Halloran initially became involved in undergraduate research with Professor Kersh to gain additional experience outside of industry. After meeting Kersh at a panel, she began conducting research on equine biomechanics with graduate student Sara Moshage, in Kersh's Tissue Biomechanics Lab.
For her doctoral studies, Halloran plans to focus on wheelchair biomechanics. Her initial work will include two studies—one focusing on the risk of leg fractures in wheelchair users, the other on preventing muscle strain in wheelchair athletes.
“One of the studies that we're thinking about potentially looking at is the ways that bone adapts and changes over time and with use. Bones will become stronger if they're being subjected to forces. With people who are in wheelchairs, their legs are a higher risk for fractures because their legs aren't seeing the same kind of forces that people who would be walking and putting weight on those legs would be seeing. There are some unknowns as to how that affects the fracture risk for their legs and the ways that the structure of the bone changes,” said Halloran.
“And from there, we want to see what kinds of exercises we can be prescribing to wheelchair users to ensure that their bones remain healthy. Another aspect of that is a lot of people who regularly use wheelchairs – like wheelchair athletes – see a lot of muscle strains in their shoulders and elbows, many times just because of overuse. I'll be looking at ways to minimize that – whether it's changing the way they exercise, the intensity of the exercise, or the amount of exercises they do. U of I has a really good wheelchair track and field team, so we've been able to talk with them a little bit about issues they're seeing and the ways in which we can work with those athletes.”
Halloran hopes to continue engaging in research, potentially pursuing a career in academia.