The Lifespan clinical and community programs are centered in the Blatt Center.

Motor Development and FACTS Laboratory. This laboratory is an applied research facility designed to study neuromuscular and behavioral processes involved in lifespan motor control/performance. Equipment includes neuromotor and behavioral instrumentation for recording and analyzing reaction time, movement time, speed of movement or upper and lower extremities, bimanual control, static and dynamic balance, gait/mobility, range of motion, selected measures of strength, aerobic capacity and short term memory.

Motor Rehabilitation Laboratory. This laboratory is designed for the collection of biomechanical and motor control data addressing clinical research questions in the field of physical therapy and motor rehabilitation. Equipment includes instrumentation designed to study static and dynamic postural control, 3-D motion analysis and equipment necessary to evaluate the neurological bases of human motor control. Instruction and research conducted in this laboratory is designed to study human motor behavior with emphasis on impaired function.

Computer Laboratory. Equipped with twelve computer work stations for student use, this laboratory is set up to allow faculty to present students with computer-based instructional material. In addition this laboratory is used by students to complete assignments and have access to library resources, word processing, data processing, statistical packages and Internet access through the School of Public Health file server.

Clinical Research Center. Equipped with an array of exercise equipment and physiological monitoring systems, this laboratory houses the Preventive Exercise Program. Major equipment items include three stress testing stations, a telemetry ECG monitoring system and numerous cycle ergometers and treadmills. In this facility, graduate students provide staff support to the Preventive Exercise Program and complete laboratory courses in clinical exercise physiology. The facility staff also work with investigators from other departments within the Arnold School of Public health on various clinical research projects.

The laboratory is equipped for state-of-the-art measurement of metabolic and cardiorespiratory responses and adaptations to exercise in human subjects. A fully automated system for measurement of metabolism is included. Also, this laboratory includes a hydrostatic weighing system for measurement of body composition that is equipped for on-line data reduction. This facility is also now equipped with the state-of-the-art DEXA machine for body composition and bone mineral analysis. Full phlebotomy capability and a TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) apparatus are also available. The facility is the site for laboratory instruction in exercise physiology and for the conduction of exercise physiology graduate student research.

Behavioral Science Laboratory. Research in this laboratory is focused on behavioral and community-based approaches to understanding and promoting health behaviors in individuals and communities. It is equipped with survey generating and scanning software and equipment (Teleform), qualitative software (NVIVO), telephone recording and monitoring equipment, ambulatory blood pressure monitors, automated blood pressure monitors (Dinamap), body composition measurement instruments, and Actigraph accelerometers.

Exercise Biochemistry Laboratory. This laboratory is equipped with instruments required for the preparation and biochemical analysis of various substances in blood, muscle, brain and other biological tissues, including ultra and high speed centrifuges, microplate reader, gamma and liquid scintillation counters, and HPLC with electrochemical detection. Equipment is also available for in vivo and ex vivo measures of immune function and susceptibility to infection and cancer. State-of-the-art procedures are used to measure various nutrients (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, etc.), enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters and metabolic intermediates. Small animal experiments requiring surgery, including venous catheters and brain electrode and cannula implantation, exercise training (forced treadmill and voluntary wheel running), and assessment of food/fluid intake, cardiovascular and thermoregulatory function, energy metabolism and fatigue (mental and physical) are also performed routinely in this laboratory.

Integrative Muscle Biology Laboratory. This laboratory examines the effect of increasing or decreasing physical activity, as well as functional demand on skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle gene expression. Specifically, the mechanisms for activity or load-induced alterations in gene expression and the impact of age and gender on these responses are currently being investigated. Procedures routinely performed include northern blotting, southern blotting, and western blotting, semi and quantitative PCR, and basic DNA amplification, mutation, and cloning. This laboratory uses surgical and functional manipulations to model increased functional demand ad disuse in rodents. Cell culture systems including the stretch of muscle cultures are also used for analysis.

Exercise Neurophysiology Laboratory. This laboratory is equipped to investigate the neuroanatomical and neurochemical pathways that mediate adjustments to nervous system activity during exercise. Cutting-edge techniques are used to measure activity of individual neurons in the central nervous system during bouts of muscle contraction. The laboratory is also equipped with microsurgery instrumentation to investigate the effects of blocking specific neurotransmitters on nervous and cardiovascular changes during acute bouts of exercise and with training.

John Morrison White Clinic and Laboratory. This facility, located on the USC Lancaster Campus, is well equipped for cardiovascular, metabolic and pulmonary function measurement. Hydrostatic weighing and nutritional assessment are also available in this facility. The cardiopulmonary rehabilitation clinic provides workstations and telemetry monitoring capability for twelve patients simultaneously. The multi-disciplined rehabilitation program is fully certified by the Joint Committee on Cardiovascular Rehabilitation of the South Carolina Medical Association and the South Carolina Affiliate of the American Heart Association. In addition, three physical therapists, a speech therapist, and a physical therapy assistant staff a new outpatient physical therapy service. Biodex gait analysis and balance equipment, a Biodex isokinetic dynamometer, 18 Nautilus resistance training stations, 35 cardiovascular stations and an indoor pool are used by the clinicians to assess and treat patients of all ages. Excellent opportunities for non-invasive clinical and experimental research with human subjects are afforded by the clinic and laboratory.