Faculty/Staff Profiles

Faculty/Staff Profiles

LAURA FREY LAW, Ph.D., MPT, MS
Assistant Professor
Graduate Program in Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Science
The University of Iowa
1-246 Medical Education Building
Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1190
Tel.: (319) 335-9804
laura-freylaw@uiowa.edu

Education, Training & Experience

1990 B.S.E. with High Distinction, Biomedical Engineering, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
1993 M.P.T., Physical Therapy, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
1994 M.S., Bioengineering, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
2004 Ph.D., Physical Rehabilitation Science, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

Research Activities

Director, NEUROMUSCULAR BIOMECHANICS LABORATORY, Graduate Program in Physical Therapy, College of Medicine.
Effects of pain and fatigue on motor function
- Focusing on orthopedic conditions
- Experimental pain conditions
- Muscle activation strategies
- Reflex responses
Mathematical muscle modeling
- Paralyzed muscle force estimates
- Digital Human-Arm Model in collaboration with the Virtual Soldier Research Project
- Modeling muscle fatigue
Outcomes Research
- Lateral epicondylitis
- Knee osteoarthritis

Teaching Responsibilities

DPT - Case Based Learning (Facilitator)
DPT - Selected Topics in PT (101:143)
DPT - Health Promotion and Wellness (101:205)
PhD - Biomedical Instrumentation (101:212)

Academic & Professional Activities

Memberships: APTA (Orthopaedic Section, Research Section, Sports Section), Society for Neuroscience, American College of Sports Medicine, American Society of Biomechanics, International Society of Biomechanics, American Pain Society
Member of the Virtual Soldier Research team, in the Center for Computer-Aided Design

Recent Publications

Frey Law LA, Shields RK. Femoral loads during passive, active, and active-resistive stance after spinal cord injury: A mathematical model. Clin Biomech 2004; 19:313-32.
Shields RK, Dudley-Javoroski S, Frey Law LA. Electrically-induced muscle contractions influence bone density decline after spinal cord injury. Spine 2006; 31:5, 548-53.
Frey Law LA, Shields RK. Mathematical models use varying parameter strategies to represent paralyzed muscle force properties. J Neuroeng Rehabil 2005; 2:12.
Frey Law LA, Shields RK. Predicting human chronically paralyzed muscle force: A comparison of three mathematical models. J Appl Physiol 2006;100:3, 1027-36. [Epub Nov 23, 2005]
Frey Law LA, Shields RK. Mathematical models of human paralyzed muscle after long-term training. J Biomech 2007; 40(12):2587-95. [Epub Feb 19, 2007]
Rahmatalla S, Xia T, Contratto M, Kopp G, Wilder D, Frey Law L, Ankrum J. 3D motion caputre protocol for seated operator in whole body vibration. Int J Indust Erg 2008; 38(5-6):425-33. [Epub Nov 19, 2007].
Frey Law LA, Evans S, Knudtson J, Nus S, Scholl K, Sluka KA. Massage reduces pain perception and hyperalgesia in experimental muscle pain: a randomized control trial. J Pain 2008; 9(8):714-21. [Epub May 2, 2008]
Full CV available here.