Rice University and Houston Methodist have joined forces to create a premier center where physicians, academic researchers and university students work side-by-side with student athletes, trainers and coaches to advance research and education in human performance.

A joint venture between Methodist’s Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Rice’s Department of Kinesiology and Rice Athletics, the Houston Methodist-Rice University Center for Human Performance is a premier space for the study and advancement of exercise physiology, injury prevention and rehabilitation.

The center will improve lives through broadly applicable research on human performance; provide services to Rice student athletes; facilitate student engagement and collaboration with Rice and Methodist faculty; integrate multi-disciplinary teams and learning with participants from Rice’s academic departments, Rice Athletics and Methodist’s clinical departments; and serve as a hub for collaborative projects between Rice and Houston Methodist.

The 6,000-square-foot facility, located in Rice's Tudor Fieldhouse, will enable researchers to combine the science of human movement and disease prevention with new tools from data science, neuroscience, wearable technologies and materials to advance injury prevention and recovery, and improve overall public health. The facility includes state-of-the-art laboratory, clinical and rehabilitation space and is equipped for studies requiring the latest technology for advanced 3D motion capture, force-plate measurement, region-by-region quantification of bone density, metabolic analysis, cardiovascular screening and aerobic performance testing.