Meet one of our 2025 Pilot Grant Recipients, Kate Eichinger, PhD! Dr. Kate Eichinger has worked with people living with myotonic dystrophy (DM) for nearly two decades. Over this time, she has watched how this multi-systemic condition affects individuals as well as entire families. As a physical therapist in a multi-disciplinary clinic, she has sought to improve their day-to-day experiences and quality of life by providing recommendations that maximize strength, functional abilities, and independence while minimizing symptoms and secondary impairments.
As a clinical researcher, she has contributed to natural history studies by assisting with study design, outcome measure selection, data collection, analysis, and dissemination. She is also currently working to develop a remote intervention for individuals living with DM to increase engagement in physical activity and exercise, recognizing the role that physical activity and exercise play in overall health and wellness. Additionally, as a health care provider and advocate, she has contributed to developing care guidelines, sharing resources for the patient community regarding physical therapy, providing physical activity and exercise recommendations to patients, and participating in the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation Movement Committee.
The study “Wearable Sensors to Monitor Gait and Balance in Individuals with Myotonic Dystrophy” seeks to fulfill a gap in understanding regarding gait and balance function in individuals with DM. Using wearable sensors to gather more precise information regarding gait and balance may provide opportunities for early detection of change. This knowledge may be used to improve clinical care and research for individuals with DM. It may allow clinicians to evaluate the impact of therapeutic interventions such as the use of ankle foot orthotics to address ankle weakness or foot drop, or balance training- thus having the potential to bring immediate improvement to a person’s mobility and quality of life.
Click here to learn more about MDF's research funding opportunities and prior grant recipients.