Bruna Mussoi
School of Health Sciences
Dr. Mussoi is an Assistant Professor in the Speech Pathology and Audiology program. Her research focuses on the neural, perceptual and cognitive mechanisms underlying age-related changes in speech in noise understanding. She is also interested in how those factors impact speech understanding with cochlear implants (surgically implanted neural devices to improve hearing). Since establishing her Hearing and Aging Lab at Kent State University, Dr. Mussoi established internal and external collaborations with researchers at the Cleveland Clinic, University of Akron, and University Hospitals. As a result of this work, Dr. Mussoi has published several manuscripts in high-quality journals in her field and is currently a co-investigator on an R15 grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Angela Ridgel
School of Health Sciences
Dr. Angela Ridgel, Professor in Health Sciences (Exercise Science and Exercise Physiology), is an expert and innovator in the field of rehabilitation and exercise therapies for neurological disorders. She has been invited to give a TEDx talk, has written two editions of a textbook chapter about exercise and Parkinson’s disease and has two patents. Her research has been featured on the radio, several podcasts and in the written press. She is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, has served on several NIH study sections in rehabilitation, has secured over $850,000 in external grants (NIH, TeCK Fund, Davis Phinney Foundation) and was awarded the EHHS Outstanding Senior Researcher Award in 2020. Since starting at KSU in 2008, Dr. Ridgel’s has published 33 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and her work has been cited 2034 times. She is also a site co-PI (in collaboration with University Hospital) for a large multisite clinical trial called SPARX3 and is co-investigator on a VA Rehabilitation R&D Merit Review Grant with Dr. Aasef Shaikh. MD, PhD. Her expertise in brain health and disease led to her appointment as the Associate Director of the KSU Brain Health Research Institute in 2021. She has served as director or co-director for 16 doctoral dissertations and as a committee member for 15 more. Dr. Ridgel has also served as a research mentor for students in the McNair Scholar program, Student Undergraduate Research Program (SURE), and BHRI Undergraduate Fellows Program. She has served on several research focused committees at the university, national and community level including as a member of the KSU Institutional Review Board since 2010 and the SPARX3 Adverse Events Adjudication Committee. Dr. Ridgel is currently the Chair of the Research Awards Committee and is a member of the Exercise is Medicine- Older Adult committee of the American College of Sports Medicine. She is also a Research Scholar in the Neurological and Behavioral Outcomes Center at Case Western Reserve University.