Molecular Cardiovascular Biology

Timothy E. Hewett, PhD

Title

Director, Sports Medicine Biodynamics Center

Appointment

Associate Professor

Email

tim.hewett@cchmc.org

Phone

513-636-3913

Fax

513-636-5958

Bio

Timothy E. Hewett, PhD is the Director of the Sports Medicine Biodynamics Center at Children's Hospital Research Foundation. He is an Assistant Professor in Pediatrics and Orthopaedic Surgery in the College of Medicine and an Adjunct Associate Professor in Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Cincinnati and Cincinati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Hewett is best known for his work in the area of the prevention of knee injuries in female athletes.

Dr. Hewett possesses a doctorate in Physiology and Biophysics and postdoctoral training in Molecular Biology. His research interests range from the molecular alteration of muscle contraction to the development new methods for injury prevention and athletic development.

Dr. Hewett has lectured and published on the topic of dynamic neuromuscular joint control strategies and their use for preventing knee injuries across the country, from Harvard University to the University of Florida. He has been a keynote speaker at The Mayo Clinic and Kentucky Sports Medicine and a visiting professor at Texas Tech University.

Dr. Hewett's work has been featured by the news media across the country, from the front page of the New York Times to Good Morning America. He has published over sixty of his research articles in medical journals, and his research has received numerous awards, including the Excellence in Research and Odonohue Awards from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, the Young Investigator Award from the American Heart Association and The Research to Reality Award from the Eastern Athletic Trainers' Association.

Awards and Honors

Excellence in Research Award
Young Investigator Award
Research to Reality Award

Research

Muscle Physiology

Publications, Most Recent

Xu J, Kimball TR, Lorenz JN, Brown DA, Bauskin AR, Klevitsky R, Hewett TE, Breit SN, Molkentin JD. (2006) GDF15/MIC-1 functions as a protective and antihypertrophic factor released from the myocardium in association with SMAD protein activation.Circ Res 98:342-50.
Quatman CE, Ford KR, Myer GD, Paterno MV, Hewett TE. (2007) The effects of gender and pubertal status on generalized joint laxity in young athletes.J Sci Med Sport.
Quatman CE, Ford KR, Myer GD, Hewett TE. (2006) Maturation leads to gender differences in landing force and vertical jump performance: a longitudinal study.Am J Sports Med 34:806-13.
Paterno MV, Myer GD, Ford KR, Hewett TE. (2004) Neuromuscular training improves single-limb stability in young female athletes.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 34:305-16.
Paterno MV, Archdeacon MT, Ford KR, Galvin D, Hewett TE. (2006) Early rehabilitation following surgical fixation of a femoral shaft fracture.Phys Ther 86:558-72.
Myer GD, Paterno MV, Hewett TE. (2004) Back in the game: a four-phase return-to-sport program for athletes with problem ACLS.Rehab Manag 17:30-3.
Myer GD, Paterno MV, Ford KR, Quatman CE, Hewett TE. (2006) Rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: criteria-based progression through the return-to-sport phase.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 36:385-402.
Myer GD, Ford KR, Palumbo JP, Hewett TE. (2005) Neuromuscular training improves performance and lower-extremity biomechanics in female athletes.J Strength Cond Res 19:51-60.
Myer GD, Ford KR, McLean SG, Hewett TE. (2006) The effects of plyometric versus dynamic stabilization and balance training on lower extremity biomechanics.Am J Sports Med 34:445-55.
Myer GD, Ford KR, Hewett TE. (2005) The effects of gender on quadriceps muscle activation strategies during a maneuver that mimics a high ACL injury risk position.J Electromyogr Kinesiol 15:181-9.
Myer GD, Ford KR, Hewett TE. (2004) Rationale and Clinical Techniques for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Prevention Among Female Athletes.J Athl Train 39:352-364.
Myer GD, Ford KR, Hewett TE. (2004) Methodological approaches and rationale for training to prevent anterior cruciate ligament injuries in female athletes.Scand J Med Sci Sports 14:275-85.
Myer GD, Ford KR, Brent JL, Hewett TE. (2007) Differential neuromuscular training effects on ACL injury risk factors in"high-risk" versus "low-risk" athletes.BMC Musculoskelet Disord 8:39.
Myer GD, Ford KR, Brent JL, Hewett TE. (2006) The effects of plyometric vs. dynamic stabilization and balance training on power, balance, and landing force in female athletes.J Strength Cond Res 20:345-53.
Myer GD, Brunner HI, Melson PG, Paterno MV, Ford KR, Hewett TE. (2005) Specialized neuromuscular training to improve neuromuscular function and biomechanics in a patient with quiescent juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.Phys Ther 85:791-802.
Kaiser RA, Liang Q, Bueno O, Huang Y, Lackey T, Klevitsky R, Hewett TE, Molkentin JD. (2005) Genetic inhibition or activation of JNK1/2 protects the myocardium from ischemia-reperfusion-induced cell death in vivo.J Biol Chem 280:32602-8.
Hewett TE, Zazulak BT, Myer GD. (2007) Effects of the menstrual cycle on anterior cruciate ligament injury risk: a systematic review.Am J Sports Med 35:659-68.
Hewett TE, Zazulak BT, Myer GD, Ford KR. (2005) A review of electromyographic activation levels, timing differences, and increased anterior cruciate ligament injury incidence in female athletes.Br J Sports Med 39:347-50.
Hewett TE, Pasque C, Heyl R, Wroble R. (2005) Wrestling injuries.Med Sport Sci 48:152-78.
Hewett TE, Myer GD, Ford KR. (2006) Anterior cruciate ligament injuries in female athletes: Part 1, mechanisms and risk factors.Am J Sports Med 34:299-311.
Hewett TE, Myer GD, Ford KR. (2005) Reducing knee and anterior cruciate ligament injuries among female athletes: a systematic review of neuromuscular training interventions.J Knee Surg 18:82-8.
Hewett TE, Myer GD, Ford KR. (2004) Decrease in neuromuscular control about the knee with maturation in female athletes.J Bone Joint Surg Am 86-A:1601-8.
Hewett TE, Myer GD, Ford KR, Slauterbeck JR. (2007) Dynamic neuromuscular analysis training for preventing anterior cruciate ligament injury in female athletes.Instr Course Lect 56:397-406.
Hewett TE, Myer GD, Ford KR, Slauterbeck JR. (2006) Preparticipation physical examination using a box drop vertical jump test in young athletes: the effects of puberty and sex.Clin J Sport Med 16:298-304.
Hewett TE, Myer GD, Ford KR, Heidt RS, Jr., Colosimo AJ, McLean SG, van den Bogert AJ, Paterno MV, Succop P. (2005) Biomechanical measures of neuromuscular control and valgus loading of the knee predict anterior cruciate ligament injury risk in female athletes: a prospective study.Am J Sports Med 33:492-501.
Hewett TE, Ford KR, Myer GD. (2006) Anterior cruciate ligament injuries in female athletes: Part 2, a meta-analysis of neuromuscular interventions aimed at injury prevention.Am J Sports Med 34:490-8.
Hewett TE, Ford KR, Myer GD, Wanstrath K, Scheper M. (2006) Gender differences in hip adduction motion and torque during a single-leg agility maneuver.J Orthop Res 24:416-21.
Hambleton M, Hahn H, Pleger ST, Kuhn MC, Klevitsky R, Carr AN, Kimball TF, Hewett TE, Dorn GW, 2nd, Koch WJ, Molkentin JD. (2006) Pharmacological- and gene therapy-based inhibition of protein kinase Calpha/beta enhances cardiac contractility and attenuates heart failure.Circulation 114:574-82.
Ford KR, Myer GD, Toms HE, Hewett TE. (2005) Gender differences in the kinematics of unanticipated cutting in young athletes.Med Sci Sports Exerc 37:124-9.
Ford KR, Myer GD, Smith RL, Vianello RM, Seiwert SL, Hewett TE. (2006) A comparison of dynamic coronal plane excursion between matched male and female athletes when performing single leg landings.Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon) 21:33-40.
Ford KR, Myer GD, Smith RL, Byrnes RN, Dopirak SE, Hewett TE. (2005) Use of an overhead goal alters vertical jump performance and biomechanics.J Strength Cond Res 19:394-9.
Ford KR, Manson NA, Evans BJ, Myer GD, Gwin RC, Heidt RS, Jr., Hewett TE. (2006) Comparison of in-shoe foot loading patterns on natural grass and synthetic turf.J Sci Med Sport 9:433-40.
Divine JG, Zazulak BT, Hewett TE. (2007) Viscosupplementation for knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review.Clin Orthop Relat Res 455:113-22.
Divine JG, Hewett TE. (2004) Taking the load off.Rehab Manag 17:28-9.
Cowley HR, Ford KR, Myer GD, Kernozek TW, Hewett TE. (2006) Differences in neuromuscular strategies between landing and cutting tasks in female basketball and soccer athletes.J Athl Train 41:67-73.
Bueno OF, Lips DJ, Kaiser RA, Wilkins BJ, Dai YS, Glascock BJ, Klevitsky R, Hewett TE, Kimball TR, Aronow BJ, Doevendans PA, Molkentin JD. (2004) Calcineurin Abeta gene targeting predisposes the myocardium to acute ischemia-induced apoptosis and dysfunction.Circ Res 94:91-9.
Braz JC, Gregory K, Pathak A, Zhao W, Sahin B, Klevitsky R, Kimball TF, Lorenz JN, Nairn AC, Liggett SB, Bodi I, Wang S, Schwartz A, Lakatta EG, DePaoli-Roach AA, Robbins J, Hewett TE, Bibb JA, Westfall MV, Kranias EG, Molkentin JD. (2004) PKC-alpha regulates cardiac contractility and propensity toward heart failure.Nat Med 10:248-54.

Professional Organization Memberships

American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine
American College of Sports Medicine

Special Interests

Sports Injury Prevention and Advanced Athletic Development

Personal Statement

Research Description
My research interests lie in the molecular physiology of muscle contraction and the adaptive responses of muscle and nerve to changes in functional demands. More specifically, I am interested in the effects of physiological and pathological stresses such as development, growth, exercise, and heart disease on the neural inputs to muscle and the quantity and quality of the contractile proteins, myosin and actin, and how alterations in these proteins quantitatively effect contraction.

The goal is to combine data from whole body biomechanics, skeletal muscle function and cardiac muscle function to study the physiological and pathological adaptations of muscle and nerve to the changes in functional requirements that occur following physiological and pathological stress. Our work should aid in the elucidation of the mechanisms of neuromuscular control in healthy athletes and in patients with neuromuscular disease.

We are using complementary biomechanical and molecular approaches to analyze neuromuscular adaptation to stress using cutting-edge methodologies that will enhance our ability to develop new tools for preventing injury, increasing athletic performance and improving the quality of life in people ranging from professional athletes to children with developmental diseases.