Dr. Kristi Streeter, assistant professor of physical therapy, is expanding her research on breathing after spinal cord injuries with a new grant from the U.S. Department of Defense.
Streeter’s new grant is worth $436,808 and focuses on whether combining two therapies leads to tangible improvement in patients’ health.
“Leveraging our previous research into breathing therapies, we predict combining our lab’s novel breathing training program and therapeutic acute intermittent hypoxia will yield better results than either of them independently,” Streeter said. “We’ve made exciting discoveries from previous and ongoing research ventures, and we can’t wait to dig into this research and find solutions to improve diaphragm function after a spinal cord injury.”
Most people who sustain a spinal cord injury suffer from impaired breathing after their incident, with some people never being able to breathe on their own again.
“Despite breathing impairments being the leading cause of death after a spinal cord injury, there are limited treatments available to help spinal cord injury victims breathe better,” Streeter said. “This research aims at combining two therapies to see if the outcome is better than each of them independently with a goal to help victims regain their ability to breathe.”
Department of Physical Therapy Chair Dr. Allison Hyngstrom said Streeter’s grant is another example of Streeter growing as a researcher in the field.
“Dr. Streeter constantly strives to find new angles to advance her research and develop therapies that further our understanding of the diaphragm and breathing,” Hyngstrom said. “Kristi pushes the envelope on what we know about our most crucial body system and gets us closer to therapies that will help people recover post-injury.” Streeter’s research is set to begin this fall and will run for three years.
