Emily McClelland, PhD Candidate - Locomotor Performance Lab
M.S., Bowling Green State University
Emily McClelland is a PhD candidate in the Locomotor Performance Laboratory. Her research interest areas include the biomechanics of sport and exercise, and performance differences between men and women.
Prior to starting her PhD training at SMU, Emily attended and participated on the varsity softball team at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. While there she completed a B.S. in Exercise Science (2014) and M.S. in Kinesiology (2016). She then worked as Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for BGSU, directly training 7 of the universities 17 teams. While also serving as an adjunct faculty member teaching Applied Sports Science and supervising student interns in the field within the exercise science program as well as from other university programs interning with BGSU Strength and Conditioning.
When not at the lab Emily enjoys spending time with family and friends, strength training, running and hanging out with her dog, Pudge.
Emily is a National Strength and Conditioning Association, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. She is also a student member of the Texas chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Society of Biomechanics and the International Society of Biomechanics and Sport.
Lance Brooks, PhD Candidate - Doctoral Student Researcher
M.S., West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Lance Brooks is a Doctoral Student Researcher who rejoined the Locomotor Performance Laboratory research team in June of 2020 just after completing a master’s degree at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Prior to his graduate studies, Lance was an undergraduate researcher in the Locomotor Performance Laboratory from 2016-2018 under current lab director Dr. Peter Weyand.
Lance’s research efforts have focused primarily on the biomechanical basis of sprint acceleration performance as well as a master’s thesis exploring the role of upper extremity motion in sprinting. He also has years of experience in the performance coaching realm at the collegiate and collegiate prep levels, as well as in the private sector. These include two division one strength and conditioning internships (Southern Methodist University and Harvard University), an assistant performance coach at Malvern Preparatory School in Malvern, PA, and years coaching private clients.
Through these avenues, Lance has connected with a variety of high-level talented athletes, serving alongside mentor and LPL alum, Dr. Kenneth Clark, as consultants to Olympic gold medalist English Gardner, Nigel “The Freeze” Talton, and others.
Sunil Prajapati, PhD Candidate - Research Engineer Locomotor Performance Lab
M.S., University of Texas at Austin
Sunil is a biomechanist who joined SMU’s Department of Applied Physiology and Wellness in the Spring of 2020 as a Research Engineer. Before arriving at SMU, Sunil attained his undergraduate and graduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin in Mechanical Engineering.
At the University of Texas, he began his research career in the Rewire Research lab as an undergraduate researcher exploring abnormal coordination patterns in post-stroke stiff knee gait (SKG) individuals. He continued this work into his Master’s focusing on muscle activation patterns and the correlation between post-stroke SKG individuals and healthy individuals who are mechanically restricted to post-stroke kinematics.
Despite his graduate work in rehabilitation engineering, many of Sunil’s interest lie in biomechanics as they relate to human performance in sport. Sunil is an avid Mavericks fan and in his free time can be found playing tennis or basketball, working out or trying to find new ways to get followers for the Lab Instagram (please follow @sm_r_u_fast_lpl). Feel free to reach out to Sunil regarding any questions you may have about him, his research or his path to gradually becoming the first world’s first simultaneously renowned chef, actor, athlete and researcher.