Research Interests for Daniel O. Schmitt

My primary interest is in the evolution of primate locomotion. I am interested in understanding the selective factors that govern limb design, gait choice, and locomotor mechanics. I am studying the mechanics of movement in primates and other vertebrates in the laboratory to understand the relationship between movement and postcranial morphology, and the unique nature of primates among other mammals. Current projects include the origins of locomotion and the evolution of vertebrate bipedalism. My other interests are in human musculosketal health and injury. I study rodent and human models of bone and joint disease. Click here to enter the Animal Locomotion Laboratory web site to learn more.

Keywords:

Activities of Daily Living, Adaptation, Physiological, Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, African Continental Ancestry Group, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor, Animals, Animals, Newborn, Anthropology, Physical, Anthropometry, Anxiety, Arthralgia, Behavior, Behavior, Animal, Biological Evolution, Biomechanics, Bone Density, Comorbidity, Disability Evaluation, Disabled Persons, Disease Models, Animal, Educational Status, Electromyography, Electrophysiology, Employment, Energy Metabolism, European Continental Ancestry Group, Evolution, Fear, Feeding Behavior, Female, Forearm, Fossils, Gait, Gait Disorders, Neurologic, Harmaline, Hominidae, Humans, Hyperalgesia, Imaging, Three-Dimensional, Joint Instability, Knee Joint, Life Style, Locomotion, Lumbosacral Region, Male, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Transgenic, Middle Aged, Mobility Limitation, Models, Biological, Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors, Motor Activity, Muscle, Skeletal, Mutation, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II, North Carolina, Obesity, Orbit, Orthopedics, Osteoarthritis, Osteoarthritis, Knee, Overweight, Pain, Pain Measurement, Postural Balance, Posture, Prevalence, Primates, Prognosis, Radiculopathy, Range of Motion, Articular, Rats, Rats, Inbred Lew, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type II, Reference Values, Regression Analysis, Risk Assessment, Risk Factors, Self Concept, Self Disclosure, Self Efficacy, Severity of Illness Index, Sex Distribution, Skull, Species Specificity, Time Factors, Tooth, Tremor, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha, Walking, Weight Reduction Programs, Weight-Bearing, Young Adult

Current projects:

Primate locomotor mechanics

Evolution of primate locomotion

Rodent and humn models of bone and joint disease

Areas of Interest:

Functional Anatomy
Biomechanics
Orthopedics

Recent Publications   (search)

1. Little-Letsinger, SE; Cook, RW; Wilson, D; Truitt, K; Schmitt, D, Gait compliance alters ground reaction forces in human walking: implications for the evolution of bipedalism., The Journal of experimental biology, vol. 228 no. 10 (May, 2025), pp. jeb250219 [doi] [abs]
2. Teater, MA; Schmitt, D; Powell, DW; Queen, RM, Asymmetry in Limb Stiffness, Joint Power, and Joint Work During Landing in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Patients., Sports health (May, 2025), pp. 19417381251338218 [doi] [abs]
3. Campbell, J; Schmitt, D; Sands, LP; Queen, RM, Unilateral Single Joint Arthritis Changes Joint Power in Unaffected Joints., Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society (April, 2025) [doi] [abs]
4. Miller, CE; Granatosky, MC; Schmitt, D, Center of mass mechanics during locomotion in the arboreal squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) as a function of speed and substrate., The Journal of experimental biology, vol. 227 no. 24 (December, 2024), pp. jeb247959 [doi] [abs]
5. Hill, CN; Schmitt, D; Reed, W; Arent, SM; Sands, LP; Queen, RM, Racial differences in running and landing measures associated with injury risk vary by sex., Sports biomechanics, vol. 23 no. 12 (December, 2024), pp. 2738-2756 [doi] [abs]