Biography

Janet Dufek is a biomechanist and founding advisory board member of the REBEL (Rehabilitation, Exercise Science, Biomechanics, Engineering and Life Sciences) Research Group. Her research focuses on lower extremity function with an eye toward injury prevention. More specifically, Dufek has used a landing model to assess kinematic and kinetic responses to various experimental conditions, but, more so, to examine individual responses to these experimental perturbations. Dufek has also used running and walking protocols to examine similar phenomena. 

She regularly collaborates with colleagues in Physical Therapy, Engineering and Nursing to address questions of clinical concern. She has worked with pediatric populations with cerebral palsy and autism, and adult populations with diabetes. 

Dufek currently serves as UNLV's vice provost for faculty affairs. She maintains an affiliation with the university's School of Integrated Health Sciences, where she has served as professor and associate dean within the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences. Dufek has also served as graduate coordinator for the doctorate programs in kinesiology and interdisciplinary health sciences, and is a fellow in UNLV’s Leadership Academy. She holds associate graduate faculty status in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UNLV and is an adjunct professor in UNLV’s Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine and at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.