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: Nicholas Toninelli
  • Graduate Students:
    • Taylor Tvrdy, M.S.
    • Sajjad Daneshgar, B.S.
    • Logan Weinman, B.S.
    • Kelsey Kroger, M.S.
    • Rehab Al-Jaafari, B.S.
    • Negar Rahimi, M.S.
    • Ben Kott, B.S.
  • Undergraduate Students
    • Allison Fuerst, Madeleine Tapp, Tyler Buffington 
  • 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

  • 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.
  • Courter R, Alvarez E, Enoka RM, Ahmed A. Metabolic costs of walking and arm reaching in persons with mild multiple sclerosis. Journal of Neurophysiology 129: 819-832, 2023.
  • Darendeli A, Ertan H, Enoka RM. Comparison of EMG activity in leg muscles between overground and treadmill running. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 55: 517-524, 2023.
  • Darendeli A, Ertan H, Cug M, Wikstrom E, Enoka RM. Comparison of EMG activity in shank muscles between individuals with and without chronic ankle instability when running on a treadmill. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology 70: 1026773, 2023.
  • Del Vecchio A, Germer CM, Knife TM, Nuccio S, Hug F, Eskokier B, Farina D, Enoka RM.  The forces generated by agonist muscles during isometric contractions arise from motor unit synergies. Journal of Neuroscience 43: 2860-2873, 2023. 
  • Duchateau J, Enoka RM. Distribution of motor unit properties across human muscles. Journal of Applied Physiology 132: 1-13, 2022.
  • Martinez-Valdes E, Enoka RM, Holobar A, McGill K, Farina D, Besomi M, et al. Consensus for experimental design in electromyography (CEDE) project: Single motor units. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology 68: 1026726, 2023.
  • 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.
  • Petrovic I, Amiridis IG, Holobar A, Trypidakis G, Sahinis C, Kannas T, Kellis E, Enoka RM. Alternating or concurrent exercise training does not influence force control during single-leg submaximal contractions with the dorsiflexors. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine 22: 245-253, 2023.
  • 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.