Janusz Wieslaw Blaszczyk PhD, MSc

Dr. Janusz W. Blaszczyk is a professor of neurophysiology at the Department of Neurophysiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology Polish Academy of Sciences and holds the position of Professor in Neuromechanics at the Department of Biomechanics, Academy of Physical Education in Katowice. He is internationally known for his research regarding the causes and prevention of falls in the elderly. He received his M.Sc in electrical engineering at the Warsaw Technological University in 1974. In 1984, he obtained his PhD degree in neurobiology at Nencki Institute, based on the thesis entitled? Physiological mechanisms of speed control in animal locomotion?. Next in 1994, he completed his DSc degree based on the thesis? Changes of postural stability in the elderly?.

He was trained as a movement disorders specialist during fellowships at the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke (NINCDS) Bethesda USA, in the Laboratory of Motor Control (1985-87). He received additional training at the Laboratory of Neural Systems NINCDS (1987-89). In March 1989, he was appointed as a manager of the Motor Behavior Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin Madison, USA, and conducted research with movement and gait control deficit in aging and Parkinson's Disease, as special areas of interest.

In this line of research, he received 1997 training at the Institute of Geriatry, Shirebrook University, Quebec Canada. Since 2001, Prof. Janusz Blaszczyk has been involved in teaching neurology and neurophysiology to medical and physiotherapy students. He supervised and promoted 10 Ph.D. students. He is a board member of the Kinesiology Unit at the Academy, a fully equipped gait and balance laboratory. Prof. Blaszczyk has published over 180 publications, including more than 79 peer-reviewed papers including such prestigious ones as Journal of Biomechanics, Human Movements Sciences, Brain Research, and PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America). He is on the editorial board for several national and international journals, including Advances in Transportation Studies, Human Kinetics, and ISRN Biomedical Engineering. Prof. B? Blaszczyk has been principal investigator in several studies funded by grants from the Committee of Scientific Research (KBN), Ministry of Science and the Higher Education (MNiSW), and recently the National Center for Science (NCN). His current research focuses on quantifying balance and gait disorders associated with aging and neurodegenerative diseases and developing a unique diagnostic and rehabilitation program to prevent falls in the elderly.