Current Projects
The STABILITI Lab is located at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas.
Increasing Adherence to Home Vestibular Exercises Using Novel Technology
With this project, we are trying to determine if providing exercises in the form of games with feedback and support can increase adherence to home exercise programs for people with dizziness due to vestibular hypofunction.
Sponsor: Frontiers Clinical/Population Health, University of Kansas
D’Silva (PI), Materia (Co-I), Carlson (Co-I), Chalise (Co-I), Sosnoff (Co-I)
7/1/2025-6/30/2026
Breaking Barriers: Engaging Stakeholders and Building Community to Understand Food Insecurity in Wyandotte County
We are engaging with the community and Kanbe’s Markets to better understand access to healthy food in Wyandotte County.
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Frontiers Implementation Science for Equity Center.
D’Silva (Co-PI), Ramirez (Co-PI)
10/25/2024 – 12/31/2025
Multisensory Dysfunction Phenotypes as Predictors of Cognitive Impairment and Trajectory After Traumatic Brain Injury
The goal of this project is to use multisensory deficit phenotypes to develop reliable and predictive algorithms of neurocognitive status and longitudinal trajectory in people who have experienced traumatic brain injury.
Sponsor: Department of Defense.
Villwock (PI), D’Silva (Co-I), Rippee (Co-I), Arickx (Co-I), Staecker (Co-I)
9/1/2024-8/31/2028
Vestibular and Neck Muscle Contributions to Head Control in Response to Induced Head Perturbations and Falls in Balance-Impaired Older Adults
This project aims to determine the relationship between vestibular function and the effect on head impact during experimentally induced falls.
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Aging)
Sosnoff (PI), D’Silva (Co-I), McCaslin (Co-I), Alexander (Co-I), He (Co-I).
9/01/2023-08/31/2025
Steady Steps: Improving Balance for Active Aging
We are providing vestibular exercises to reduce balance impairments in older adults.
Sponsor: Landon Center on Aging, KU Medical Center
D’Silva (PI), Roos (Co-I), Pickle (Co-I), Troen (Co-I).
12/01/2024 – 12/30/2025
Testing the Relationship Between Vestibular Function and Path Integration Across the Life Span
We are testing vestibular function across the lifespan in healthy adults between 20 to 80 years of age and assessing the relationship with movement.
Product Development to Test Vestibular Function
In collaboration with Interacoustics, we served as a beta site to test and provide feedback on a new evaluation tool to assess vestibular function, the Functional Vision Head Impulse Test.
D’Silva (PI), Fuemmeler (Industry), Petrak (Industry)
Listening Sessions to Understand the Lived Experience of Latino Roofers and Construction Workers After Unintentional Head Injury
Our goal was to examine access to health care and the barriers experienced by Latino roofers and construction workers who suffer unintentional head injury.
Sponsor: Frontiers Broderick Crawford Community Partnership Award, National Institute of Advancing Translational Sciences
D’Silva (Co-PI), Ramirez (Co-PI)
9/01/2023-6/30/2024
Individualized Vestibular Rehabilitation for Elderly with Self-Management and Gaming Elements
In partnership with CFD Research Corporation, we developed an interactive vestibular rehabilitation application for people with dizziness to increase adherence to their exercise program. The Vestibular App delivers exercises in an interactive, game-based format with feedback to improve exercise accuracy and performance. We tested in-home use of the app in people with vestibular disorders.
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (Small Business Innovation Research)
Roos (PI), D’Silva (subaward), Pickle (Co-I),
9/1/2020- 6/1/2023
NAVIGAIT: Navigational Training in Adults with Persistent Symptoms After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
The goal of this project was to determine the benefit of motor-cognitive training on navigation ability in people with persistent symptoms after a mild traumatic brain injury.
Sponsor: Lied Pre-Clinical and Clinical Pilot Research program, University of Kansas Medical Center
D’Silva (PI)
7/1/2021-6/30/2022
Relationship Between Visual-Vestibular Interaction and Postural Stability After a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
The goal of this project was to investigate the change in postural stability during walking with head turns in people with persistent symptoms after a mild traumatic brain injury.
Sponsor: School of Health Professions Research Grant, University of Kansas Medical Center
D’Silva (PI)
6/1/2019 – 6/30/2020
Mental Effort Needed to Perform Visual Scanning Activities After a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
The goal of this project was to determine the cognitive workload during a sustained visual search task in people with persistent symptoms after a mild traumatic brain injury.
Sponsor: Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science Grant
D’Silva (PI)
1/01/2019-12/31/2019
Multisite Implementation of "Vestibular Rehabilitation for Peripheral Vestibular Hypofunction: An Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline"
The goal of this project was to implement the vestibular hypofunction guidelines in clinical settings.
Sponsor: Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy, American Physical Therapy Association
Tilson (PI), D’Silva (Co-PI)
11/1/2017 – 12/30/2018