Outstanding alumna’s Parkinson’s research to be featured on national television
In June this year, Ph.D. in interdisciplinary health sciences alumna Dr. Stephanie Combs-Miller was invited by reporter Lesley Stahl of "60 Minutes" fame to be interviewed for a story on Parkinson disease to be aired this coming fall on "CBS Sunday Morning." Combs-Miller is an associate professor with the Krannert School of Physical Therapy at the University of Indianapolis and director of research for the College of Health Sciences there. She has been collaborating with Rock Steady Boxing in Indianapolis since 2007, specifically researching the effects of their boxing training program for people with Parkinson disease.
Recently, Combs and her team completed a two-year longitudinal study finding that people with Parkinson disease who chose to participate in Rock Steady Boxing on a regular basis maintained higher levels of function and quality of life than those who participated in other modes of exercise. They are continuing to study the effects of Rock Steady Boxing, including examining the differences in walking patterns, strength and cardiorespiratory fitness between those with Parkinson disease who box and those who do not.
When Combs-Miller was contacted for the interview, she learned that Stahl’s husband had Parkinson’s and recently started boxing with a Rock Steady Boxing affiliate program in Brooklyn. “It was very exciting to have the opportunity to discuss my research and be interviewed by Lesley Stahl,” said Combs-Miller. “We discussed my research, but Lesley also shared their own experiences with her husband’s improved health and function since he started boxing, that closely mirror many of my research findings. I am excited that CBS is willing to put this positive message out to the public and am hopeful it will encourage people with PD to begin exercising and maybe even start boxing.”
Combs-Miller graduated from the interdisciplinary health sciences doctoral program in 2009 and was inducted into the College of Health and Human Services Outstanding Alumni Academy in 2013. To date, she is the only researcher who has published on boxing and Parkinson’s. Two of her manuscripts have been published and several are in review, including the two-year longitudinal study.