Associate Dean for Research and Innovation
Ellmer College of Health Sciences

Christopher Rhea

757-683-6871

2114C HEALTH SCIENCES BLDG
NORFOLK, 23529

Dr. Rhea completed his PhD in Kinesiology with a specialization in biomechanics at Purdue University in 2009. He then completed a 2.5 year postdoc at Brown University and the Providence VA Medical Center focusing on the use of virtual reality to enhance rehabilitation. From 2011-2022, Dr. Rhea was a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, rising from Assistant Professor to Full Professor before joining ¹ÏÉñÍø in June 2022 as the Associate Dean for Research & Innovation in the College of Health Sciences. Dr. Rhea continues to have an active and funded line of research that focuses on the use of advanced technology (e.g., virtual reality, smartphones) to enhance human health.

Ph.D. in Kinesiology, Purdue University, (2009)

M.S. in Movement Science, Barry University, (2004)

B.S. in Physical Education, University of Central Missouri, (2002)

Contracts, Grants and Sponsored Research

Rhea, C. K. "Longitudinal assessment of neuromotor control after repeated sub-concussive head trauma from blast exposure; funded by Department of Defense" $958,937. Federal. 2020 - 2025
Raffegeau, T. E. and Rhea, C. K. "Using virtual reality to study cognitive and affective risk factors for falls in older adults; funded by 4-VA" $20,045. State. 2023 - 2024
Chen, A., Halderman, L., Rhea, C. K., Goldfarb, A., Fowler, J. and Hemphill, M. "The science of essential balance; funded by NIH" $1,246,118. Federal. 2018 - 2023
McGuirt, J. T., Dyson, O. L. and Rhea, C. K. "Designing and testing a community context driven evidence-based virtual avatar coaching approach to improve access to health promotion programs for low-income children and families (Phase 2); funded by HRSA" $30,000. Federal. 2019 - 2021
Raisbeck, L. D., Labban, J. and Rhea, C. K. "Merging attentional focus and balance training to reduce fall risk in older adults; funded by NIH" $345,472. Federal. 2017 - 2021
Rhea, C. K. "TBI Assessment of Readiness using a Gait Evaluation Test (TARGET): Development of a portable mTBI screening device; funded by Department of Defense" $941,639. Federal. 2015 - 2020
McGuirt, J. T., Dyson, O. L. and Rhea, C. K. "Designing and testing a community context driven evidence-based virtual avatar coaching approach to improve access to health promotion programs for low-income children and families (Phase 1); funded by HRSA" $10,000. Federal. 2018 - 2019
Rhea, C. K. "Balance assessment following combat mTBI (Phase 2); funded by US Navy" $18,818. Federal. 2016 - 2016
Duffy, D. M. and Rhea, C. K. "Diagnosis, evaluation, and return-to-play after concussion in women athletes playing full contact American football; funded by Women's Football Foundation" $69,000. Private. 2014 - 2016
Rhea, C. K. "Balance assessment following combat mTBI (Phase 1); funded by US Navy" $104,182. Federal. 2015 - 2015
Rhea, C. K. "Nonlinear dynamics analysis of biomechanical and physiological data from the Navy Experimental Diving Unit; funded by US Navy" $100,000. Federal. 2014 - 2014
Rhea, C. K. and Rietdyk, S. "Do optical properties of obstacles affect the risk of tripping in construction workers?; funded by NIOSH" $4,970. Federal. 2006 - 2006
Rhea, C. K. and Rietdyk, S. "Risk assessment of tripping for construction workers: Application of action-perception theory; funded by NIOSH" $13,385. Federal. 2005 - 2005

Research Interests

Dr. Rhea's research lies at the intersection of neuromotor control and advanced technology (e.g., virtual reality, smartphones) to address human health challenges. To this end, Dr. Rhea's team has been funded the NIH, DoD, US Navy, HRSA, NIOSH, Women's Football Foundation, and 4-VA to explore solutions related to falls in older adults, concussions, service member health, occupational health, and child physical activity and nutrition.

Articles

Yamada, M., Lohse, K. R., Rhea, C. K., Schmitz, R. J. and Raisbeck, L. D. (2024). Do attentional focus cues affect the type or number of explicit rules? Proof of concepts of the self-invoking trigger or explicit knowledge hypotheses. Psychology of Sport & Exercise 70.
Monroe, D. C., Berry, N. T., Fino, P. C. and Rhea, C. K. (2023). A dynamical systems approach to characterizing brain-body interactions during movement: Challenges, interpretations, and recommendations. Sensors 23 (14) , pp. 6296.
Butler-Storsved, L. A., Kocher Brown, P. L., Gill, D. L. and Rhea, C. K. (2023). he effect of an intentional functional movement warm-up on 9th graders’ movement quality. The Physical Educator 80 , pp. 295-310.
Sugimoto, Y. A., Rhea, C. K. and Ross, S. E. (2023). Modified proximal thigh kinematics captured with a novel smartphone app in individuals with a history of recurrent ankle sprains and altered dorsiflexion with walking. Clinical Biomechanics 105 , pp. 105955.
Sugimoto, Y., McKeon, P. O., Rhea, C. K., Schmitz, R. J., Henson, R. A., Ross, S. E. and Mattacola, C. G. (2023). Sensory reweighting system differences on vestibular feedback with increased task constraints in individuals with chronic ankle instability compared to healthy controls. Journal of Athletic Training.
Meder, K. M., LoJacono, C. T. and Rhea, C. K. (2022). A systematic review of non-pharmalogical interventions to improve gait asymmetries in neurological populations. Symmetry 14 , pp. 281.
Monroe, D. C., DuBois, S., Rhea, C. K. and Duffy, D. M. (2022). Age-related trajectories of brain structure-function coupling in female roller derby athletes. Brain Sciences 12 , pp. 22.
Berry, N. T., Rhea, C. K. and Wideman, L. (2022). Cardio-hypothalamic-pituitary coupling during rest and in response to exercise. Entropy 24 (8) , pp. 1045.
Rhea, C. K., Yamada, M., Kuznetsov, N. A., Jakiela, J. T., LoJacono, C. T., Ross, S. E., Haran, F. J., Bailie, J. M. and Wright, W. G. (2022). Neuromotor changes after a concussion can be detected with a custom smartphone app. PLOS ONE 17 (12) , pp. e0278994.
Yamada, M., Lohse, K. R., Rhea, C. K., Schmitz, R. J. and Raisbeck, L. D. (2022). Practice–not task difficulty–mediated the focus of attention effect on a speed-accuracy tradeoff task. Perceptual and Motor Skills 129 (5) , pp. 1504-1524.
Park-Braswell, K., Grooms, D. R., Shultz, S. J., Raisbeck, L. D., Rhea, C. K. and Schmitz, R. J. (2022). Sex-specific brain function during single leg exercise. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy 17 (7) , pp. 1249-1258.
Haran, F. J., Handy, J. D., Servatius, R. J., Rhea, C. K. and Tsao, J. W. (2021). Acute neurocognitive deficits in active duty service members following subconcussive blast exposure. Applied Neuropsychology: Adult 28 (3) , pp. 297-309.
Cochran, S. M., Aiken, C. A., Rhea, C. K. and Raisbeck, L. D. (2021). Effects of an external focus of attention and target occlusion on performance in virtual reality. Human Movement Science 76 , pp. 102753.
Kiefer, A. W., Armitano-Lago, C. N., Cone, B. L., Bonnette, S., Rhea, C. K., Cummins-Sebree, S. and Riley, M. A. (2021). Postural control development from late childhood though young adulthood. Gait & Posture 86 , pp. 169-173.
Higgins, L. Q., Labban, J. D., Stout, R. D., Fairbrother, J. T., Rhea, C. K. and Raisbeck, L. D. (2021). Postural control in older adults during and following a 12-week balance training intervention with attentional focus instructions. Journal of Motor Learning and Development 9 (3) , pp. 345-370.
Felsberg, D. T. and Rhea, C. K. (2021). Spontaneous interpersonal synchronization of gait: A systematic review. Archives of Rehabilitation Research & Clinical Translation 3 , pp. 100097.
McGuirt, J. T., Enahora, B., Dyson, O. L., Mallard, L., Tripicchio, G. and Rhea, C. K. (2021). Virtual avatar coaching with community context for adult-child dyads with low income. Journal of Nurtirtion Education and Behavior 53 (3) , pp. 232-239.
Yuan, W., Dudley, J., Slutsky-Ganesh, A., Leach, J., Schiefele, P., Altaye, M., Foss, K. D., Rhea, C. K. and Myer, G. D. (2021). White matter alteration following SWAT explosive breaching training and the moderating effect of a neck collar device: a DTI and NODDI study. Military Medicine 186 (11-12) , pp. 1183-1190.
Raisbeck, L. D., Diekfuss, J. D. and Rhea, C. K. (2020). Does an external focus improve single-leg jump distance individuals with chronic ankle instability?. Athletic Training & Sports Health Care 12 (6) , pp. 265-271.
Stafford, J. W., Ross, S. E., Raisbeck, L. D. and Rhea, C. K. (2020). Effect of perceived fatigue and workload on two mobile balance tests. International Journal of Sport Science 10 (6) , pp. 123-130.
Glass, S. M., Cone, B. L., Rhea, C. K., Duffy, D. M. and Ross, S. E. (2020). Sex-specific dependence of linear and nonlinear postural control metrics on anthropometrics during clinical balance tests in healthy young adults. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation 29 , pp. 405-412.
Berry, N. T., Wideman, L. and Rhea, C. K. (2020). Variability and complexity of non-stationary function: Methods for post-exercise HRV. Nonlinear Dynamics, Psychology, and Life Sciences 24 (4) , pp. 367-387.
Wittstein, M. W., Starobin, J. M., Schmitz, R. J., Schultz, S. J., Haran, F. J. and Rhea, C. K. (2019). Cardiac and gait rhythms in healthy younger and older adults during treadmill walking tasks. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research 31 (3) , pp. 367-375.
Rhea, C. K., Schleich, K. N., Washington, L., Glass, S. M., Ross, S. E., Etnier, J. L., Wright, W. G., Goble, D. J. and Duffy, D. M. (2019). Neuromotor and neurocognitive performance in female American football players. Athletic Training & Sports Health Care 11 (5) , pp. 224-233.
Rhea, C. K., Diekfuss, J. A., Fairbrother, J. T. and Raisbeck, L. D. (2019). Postural control entropy is increased when adopting an external focus of attention. Motor Control 23 (2) , pp. 230-242.
Glass, S. M., Rhea, C. K., Schmitz, R. J. and Ross, S. E. (2019). Potential mediators of load-related changes in movement complexity in young, healthy adults. Journal of Athletic Training 54 (1) , pp. 70-80.
Glass, S. M., Schmitz, R. J., Rhea, C. K. and Ross, S. E. (2019). Potential mediators of load-related decreases in movement quality in young, healthy adults. Journal of Athletic Training 54 (1) , pp. 81-89.
Yuan, W., Foss, K. D., Thomas, S., Galloway, R., DiCesare, C., Dudley, J., Leach, J., Scheifele, P., Altaye, M., Talvage, T. M., Rhea, C. K. and Myer, G. D. (2019). The impact of low-level blast exposure on brain function after a one-day tactile training and the ameliorating effect of a jugular vein compression neck collar device. Journal of Neurotrauma 36 , pp. 721-734.
Diekfuss, J. D., Rhea, C. K., Schmitz, R. J., Grooms, D. R., Wilkins, R. W., Slutsky, A. B. and Raisbeck, L. D. (2019). The influence of attentional focus on balance control over seven days of training. Journal of Motor Behavior 51 (3) , pp. 281-292.
Felsberg, D. T., Maher, J. P. and Rhea, C. (2019). The state of behavior change techniques in virtual reality rehabilitation of neurologic populations: A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology: Movement Science and Sport Psychology 10 , pp. 979.

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