Enoka Lab logoRamaley W205
Department of Integrative Physiology
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0354
phone: 303-492-4975

Research Interests

Neuromuscular determinants of motor function (movement) in health and disease. Current projects address three main topics:

  1. Aging - identifying the adaptations responsible for the declines in sensorimotor function with advancing age.
  2. Motor units - characterizing the modulation of the activation signal sent from the nervous system to muscle and its influence on muscle function.
  3. Multiple sclerosis - evaluating therapeutic strategies that can reduce the burden of multiple sclerosis by restoring walking ability and reducing fatigue

Enoka Lab October 2022

Personnel

  • Director: Roger M. Enoka, Ph.D.
  • Postdoctoral Fellow: Mélanie Henry, Ph.D.
  • Visiting Scholar: Abdulkerim Darendeli, Christopher Apfelbach
  • Graduate Students:
    • Taylor Tvrdy, M.S.
    • Sajjad Daneshgar, B.S.
    • Logan Weinman, B.S.
    • Anneli Folkesson, B.A.
    • Kelsey Kroger, M.S.
    • Rehab Al-Jaafari, B.S.
    • Catherine Schaefer, B.A.
  • Undergraduate Students
    • John Maldanado
    • Macy Ambrose
  • Former Lab Members: Photos of former lab members are available in our gallery
  • Collaborators:
    • Enrique Alvarez, M.D., Ph.D., University of Colorado Denver;
    • Jacques Duchateau, Ph.D., Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium;
    • Yiannis Amiridis, Ph.D., Aristotle University at Thessaloniki, Greece
    • Dario Farina, Ph.D., Imperial College, UK;
    • Taian Vieira, Ph.D. and Alberto Botter, Ph.D., Politecnico di Torino, Italy;
    • Aleš Holobar, Ph.D., University of Maribor, Slovenia;
    • Awad Almuklass, Ph.D., P.T., King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia;
    • Brett Fling, Ph.D., Colorado State University.
    • Alessandro Del Vecchio, Ph.D., Friedrich-Alexander University, Germany

Opportunities for Undergraduates

  • The requirements for undergraduate students who want research experience in our Laboratory are:
    • A major in integrative physiology
    • Opportunities include volunteering to assist with a research project, obtaining independent study credit, securing UROP funding, or completing an honors thesis
    • Students are expected to be available for at least 10 hours/week, which includes attending the weekly lab meeting, for a minimum of one semester.
  • For more information, contact Kelsey Koger (kelsey.koger@colorado.edu)

Recent Publications

  • Alenazy M, Daneshgar Asl S, Petrigna L, Feka K, Alvarez E, Almuklass AM, Enoka RM. Treatment with electrical stimulation of sensory nerves improves motor function and disability status in persons with multiple sclerosis: a pilot study. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology 61: 102607, 2021.
  • Besomi M, Hodges PW, Clancy EA, Van Dieën J, Hug F, Lowery M, Merletti R, Søgaard K, Wrigley T, Besier T, Carson RG, Disselhorst-Klug C, Enoka RM, Falla D, Farina D, Gandevia S, Holobar A, Kiernan MC, McGill K, Perreault E, Rothwell JC, Tucker K. Consensus for experimental design in electromyography (CEDE) project: Amplitude normalization matrix. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology 54: 102438, 2020.
  • Buard I, Yang X, Kaizer A, Lattanzio L, Kluger B, Enoka RM. Finger dexterity measured by the Grooved Pegboard test indexes Parkinson's disease severity in a tremor-dependent manner. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, 66: 102695, 2022. 
  • Carzoli JP, Alenazy M, Richmond SB, Enoka RM. Bursting TENS increases walking endurance more than continuous TENS in middle-aged adults. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology 63: 102644, 2022.
  • Carzoli JP, Koger M, Amato A, Enoka RM. Tempo-controlled resistance training of the hip abductors and ankle dorsiflexors with light loads does not improve postural sway in older adults. Experimental Brain Research 240: 3049-3060, 2022.
  • Davis LA, Carzoli JP, Feka K, Nelson C. Enoka RM. Exercise with TENS does not augment the gains in balance and strength for dancers. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology 56: 102507, 2021.
  • Duchateau J, Enoka RM. Distribution of motor unit properties across human muscles. Journal of Applied Physiology 132: 1-13, 2022.
  • Enoka RM, Almuklass AM, Alenazy M, Alvarez E, Duchateau J. Distinguishing betweeen fatigue and fatigability in multiple sclerosis. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Control 35: 960-973. 2021.
  • Enoka RM, Farina D. Force steadiness: from motor units to voluntary actions. Physiology 36: 114-130, 2021. 
  • Manca A, Hortobágyi T, Carroll TJ, Enoka RM, Farthing J, Gandevia S, Kidgell D, Taylor J, Deriu F. Contralateral effects of unilateral strength and skill training: a modified Delphi consensus to establish keys aspects of cross-eduation. Sports Medicine 51: 11-20, 2021. 
  • Marshall PW, Harrison TF, Enoka RM. Declines in muscle contractility and activation during isometric contractions of the knee extensors vary with contraction intensity and exercise volume. Experimental Physiology 106: 2096-2106, 2021.
  • Marshall PW, Melville GW, Marquez J, Harrison I, Enoka RM. Fatigue, pain, and the recovery of neuromuscular function after consecutive days of full-body resistance exercise in trained men. European Journal of Applied Physiology 121: 3103-3116, 2021.
  • Mazzo MR, Weinman LE, Giustino V, McLagan B, Maldanado J, Enoka RM. Changes in neural drive to calf muscles during steady submaximal contractions after repeated static stretches. Journal of Physiology 599: 4321-4336, 2021.
  • Petrovic I, Amiridis IG, Holobar A, Trypidakis G, Kellis E, Enoka RM. Leg dominance does not influence maximal force, force steadiness, or motor unit discharge characteristics. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 54: 1278-1287, 2022.
  • Trpidakis G, Amiridis IG, Enoka RM, Tsatsaki E, Kellis E, Negro F. Ankle angle but not knee angle influences force fluctuations during plantar flexion. International Journal of Sports Medicine 43: 131-137, 2022.
  • Tsatsaki E, Amiridis IG, Holobar A, Trypidakis G, Arabatzi F, Kellis E, Enoka RM. The length of tibialis anterior does not influence force steadiness during submaximal isometric contractions with the dorsiflexors. European Journal of Sport Science 22: 539-549, 2022.