Trotter earns biomechanics award and research funding

The Biomechanics Interest Group of the American College of Sports Medicine Southeast Chapter selected Brittany Trotter with the top doctorate-level biomechanics abstract. Trotter will represent East Carolina University and the College of Health and Human Performance when she presents a poster on Feb. 20 and delivers a 3-minute presentation the next day at the ACSM Southeast annual meeting in Greenville, S.C.

The abstract is titled “Altered Cortical Activity During Oculomotor Control Following COVID-19 Infection” and discusses significant differences in brain activity during the performance of an eye movement task in individuals who have experienced a COVID-19 infection, as compared to those who have not.

Trotter is a dual kinesiology master’s student and doctoral candidate in bioenergetics and exercise science at ECU with concentrations in biomechanics and motor control. She also is a graduate research assistant in the Visual Motor Lab, directed by Dr. Nick Murray.

Trotter also earned a grant award, funded by the International Society of Biomechanics, titled, “Mobile Sensorimotor Integration Assessment Following Repetitive Sub-Concussive Loading.” The project explores the effect of exposure to repeated impacts to the head at a sub-concussive level on eye movement, balance and brain activity. The project is slated to run through December.