In an unassuming space in the corner of the RFU Health Sciences Building’s Garden Level, Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine’s internationally acclaimed research center has for the past two decades advanced knowledge and care of the diabetic foot, studied falls prevention, and dissected the impacts of physical activity and athletic performance.

Here, in the Human Performance Laboratory, the Center for Lower Extremity Ambulatory Research (CLEAR) works to advance our understanding of biomechanics and the impact of chronic diseases such as diabetes on the lower limbs. The laboratory is outfitted with state-of-the-art instruments to assess how the human body responds to the physical environment, including interactive cameras that capture data from miniaturized body-worn sensors and force plates embedded in the floor to characterize movement changes in response to pathology.

The work of CLEAR in the Human Performance Laboratory, RFU Health Clinics and the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center has involved interprofessional teams at RFU, and key partners in academia, health care and industry. The clinical, surgical and technical expertise of the CLEAR team has consistently served the greater biomedical community, service that can be traced through more than 800 national and international conference presentations and 325 publications in journals across disciplines. Strong collaboration aids CLEAR’s creative investigation of emerging technologies, such as gaming applications to improve balance, engineered orthotics that adjust to offload pressure in real time and stem cell therapies that promote healing in diabetic foot ulcers.

Scholl College is the first and only podiatric medical school to be awarded a National Institutes of Health T35 training grant, which supports CLEAR’s Summer Research Fellowship program. Since 2008, select rising second-year SCPM students apply to participate in this important research experience. Fellows produce scholarship with faculty mentors as co-authors — a key milestone in students’ professional development — and CLEAR amplifies its legacy with a new generation of podiatric medical researchers.