Prosthetics Rehabilition Researcher Honored With Luce Fellowship - March 10, 2011

College of Education doctoral student Christopher J. (C.J.) Stanfill has been awarded a Luce Fellowship for his research on prosthetic rehabilitation development. Stanfill, who’s in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, is one of only 15 scholars nationwide to receive the prestigious honor. Stanfill has been working closely with Dr. Jody Jensen, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, since beginning his master’s degree.

The Luce Scholars Program is a nationally competitive American-Asian fellowship program that places top American university students in Asian countries to spend a year doing work related to their area of study. The fellowship is for individuals who show promise as future leaders and it offers stipends, language training and individualized professional placement in places like Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

To find out more about why C.J. was chosen for the Luce Fellowship and how he’s changing the world, read the following Q&A:

What was your undergraduate degree in?

I received my Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology from the University of North Texas.

What’s the nature of the graduate work you’ve been doing with Dr. Jensen?

Since I have been at The University of Texas at Austin, all of my work has been focused on child development. This line of inquiry allows me to study how the growth and movement of a child typically develops. With this information, a researcher is able to compare typical growth patterns in “typical” children with growth patterns in children with disabilities and create adaptations that will improve any decrements in physical function.

Thus far, the bulk of my work has involved looking at the differences in stability at various ages in young childhood and measuring the differences that exist between typically developing children and children with autism. This project served as my thesis material when I was working on my master’s degree, which I received in the fall of 2010. With the completion of this project, I plan to turn my focus to the development and improvement of the rehabilitation process for children with prosthetics.

I heard that you were going to be placed in Laos through the Luce Scholars Program – why Laos?

Originally, when I applied for the fellowship I advertised myself as hoping to spend the year in Cambodia. I specified Cambodia due to the high number of land mine victims in the country and the thousands of people there who receive inadequate prosthetic treatment and care each year.

After I was selected, those involved with the selection process urged me to look into opportunities in Laos, as that country unfortunately has a tremendous amount of land mines as well. It didn't take much research time – the research and recommendations from those close to me made it clear that Laos would be the optimal placement. It appears to be a beautiful country with the most gracious of people. Details on my specific job placement continue to be ironed out, but as of now it appears that I will have hands-on experience with land mine victims in Vientiane as well as rural areas of Laos. I will be leaving at the end of June and returning 13 months later. 

What sparked your interest in this specific area of inquiry?

During my undergraduate work, I was given the opportunity to work with Scottish Rite Children's Hospital in Dallas at a clinic called "Learn to Golf.” The clinic’s aim was to teach children with disabilities the fundamentals of golf. Children in the program ranged from those with cerebral palsy and autism to others who had partial paralysis and were using prosthetics. Working with these children during one afternoon changed my life and perspective forever.

Each of the children displayed more drive and determination than anyone I had ever been exposed to. My attention was drawn to the children with prosthetics and the way they managed their ability levels and created their own adaptations in order to produce the desired movement. They were an incredible group of kids and my experience with similar populations since then has been similar.

Why are you in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education and not over in the College of Engineering, for example?

The Department of Kinesiology and Health Education’s Movement Science Program was appealing to me because it integrated several different fields of interest under one umbrella. This is something that might not have been as true in engineering.

While some of my own research and the work done by kinesiology faculty does relate to mechanics and engineering principles, the Movement Science Program provides students with the opportunity to have a specific focus area while also receiving a wealth of supporting knowledge about how the human body functions as a whole. While the central focus of my doctoral research is on child development, my colleagues in the Movement Science Program, as well as those in the College of Engineering, are terrific resources and are expanding my knowledge of the biomechanical properties of prosthetic devices. 

What are you going to do after you've gotten your Ph.D.? Do you have specific career plans?

After I complete this degree, I have several short- and long-term goals. Ideally, I would like to teach and conduct research at a medical school where I could use my knowledge about rehabilitation programs while also expanding on research in that field. Ideally, while doing this, I would like to provide consulting services for rehab design and work with global organizations as an advocate for prosthetic users in developing countries.

I have spent the majority of my life in the education system, and I think I also would like to dedicate my life to advocating for students in higher education systems. I hope to involve myself in policy development at whatever institution I am associated with.

What’s the benefit of being par of the Luce Scholars Program? Who will be able to use the prosthetic rehab programs that you're developing (I hope I'm understanding correctly in assuming you're developing pediatric prosthetics)?

Understanding the culture of the Laos and seeing what sort of care land mine victims are provided – or if they are provided care - is the main goal of my time away. The Luce Scholars Program and the Asia Foundation are giving me this this incredible opportunity to be exposed to a whole new culture. I feel that the answers I obtain there and the experiences that I bring back with me will help me make significant advancements in the area of prosthetic rehabilitation. I see so many people benefiting from any improvements that we can make and knowledge that we can gain in this field of study.

Congratulations to C.J. on being named a Luce Scholar!