Evangelos Christou, Ph.D.
Professor

​​

Contact Information

1864 STADIUM RD

Room FLG-1

GAINESVILLE, FL 32611-8205

​(352) 392-0584 ext: 1447

eachristou@ufl.edu

Education:

1994: B.S., Department of Human Potential and Performance, Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri, USA

1994: A.T.C., NATA Board of Certification.

1996: M.S., Department of Kinesiology, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA

2000: Ph.D., Department of Kinesiology, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA

2000-2004: Postdoctoral training, Neurophysiology of Movement Laboratory (Roger M. Enoka), Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA

​

Research Interests:

My broad research area is human movement control, with a focus on movement variability.  Although variability is a robust characteristic of our movements, it increases with aging and certain neurological diseases.  The exacerbation in movement variability has serious functional implications. My research attempts to: 1) better understand the neural mechanisms of movement variability; 2) characterize the consequences of exacerbated movement variability in activities of daily living; 3) develop innovative rehabilitation tools to reduce deleterious movement variability.

​

Professional Experience:

2000-2004            Research Associate, Dept. of Integrative Physiology, Univ. of Colorado

2004-2006            Senior Res Associate, Dept. of Integrative Physiology, Univ. of Colorado

2006-2010            Assistant Professor, Dept. of Health & Kinesiology, Texas A&M University

2010-date            Associate Professor, Dept. Applied Physiology & Kinesiology, University of Florida

2012-2016            Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Florida

2016-date            Professor, Department of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology, Univ. of Florida

​

Honors and Awards:

1993                       International Scholarship Award, Truman State University, Kirksville, MO

1993                       Outstanding Exercise Science Student, Truman State University, Kirksville, MO

1994                       Cum Laude, Truman State University, Kirksville, MO

1995                       T. K Cureton Physical Fitness Research Award, Univ. of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL

1997, 2000              Laura J. Huelster Travel Scholarship, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL

2009-date               Editorial Board for  European Journal of Applied Physiology

2010-date               Editorial Board for  Frontiers in Exercise Physiology

2007                       Invited Speaker, Health Science, Univ. of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX.

2008                       Invited Speaker, Kinesiology, University of Texas, Austin, TX.

2010                       Invited Speaker, Exercise Science, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI.

2011                       Invited Speaker, Kinesiology, Penn State University, State College, PA.

2012                       Invited Speaker, Biomechanics, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE.

2012                       Invited Speaker, International Sport Science Congress, Mokpo, Korea.

2012, 2016              Invited Speaker, Motor Control, Wisla, Poland.

2012-date                Associate Editor for Frontiers in Exercise Physiology

2013-date                Editorial Board for Journal of Motor Behavior

2013-2015               Associate Chair, Department of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology, Univ. of Florida.

2014                       Teacher of the Year, College of Health and Human Performance, Univ. of Florida.

2016-2019               University of Florida Research Foundation Research Professorship

Grant funding:

2017-2019     NIH-NINDS, R21 NS096258            Christou & Lodha (PI)

                    Motor Control Deficits Following Transient Ischemic Attack                 
2015-2017     NIH-NINDS, R21  NS094946            Christou & Vaillancourt (PI)

                    Dysmetria and Motor Function in SCA: Mechanisms and Rehabilitation 
2015-2017     NIH-NINDS, R21 NS 093695            Vaillancourt & Christou (PI)         
                    Pathophysiology of SCA and motor control
2008-2020     NIH-NINDS, R01 NS 58487            Vaillancourt (PI)

                    Role of the cortex and cerebellum in visually-guided motor behavior
                    Role: co-I    
2015-2020    NIH-NINDS T32 NS 82169-01A1    Bowers/Vaillancourt (PIs)                           
                    Interdisciplinary Training in Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration.  
                    Role: Mentor    
2014–2018    VA Merit Review (B1149-R)            D Clark (PI)

                    Rehabilitation of corticospinal control of walking following stroke
                    Role:Co-I                                         
2014-2018    Scientist Development Grant             N Lodha (PI)

                    Mechanisms and motor rehabilitation of reactive driving following stroke
                    Role:Mentor/Co-PI                                     
2008-2014    R01 AG 031769                    EA Christou (PI)

                   Aging and learning of fine novel motor tasks                    
                    Role: PI
2004-2006    R03 AG 024662                              EA Christou (PI)                
                    Aging and movement accuracy

Selected Publications:

Casamento A, Chen Y, Lodha N, Yacoubi B, & Christou EA. Motor plan differs for young and older adults during similar movements. Journal of Neurophysiology, 2017.

Lodha N & Christou EA. Low-frequency oscillations and control of the motor output. Frontiers in Physiology, 2017.

Park SH, Kwon M, Solis D, Lodha N, & Christou EA. Motor control differs for increasing and releasing force. Journal of Neurophysiology, 115 (6), 2924-2930, 2016.

Lodha N, Moon H, Kim C, Onushko T, & Christou EA. Motor output variability impairs reactive driving in older adults. Journal of Gerontology, Series A: Biomedical Sciences and Medical Sciences, 71(12):1676-1681, 2016.

Casamento A, Chen Y, Kwon MH, Snyder A, Subramony SH, Vaillancourt D, & Christou EA. Ankle force control correlates with functional capacity in Spinocerebellar ataxia 6 patients. Frontiers Human Neuroscience, 9, 184, doi:10.3389/fnhum.2015.00184, 2015.

Corti M, Smith BK, Falk DJ, Fuller DD, Byrne BJ, & Christou EA.  Altered Activation of the Tibialis Anterior in Individuals with Pompe Disease: Implications for Motor Unit Dysfunction. Muscle & Nerve, 51(6), 877-83, 2015.

Moon H, Kim C, Kwon M, Chen Y, Onushko T, Lodha N, & Christou EA.  Force control is related to low-frequency oscillations in force and surface EMG. PLOS One.  5;9(11):e109202, 2014.

Chen Y, Kwon M, Fox EJ, & Christou EA.  Altered activation of the antagonist muscle during practice compromises motor learning in older adults. Journal of Neurophysiology, 112(4):1010-9, 2014.

Onushko T, Kim C, & Christou EA. Reducing task difficulty during practice improves motor learning in older adults. Experimental Gerontology, 6; 57C: 168-174, 2014.

Fox EJ, Moon H, Kwon M, Chen Y, & Christou EA.  Neuromuscular control of goal-directed ankle movements differs for healthy children and adults.  European Journal of Applied Physiology, 114(9): 1889-99, 2014.

Onushko T, Baweja HS, Christou EA.  Practice improves motor control in older adults by increasing the motor unit modulation from 13 to 30 Hz. Journal of Neurophysiology, 110(10):2393-401, 2013.

Fox EJ, Baweja HS, Kim C, Kennedy DM, Vaillancourt DE, & Christou EA. Modulation of force within 0-1 Hz: Age-associated differences and the effect of magnified visual feedback. PLOS One. 8(2):e55970, 2013.

Christou EA & Enoka RM. Old adults are less accurate than young adults when lifting and lowering an inertial load with a hand muscle. AGE, 33(3):393-407, 2011.

Christou EA. Aging and variability of voluntary contractions. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, 39: 77-84, 2011.

Neto OP & Christou EA.  Rectification of the EMG signal impairs the identification of oscillatory input to the muscle.  Journal of Neurophysiology, 103: 1093-103, 2010.

Christou EA, Poston BJ, Enoka JA & Enoka RM.  Different adaptations improve end-point accuracy with practice in young and old adults.  Journal of Neurophysiology, 97: 3340-50, 2007.

Christou EA, Rudroff T, Enoka J, Meyer FG, & Enoka RM.  Discharge rate during low-force isometric contractions influences motor unit coherence below 15 Hz but not motor unit synchronization. Experimental Brain Research, 178: 285-295, 2007.

Christou EA, Jakobi J, Critchlow A, Fleshner M, & Enoka RM.  The 1-2 Hz oscillations in force are exacerbated by stress, especially in older adults.  Journal of Applied Physiology, 97: 225-236, 2004.

Christou EA, Shinohara M & Enoka RM.  Force fluctuations impair accuracy during anisometric contractions performed by young and old adults.  Journal of Applied Physiology, 95: 373-384, 2003.