INDIANAPOLIS – Stuart Warden has been appointed associate dean for research at the IU School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, effective July 1, pending approval by the IU Board of Trustees.
IU School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Dean Augustine Agho described Warden, an associate professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, as an accomplished researcher and scholar. Warden has served as interim associate dean for research since 2010.
Under Warden’s leadership, the school implemented a generous research incentive policy and restructured the distribution of indirect cost recovery funds and salary savings from external grants and contracts to ensure an equitable allocation of funds to departments and principal investigators. He also led efforts to implement an internal funding opportunity, the Promotion of External Applications for Research program, that provides funds for faculty to perform initial pilot research, travel to meet a potential collaborator, purchase research equipment or have an external funding application pre-reviewed by an expert in the field.
For the past two years, he has organized and recruited faculty and students to present their research during the Alumni Interdisciplinary Research Conference, a signature event for the school.
An associate editor of the British Journal of Sports Medicine and Journal of Musculoskeletal and Neuronal Interactions, Warden is also a member of the editorial boards of Bone, Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy, and Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport.
Warden’s clinical and teaching experience is primarily in sports medicine. He worked for a number of years in sports medicine clinics and provided physical therapy coverage for numerous amateur sporting teams in Australia. In addition, he has provided physical therapy services at many sporting events, including the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and Australian University Games.
Research is a major component of Warden’s work, where he investigates normal and abnormal functioning of the musculoskeletal system. He has research interests in musculoskeletal responses to exercise and injury, the musculoskeletal effects of pharmaceutical agents (especially anti-inflammatories and anti-depressants), and the efficacy of physical therapy interventions for musculoskeletal conditions. Common conditions investigated in Warden’s research include osteoporosis, bone fractures, stress fractures, tendon overuse injuries and ligament sprains.