University of Alberta

About ME

I am a PhD candidate in Rehabilitation Science at the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. My co-supervisors are Dr. Greg Kawchuk and Dr. Albert Vette. I have a MSc in Kinesiology (specialization in Biomechanics) from the Western University in London, ON. I have a BSc Honours in Molecular Biology and Genetics from the University of Guelph in Guelph, ON. I am also a husband and a father.

Supervisor:

• Dr. Greg Kawchuk
• Dr. Albert Vette

Research Interests:

• Biomechanics
• Spine

PROJECT

I mainly do my research work at the Rehabilitation Robotics Lab in ECHA. I am currently working on a project in spine biomechanics in relation to spinal manipulative therapy for low back pain. The past projects during my PhD were: 1) low back stiffness measurement in upright open MRI; 2) systematic review on motion capture system; 3) parallel robot programming; and 4) biomechanical analysis of spine motion segment using animal model.

During my MSc in Western U, I was also involved in various projects: 1) back and neck posture analysis in forklift drivers using virtual reality system; 2) EMG analysis of muscle activation in tracker runners; and 3) lower leg reaction time study undergoing sudden perturbation. I also participated in a project developing stochastic resonance system at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital.

For my PhD work, a parallel robot (R-2000, Mikrolar, Hampton, NH) and a load cell (AMTI MC3A-1000, Watertown, MA) are used for biomechanical testing of the spine motion segments. The parallel robot is comprised of a rigid platform suspended by 6 rigid struts of fixed length. Each strut is attached to an electromechanical motor that travels about a circular track. Changes in the position and orientation of the robot platform are achieved by computer-controlled movement of each motor around the track. The linear and angular resolution of the robot is approximately 1µm and 0.001° respectively.

AWARDS

• GSA Academic Travel Award (2018)
• Graduate Student Scholarship from Korean Canadian Scholarship Foundation (2017)
• Best oral presentation award at the FRM Research Day (2017)
• GSA Academic Travel Award (2017)
• A member of The Golden Key International Honour Society

publications

• Valevicius AM, Jun PY, Hebert JS, Vette AH. Use of Optical Motion Capture for the Analysis of Normative Upper Body Kinematics during Functional Upper Limb Tasks: A Systematic Review. J Electromyogr Kinesiol. 2018;40.
• Jun Y. Evaluating the Similarity in Postures Between Forklift Operators in Virtual Reality and the Workplace. Electron Thesis Diss Repos. 2014. http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/2423.
• Nevison S, Jun Y, Dickey J. The gluteus medius activation in female indoor track runners is asymmetrical and may be related to injury risk. Sport Exerc Med. 2015;1(1):27-34.
• Freedman JD, Jun Y, Humphreys DA DJ. Effectiveness of Bracing and Taping, and the Influence of Light Finger Touch, During Unexpected Ankle Inversion Perturbations. Int J Sport Exerc Med. 2015;1(007).