Introduction
Courses
Research Interests
Educational Background
Schedule
 

Ray de Leon

Associate Professor

Kinesiology and Nutritional Science

Office:  Science Complex 115
Phone:  (323) 343-4855
Email:   rdeleon@calstatela.edu

INTRODUCTION

As a Kinesiology professor at Cal State LA, I am dedicated to 1) preparing our students to advance toward  health-related careers and 2) providing opportunities for students to perform basic and clinical research in my laboratory.  I believe in hands-on, service learning, and I teach classes that give students valuable experience in working with individuals with special exercise needs. 

My research focuses on gait retraining after spinal-cord injury (Spinal Plasticity Laboratory) and on the effects of exercise for individuals with spinal cord injury (Spinal Cord Injury Exercise Research). I oversee the Mobility Gym at Cal State LA (Mobility Gym), an exercise facility that was established on the CSULA campus for people with physical impairments.

COURSES

• KNS 436A,B Principles of Mobility Training (course material)
• KNS 437 Neuromuscular Disease and Plasticity (course material)
• KNS 365 Applied Motor Learning (course material)
• KNS 155 Individualized Therapeutic Exercise
• KNS 504 Research Design and Methodology (course material)
• KNS 563 Exercise Interventions for Neuromuscular Rehabilitation (course material)

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Spinal Plasticity Laboratory
• Spinal Cord Injury Exercise Research
• Curriculum vitae

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS 

Heng C, de Leon RD. The rodent lumbar spinal cord learns to correct errors in hindlimb coordination caused by viscous force perturbations during stepping. Journal of Neuroscience 27(32):8558-62, 2007.

Cha J, Heng C, Reinkensmeyer DJ, Roy RR, Edgerton VR, de Leon RD Locomotor ability in spinal rats is dependent on the amount of activity imposed on the hindlimbs during treadmill training. Journal of Neurotrauma 24(6):1000-12, 2007.

de Leon RD, Acosta CN. Effect of robotic-assisted treadmill training and chronic quipazine treatment on hindlimb stepping in spinally transected rats. J Neurotrauma. 2006, 23(7):1147-63.

Tamar Z. Semerjian, Suzanne M. Montague, Jesus F. Dominguez, Artin Mejy Davidian, and Ray D. de Leon. Enhancement of Quality of Life and Body Satisfaction Through the Use of Adapted Exercise Devices for Individuals with Spinal Cord Injuries. Topics in SCI Rehabilitation, 11, 95-108, 2005.

Nessler, J.A., de Leon, R.D., Sharp, K., Kwak, E., Minakata, K. and Reinkensmeyer, D.J. Robotic gait analysis of bipedal treadmill stepping by spinal contused rats: characterization of intrinsic recovery and comparison with BBB. J. Neurotrauma. 23(6):882-96 (2006).

Reinkensmeyer, D., Daisuke, A., Emken, J., Galvez, J., Ichinose, W., Kerdanyan, G., Maneekobkunwong, S., Minakata, K., Nessler, J., Weber, R., Roy, R., de Leon, R., Bobrow, J., Harkema, S., Edgerton, V.R. Tools for Understanding and Optimizing Robotic Gait Training. Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development. 2006 43(5):657-70.

Wojciech Timoszyk, Jeff Nessler, Cynthia Acosta, Roland Roy, Reggie Edgerton, David Reinkensmeyer, Ray de Leon. Hindlimb loading determines stepping quantity and quality following spinal cord transaction. Brain Research. 2005 19:180-9, 2005.

Edgerton, V.R., Tillakaratne, N.J.K., Bigbee, A.J., de Leon, R.D., and Roy. R.R.  Locomotor recovery potential after spinal cord injury. In: Neuro-Behavioral Determinants of Interlimb Coordination.  Chapter 3.  S.P. Swinnen and J. Duysens (eds.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands, 2004, pp. 53-91.

Ray D. de Leon, Roland R. Roy, Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, Piruz Motamedinia and V. Reggie Edgerton. Interlimb coordination after a thoracic hemisection in rats. Basic and Applied Myology. Basic and Applied Myology, 14: 215-222, 2004.

V. Reggie Edgerton, Niranjala J.K. Tillakaratne, Allison J. Bigbee, Ray D. de Leon, Roland R. Roy. Plasticity of Spinal Circuitry After Injury. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 27:145-67, 2004.

Ray D. de Leon, David J. Reinkensmeyer, Wojciech K. Timoszyk, Nicolas J. London, Roland R. Roy and V. Reggie Edgerton. Use of Robotics in Assessing the Adaptive Capacity of the Rat Lumbar Spinal Cord. Progress in Brain Research, 137: 141-9, 2002.

Timoszyk WK, de Leon R.D., London N., Joynes R., K. Minakata, Edgerton V.R., Reinkensmeyer D.J. Robot-assisted locomotion training after spinal cord injury: comparison of rodent stepping in virtual and physical treadmill environments, Robotica , 21:25-32, 2003.

Timoszyk WK, de Leon RD, London N, Roy RR, Edgerton VR and Reinkensmeyer DJ. The rat lumbosacral spinal cord adapts to robotic loading applied during stance. Journal of Neurophysiology, 88:3108-3117, 2002.

Ray D. de Leon, Marc D. Kubasak, Patricia E. Phelps, Wojciech K. Timoszyk, David J. Reinkensmeyer, Roland R. Roy and V. Reggie Edgerton. Using Robotics to Teach the Spinal Cord to Walk. Brain Research Reviews, 40:267-273, 2002.

Tillakaratne NJK, De Leon RD, Hoang T, Roy R, Edgerton VR, and Tobin AJ. Use-dependent modulation of inhibitory capacity in the feline lumbar spinal cord. J. Neurosci. 22: 3130-3143, 2002.

Edgerton, V.R., de Leon, R.D., Harkema, S.J., Hodgson, J.A., London, N., Reinkensmeyer, D.J., Roy, R.R., Talmadge, R.J., Tillakaratne, N.J., Timoszyk, W. and Tobin, A. Retraining the injured spinal cord. J. Physiol. (London) 533: 15-22 (2001).

de Leon, R.D., Roy, R.R., Edgerton, V.R. Is the recovery of stepping following spinal cord injury mediated by modifying existing neural pathways or by generating new pathways? Physical Therapy 81:1904-1911, 2001.

de Leon, R.D., London, N., Hodgson, J.A., Roy, R.R., Edgerton, V.R. Failure analysis of stepping in spinal cats. In: Peripheral and Spinal Mechanisms in the Neural Control of Movement. Volume 123.  M.D. Binder (ed.), Elsevier Publishers, Amsterdam, 1999, pp. 341-348.

de Leon RD, Hodgson JA, Roy RR, Edgerton V.R. Hindlimb locomotor and postural training modulates glycinergic inhibition in the spinal cord of the adult spinal cat. J Neurophysiol. 82:359-369, 1999.

de Leon, R.D., Hodgson, J.A., Roy, R.R., Edgerton, V.R. The retention of hindlimb stepping ability in adult spinal cats after the cessation of step training. J. Neurophysiol. 81: 85-94, 1999.

de Leon, R.D., Hodgson, J.A., Roy, R.R., Edgerton, V.R. Full weight-bearing hindlimb standing following stand training in the adult spinal cat. J. Neurophysiol. 80:83-91, 1998.

de Leon, R.D., Hodgson, J.A., Roy, R.R. and Edgerton, V.R. Locomotor capacity attributable to step training versus spontaneous recovery following spinalization in cats. J. Neurophysiol. 79:1329-1340, 1998.

Edgerton, V.R., Roy, R.R., de Leon, R., Tillakaratne N., and Hodgson, J.A.  Does motor learning occur in the spinal cord?  Neuroscientist  3:287-294, 1997.

Edgerton, V.R., de Leon, R.D., Tillakaratne, N., Recktenwald, M.R., Hodgson, J.A. and Roy, R.R.  Use-dependent plasticity in spinal stepping and standing.  In: Advances in Neurology: Neuronal Regeneration, Reorganization and Repair, Volume 72.  F.J. Seil (ed.), Lippincott-Raven Publishers, Philadelphia, 1997, pp. 233-247. 

Hodgson, J.A., Roy, R.R., de Leon, R., Dobkin, B., Edgerton, V.R. Can the mammalian lumbar spinal cord learn a motor task? Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 26:1491-1497, 1994.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

University of California, Los Angeles, Brain Research Institute, Physiological Science Dept, Postdoctoral Fellow, 1998-2001

University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, Ph.D. degree in Physiological Science, 1998

University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, B.S. degree in Kinesiology, 1990