Left to right: Lab Director Bradley Nindl, alumna Jean Rhoads, alumnus Barry Rhoads, lab Project Manager Kelly Mroz, Athletic Training Program Director Amy Aggelou, lab Associate Director Brian Martin and Associate Professor Shelly Fetchen DiCesaro
Barry D. Rhoads, Esquire (LAW ’80), and his wife, Jean Rhoads (PHARM ’81), have pledged $100,000 to support the Neuromuscular Research Laboratory/Warrior Human Performance Research Center (NMRL), part of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition within the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS).
On Aug. 2, 2024, SHRS Dean Anthony Delitto joined Bradley C. Nindl, laboratory director, and other members of the Pitt community to announce the naming of a conference room at the NMRL after Barry and Jean Rhoads and honor the impactful gift, which will help the laboratory on its mission to better understand human-performance optimization and injury prevention to enhance and sustain military readiness.
Barry and Jean Rhoads in front of the NMRL conference room named in their honor
The NMRL has a state-of-the-science facility at Rivertech Office Works on South Water Street in Pittsburgh. The 11,600-square-foot space includes comprehensive neuromuscular assessment capabilities, motion-analysis systems for specific task and sport analyses, high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT), dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, a biochemistry laboratory, faculty offices, a conference room and a classroom. In addition, the NMRL has a brand-new customized mobile research vehicle that can assess physical performance, musculoskeletal health, and biospecimens on the road.
The new NMRL mobile research vehicle laboratory
The Rhoads’ and Nindl’s efforts have helped put the University of Pittsburgh on the cutting edge of human-performance research and have established Pitt as a leader in this type of work in the Department of Defense (DoD). Both Barry Rhoads and Nindl have military experience and are passionate about leveraging the University of Pittsburgh’s health and performance science and research ecosystem to serve our nation.
Nindl is currently serving the U.S. Army Reserve as a colonel and has more than 33 years of continuous service. He worked in scientific leadership roles in the U.S. Army for more than 20 years before taking on his current role at the NMRL. Rhoads is a retired lieutenant colonel and former federal prosecutor. They share a passion to support human-performance research—preventing injuries before they occur.
Barry Rhoads greets Brad Nindl at the NRML.
Nindl recently obtained support from the Office of Naval Research to build the mobile lab full of testing equipment. He and his team applied a model of sports injury prevention and performance enhancement to the U.S. military through their DoD research. The Warrior Human Performance Research Center provides administrative and technical oversight of DoD research, including data processing and management; entry of laboratory, injury, and nutrition data; development of testing protocols; piloting of new testing protocols; and collection of athletic model data.
NMRL Associate Director Brian Martin works with an athlete to test performance in the mobile research vehicle laboratory.
In addition to Barry and Jean Rhoads’ recent generous financial gift to support the NMRL, Barry Rhoads has been supporting human-performance research for the past 20 years. His efforts working with Congress have contributed to more than $50 million in appropriations so the University of Pittsburgh could continue doing this type of research over the past two decades, and he wants to bring the new mobile lab to Washington, D.C., so members of Congress and their staff can see it firsthand.
Barry and Jean Rhoads are proud Pitt Panther fans, often cheering on the football and basketball teams. They also are proud of their family’s military history. In addition to Rhoads’ service, their son, Alex, served as a captain in the 82nd Airborne Division, and two of their nephews serve.