Welcome to the Pediatric Onset of Neuromotor Impairments (PONI) Lab
About the PONI Lab
Bridging research with clinical and family realities
The Pediatric Onset of Neuromotor Impairments (PONI) Lab is a University of Calgary research lab based at the Alberta Children's Hospital. Led by Dr. Elizabeth Condliffe, the PONI Lab focuses on understanding pediatric onset neuromotor impairments and developing evidence-based interventions to reduce the multisystem impacts of these condition across the lifespan.
Through patient-centred, mechanism-driven, and innovative research, the PONI Lab investigates how targeted interventions can improve health, function, and quality of life for individuals living with neuromotor impairments. Our work bridges clinical research, rehabilitation science, neuroscience, and technology to support meaningful and lasting outcomes for children, adolescents, and their families.
Members of the PONI Lab's Patient Engagement Team
Guiding Principles
Patient Engagement
The PONI Lab is deeply grateful for our dedicated patient engagement team, who guide every stage of our research. From shaping research questions-ensuring we address issues that matter most to patients and families-to informing study design, piloting new technologies, and advising on knowledge sharing, patient partners play a central role in all that we do.
Open Science
The PONI Lab is committed to open science. We pre-register our study protocols and share data through open science repositories whenever possible. By prioritizing transparency and accessibility, we aim to make our research outputs reusable, reproducible, and available to the widest possible audience.
Knowledge Translation
The PONI Lab believes research should make a real-world impact. In addition to publishing in academic journals, we actively share our findings through infographics, social media posts, YouTube videos, and direct collaboration with clinicians and researchers at the Alberta Children's Hospital. Our goal is to ensure that research findings reach the people who can benefit the most.
Our Goals
Understanding Why and How
The PONI Lab uses innovative techniques to visualize movement, quantify musculoskeletal function, and better understand how interventions create meaningful change. Our goal is to improve the lives of individuals with pediatric onset neuromotor impairments by ensuring that clinical interventions promote neuroplastic adaptation and minimize the multisystem impacts of impairment across the lifespan.
To achieve this, we apply advanced data visualization approaches and emerging technologies for data capture-including markerless motion capture, Biodex dynamometry, electromyography (EMG), and peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT). These tools allow us to move beyond surface-level outcomes and examine how interventions influence muscle, bones, and neural systems together.
By integrating innovative measurement techniques with clinical research, the PONI Lab seeks to uncover the mechanisms underlying functional change and to inform the development of more effective, targeted, and sustainable interventions.
Innovative Interventions
The PONI Lab investigates and implements innovative interventions to promote health and physical activity for individuals who may be ineligible for traditional programs. Our work focuses on expanding access to meaningful, evidence-based opportunities for movement and participation.
Personalized Power Training
Our power training program combines individualized fitness with rehabilitation-focused goals to support increased physical activity and improved strength in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy. By tailoring programs to each participant's abilities and needs, we aim to create engaging, effective, and sustainable approaches to physical activity.
Robotic Walking and Assistive Technologies
Through our robotic walking studies, the PONI Lab provides access to emerging technologies that enable walking for individuals who were previously unable to do so. We are investigating multiple robotic and assistive devices to better understand their potential clinical, rehabilitative, and quality-of-life benefits for children who cannot walk or who experience difficulty walking.
@ponilabresearch
@ponilabresearch
Contact Us
Lab Phone: 403-955-558 Lab Cell: 403-830-1494 Email: poni.lab@ucalgary.ca