Todd M. Manini, Ph.D., MS
Professor of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics
College of Medicine
Why do some people remain active and independent throughout later life, while others experience a rapid loss of mobility? Todd Manini’s research addresses this consequential question by identifying the biological, behavioral, clinical, and environmental forces that determine how older adults move, recover from health events, and preserve independence.
Manini’s work has helped advance the understanding of mobility loss from a general consequence of aging to a measurable and potentially modifiable clinical outcome. His research examines the mechanisms underlying age-related declines in muscle strength and physical function — and, critically, how these declines can be delayed, prevented, or reversed. By focusing on mobility as a central marker of health and resilience, his program addresses one of the most important threats to quality of life among older adults: the loss of the ability to live independently.
A defining contribution of Manini’s research is the development of technologies that move the measurement of health beyond episodic clinic visits and into people’s daily lives. His team has created mobile platforms that integrate wearable sensors and remote data collection to continuously characterize movement, mobility, and recovery following falls, hospitalization, surgery, and other health events. These high-resolution, real-world measurements reveal changes that conventional clinical assessments may miss and provide a more timely and clinically meaningful picture of an older adult’s functional trajectory.
Manini is now helping transform these technologies into a scalable infrastructure to allow investigators and clinicians to design and deploy studies remotely, reduce geographic and logistical barriers to participation, and include older adults who have historically been underrepresented in research. This work is creating the data foundation needed for artificial intelligence–enabled approaches capable of identifying early signals of mobility decline, monitoring recovery, and supporting more personalized interventions.
His broader research program connects these technological advances with mechanistic studies and clinical trials aimed at extending healthspan — the years of life lived with good health and independence. Manini investigates how metabolism, inflammation, muscle biology, and neuromuscular function interact to shape mobility and resilience. He then translates those discoveries into interventions, ranging from pharmacologic treatments to rehabilitation strategies, designed to improve physical function and prevent disability.
The ultimate impact extends beyond measuring how people age: his research is building the infrastructure and knowhow to anticipate mobility loss before it occurs and redefine treatments for maintaining function across the lifespan.