bhushan thakkar

My research goals and dissertation project are focused in the areas of using Neuromodulation techniques like Transcranial magnetic stimulation as a stand-alone and/ or adjunct to rehabilitation in patients with chronic pain especially neuropathic pain and knee osteoarthritis. My secondary interests are lower extremity walking and running biomechanics and assessment of measures of symmetry. I have strong experience in organizing and analyzing research studies with familiarity in qualitative and quantitative assessments in the areas of human health, injury and performance. My Master’s thesis involved working with the Multicentered Osteoarthritis Study (MOST) group at Boston University working with Dr. David Felson and Dr. Michael Gross and I evaluated the relationship between pelvic drop during walking and medial knee osteoarthritis. I am working with Dr. Edmund Acevedo, Ph.D., FACSM in the College of Humanities and Sciences as my advisor on this project. I have known Dr. Acevedo for the past six years and we share mutual interests in the areas of neural mechanisms of pain perception. As a graduate student working at the VCU RUNLAB with Dr. Blaise Williams towards my doctoral degree, I have been part of four research projects and I was the project leader for two of them. These projects were in the fields of walking biomechanics, running injury and performance. This research resulted in one first author paper and two co-authored papers and 30 first author and co-authored poster and podium presentations at regional and national scientific meetings. Since December 2019, I have been working as Research Coordinator for Dr. Caitlin Martin in the areas of opioid use disorders and chronic pain in pregnant and postpartum women and curriculum development in medical education. Furthermore, I have developed excellent interpersonal communication, leadership, critical reasoning and administration skills.

University:

Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond,VA

Principal Department/Program:

physical therapy

Supervisor:

Dr. Edmund Acevedo

Key Publications:

Caitlin E. Martin, Caroline Shadowen, Bhushan Thakkar, Travis Oakes, Tamas Gal, Gerard F Moeller. Buprenorphine dosing through the perinatal period. Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry. 2020; 7:375–399 Bhushan Thakkar, John D Willson, Kathryn Harrison, Robert Tickes, DS Blaise Williams 3rd. Tibiofemoral Joint Forces in Female Recreational Runners Vary with Step Frequency. Medicine Science in Sports and Exercise. 2019; Jul,51(7):1444-1450. Kathryn Harrison, Yong Un Kwon, Adam Sima, Bhushan Thakkar, Gregory Crosswell, Jacqueline Morgan, DS Blaise Williams 3rd. Inter-joint coordination patterns differ between younger and older runners. Human Movement Science.2019;64:164-170. Kathryn Harrison, Bhushan Thakkar, Yong Un Kwon, Gregory Crosswell, Jacqueline Morgan, DS Blaise Williams 3rd. Kinematic predictors of loading during running differ by demographic group. Physical Therapy in Sport. 2018; 32:221-226.