the Northeast Ohio Au.D. Consortium. In her new position, Dr. Huyck will lead the planning, development, and implementation of the BHRI Neurocognitive Collaboratory, serving as chair of the Collaboratory’s Planning Committee.
The BHRI welcomes and congratulates Dr. Ridgel and Dr. Huyck on their new appointments and we look forward to their contributions in the coming years.
