Jody L. Jensen,
PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology
and Health Education and a member of the Institute of Neuroscience
at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Jensen received her
doctorate at the University of Maryland, College Park in 1989.
Dr. Jensen studies the development of movement skills and changes
in movement competence from infancy through older adulthood. Her
research emphasis is on the factors, both biomechanical and neurophysiological,
that influence skill acquisition in infants and children and motor
performance declines in older adults - particularly as those factors
relate to posture and locomotion. Two current projects include
1) age-related changes in the postural control of aging adults,
and 2) the development of muscle force regulation abilities in
children as an underlying mechanism supporting the development
of motor skills. Dr. Jensen's work is currently funded by the
National Science Foundation supporting studies on age-related
changes in neuromotor control. The University Of Texas' Dean of
Students' Volunteer and Service Learning Program recently awarded
their Outstanding Faculty Volunteer and Outstanding Student Volunteer
Organization to Dr. Jensen and her students who provide Sensory
and Motor Integration training to children with autism and their
families.