URI PT professor wins grant for Parkinson’s Exercise groups

University of Rhode Island Clinical Associate Professor of physical therapy Anne-Marie Dupre recently received a grant from the Parkinson’s Foundation to support her research on the debilitating neurological disorder.

The grant is one of four issued this year by the Parkinson’s Foundation to graduates of its Edmond J. Safra Physical Therapy Faculty Program or Visiting Nurse Faculty Program, professional training the foundation provides to prepare the next generation of nurses, and physical therapists to care for the growing population of people with Parkinson’s Disease.

Dupre’s grant supports her project to provide weekly Parkinson’s Exercise Groups (PEG) organized and delivered by Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students with faculty supervision. In addition to measuring the overall experience, the project will measure the students’ learning experience and potential changes in function for participants. In addition to being a clinical associate professor, Dupre is the assistant director for clinical education for the Department of Physical Therapy, part of the URI College of Health Sciences.

The number of people living with Parkinson’s in the U.S. is expected to rise to 1.2 million by 2030, according to the foundation. In order to meet this challenge, the Parkinson’s Foundation provides training to faculty leaders on how to educate their students by equipping them with best practices and the latest PD information.

“Recognizing how essential nurses and physical therapists are in the care of people with PD, the Parkinson’s Foundation has been diligent in bolstering the healthcare teams that care for the PD community,” said John L. Lehr, Parkinson’s Foundation president and CEO. “These awards support exceptional professionals in the development of projects that enhance Parkinson’s care.”

Dr. Dupre’s expertise is in the area of neurological physical therapy, and she is a board certified specialist in neurology. Her research interests are in the areas of neurology, Parkinson’s, stroke and clinical education.

Her study is among several projects professors and students in the College of Health Sciences have engaged in to help ease the effects of Parkinson’s. Assistant Professor Christine Clarkin aims to a comprehensive, interdisciplinary clinic to educate, advise and provide resources for patients. A College program offers “LOUD for Life,” a weekly speech exercise and nutrition group for people with Parkinson’s. Another study has aimed to assess how technology could help people with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers easily access relevant nutrition information.