Doctoral Research Assistant
University of Nebraska at Omaha
A. Personal Statement
I am a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Biomechanics with a strong background in evaluating movement dysfunction in clinical populations using novel quantitative tools. Specifically, I have been involved with research studies investigating gait, balance, and exercise therapy in different age group populations specifically patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). Over the past four years, I have actively contributed to several PAD-related studies, including projects on the effect of exoskeletons, assistive shoes,
and ankle foot orthosis. I successfully received two grants and completed my studies, demonstrating my ability to manage projects effectively and meet deadlines. My long-term research aims to develop new strategies for improving the quality of life and walking performance in patients with mobility impairments. The proposed research study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the novel exercise training to improve walking performance, physical activity, and quality of patients with peripheral artery disease. Our previous research studies demonstrated significant gait biomechanics impairments in patients with PAD. Although the most effective treatment for patients with PAD is supervised exercise therapy (SET), repeated cycles of ischemia-reperfusion and muscle myofiber pathological damage are the main limitations of SET. Preventing ischemia onset by maintaining a minimum level of oxygenation level potentially improves the effectiveness of SET. Muscle-oxygen supervised exercise therapy can preserve muscle mass and function during exercise therapy in patients with PAD.
Dr. Sara Myers and Dr. Iriklis Pipinos are experienced mentors who have guided several NIH and VA fundings. For this project, I will work with them to leverage outcomes and use the study's findings as preliminary data for future competitive federal and industrial grants.
1. Biomechanical alteration following exercise intervention in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD): Supervised exercise therapy is the first-line treatment for patients with PAD. Our studies assess the effect of supervised exercise therapy on gait biomechanics and joint variability of patients with PAD. These studies provided valuable insight into optimizing exercise treatments for patients with PAD.
• Fallahtafti, F.; Salamifar, Z.; Hassan, M.; Rahman, H.; Pipinos, I.; Myers, S.A.; 2022. “Joint
Angle Variability Is Altered in Patients with Peripheral Artery Disease after Six Months of
Exercise Intervention.” Entropy 24, 1422. doi:10.3390/e24101422.
• Fallahtafti, F.; Salamifar, Z.; Pipinos, I.; Johanning, J.; Myers, S.A; 2024. “Regularity of Lower Limb Joint Angle Motions Decreased After a Six-Month Supervised Exercise Therapy.” American Society of Biomechanics (ASB), Madison, Wisconsin.
• Fallahtafti, F.; Salamifar, Z.; Pipinos, I.; Johanning, J.; Myers, S.A; 2023. “Supervised Walking Exercise Therapy Affects Walking Variability in Patients with Peripheral Artery Disease.” Annual Human Movement Variability Conference, Omaha, Nebraska.
2. Understanding the effect of assistive devices such as ankle foot orthosis (AFO), exoskeletons, and assistive shoes on patients with PAD’s gait biomechanics: PAD is a common cardiovascular disease that manifests from the narrowing or blockage of arteries supplying blood and oxygenation to the legs. Intermittent claudication is a common symptom in patients with PAD, causing pain and aching during physical activities. Our studies identify gait alteration in patients with PAD, which can
modify toward healthy individuals’ walking patterns by using AFOs, exoskeletons, and assistive shoes.
• Salamifar, Z.; Fallahtafti, F; Kaeli, S; Johanning, J; Pipinos, I; Myers, S; 2025. “Three months of wearing an ankle foot orthosis affects the spatiotemporal gait characteristics in patients with peripheral artery disease.” Accepted in Journal of Applied in Biomechanics. 10
• Fallahtafti, F.; Samson, K.; Salamifar, Z.; Johanning, J.; Pipinos, I.; Myers, S.A.; 2024.
“Enhancing walking performance in patients with peripheral arterial disease: An intervention with ankle-foot orthosis.” doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2024.131992. International Journal of Cardiology, s. 131992.
• Salamifar, Z.; Fallahtafti, F; Pipinos, I; Johanning, J; Rahman, H; Myers, S; 2024.“Assistive
Shoes Can Improve the Vertical Ground Reaction Force in Patients with Peripheral Artery
Disease.” American Society of Biomechanics (ASB), Madison, Wisconsin.
• Salamifar, Z.; Fallahtafti, F.; Pipinos, I.; Johanning, J.; Myers, S.A; 2023. “The impact of
exoskeleton footwear with optimal stiffness on the joint angle of patients with peripheral artery disease.” Annual Human Movement Variability Conference, Omaha, Nebraska.
3. Understanding the effect of muscle sling exercise training on women basketball players' patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). One of the most common reasons for knee pain in athletic women is PFPS; however, there is a lack of studies about the effect of exercise therapy on treating PFPS in women basketball players. Our study assessed the effect of extensor muscle sling exercise as a potential treatment to improve the balance of women’s basketball players, which is the main problem of patients with PFPS.
• Salamifar, Z.; Nasermeli, M. H.; Ganji, B. “The Effect of Isometric and Isotonic Exercises of Lower Limbs Extensor Sling in Basketball Players with Patellofemoral Pain.” 10th International Conference on Sports Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
• Salamifar, S. Z.; Nasermeli, M. H.; Ganji, B. (2017), “Effects of Isometric and Isotonic Exercises of Lower Limbs Extensor Sling in Basketball Players with Patellofemoral Pain.” HEALTH Journal.
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