Research Focus

My work focuses on promoting Health Related Quality of Life in individuals across the lifespan. My research vision can be summarized as “Arts for Health, Health for Artists.” In children, using biosensors, I examine how dancing can positively address the childhood obesity epidemic. In adult dancers, I use preventative screenings and epidemiological methods to examine injury risk factors and ways to improve artistic performance. In older adults, I am interested in examining how implementing arts (dance and music) engagement programs can reduce falls risk, and positively address social isolation issues. I have founded and lead the SHARE (Supporting Healthy Arts Research) Consortium – a vibrant multi-institutional and multi-center collaborative consortium with the overarching vision of improving dancer and performing artists’ health, and studying how arts engagement can improve quality of life.

Current Projects

■ Heath-Related Quality of Life and injury incidence in dancers

■ Effects of different arts engagement programs on Health-Related Quality of Life, physical performance, cognition, social engagement, and perceptions of self in older adults

■ A longitudinal prospective examination of maturation and development of physical performance in dancers

■ Effects of multifactorial exercise and dance-based interventions in reducing falls risk in community-dwelling older adults

Select Publications

■ J. P. Ambegaonkar et al., Lower extremity horizontal work but not vertical power predicts lower extremity injury in female collegiate dancers. J Strength Cond Res 32(7), 2018-2024 (2018).

■ J. P. Ambegaonkar et al., Physical activity and enjoyment during dance-focused physical education classes in middle school girls. Int J of Phys Educ 55(4), 23-34 (2018).

■ J. P. Ambegaonkar et al., Relationships between core endurance, hip strength, and balance in collegiate female athletes. Int J Sports Phys Ther 9(5), 604-16 (2014).

■ V. Fauntroy et al., Using the selective functional movement assessment (SFMA) to evaluate dancers’ functional limitations and dysfunctions: a critical appraisal of the topic. J Sport Rehabil 17, 1-18 (2019).