Dr. Elizabeth Torres

As the Director of the Sensory Motor Integration Lab (SMIL) at Rutgers University and former Executive and Scientific Director of the New Jersey Autism Center of Excellence (NJACE) from 2018-2023, Dr. Elizabeth Torres and her team are breaking barriers using a multidisciplinary approach to study autism with a hope to improve knowledge and empower individuals to advocate for people who are on the spectrum.

Elizabeth has used The MotionMonitor® since 2009 for a clinical trial related to Autism SHANK3 Deletion Syndrome, for several Parkinson’s Disease and Autism Spectrum Disorder studies, and to study the Feldenkrais method. More recently, Elizabeth added new portable systems of The MotionMonitor with Xsens IMU’s, Noraxon EMG with heart rate sensors, and Tobii Pro Glasses (eyetrackers) to allow more community-based research.

A subject is instrumented with a fullbody set of Xsens Awinda sensors. These sensors stream wirelessly to The MotionMonitor laptop computer for data visualization, collection and analysis.

The Roxy Ballet recently participated and partnered in an Autism research study with Elizabeth to learn more about the Autism spectrum and create a connection between movement, motion and a positive pathway for people living with Autism. See how they used their portable MotionMonitor systems to collect dancers’ movements and then see a short performance from the Roxy Ballet below. Their work is also contributing to the SMIL Autism Certificate of Excellence initiative.

Staff from the SMIL are able to use their system to collect data in the community. Here students setup and capture data on dancers in their practice space.

It was a delight to see the fruits of their labor pay off when they held The Rethinking Autism for 21st Century Conference earlier in the year. Check out the highlights for the NJACE Conference! We look forward to supporting and seeing what Elizabeth and her team do next!