Emmanuel Bonney
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Assistant Professor, Biomechanics and Neuromotor Control
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School of Kinesiology
Cooke Hall
1900 University Ave SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455-0376 - 612-626-9442
- ebonney@umn.edu
Areas of interest
- Motor development
- Developmental disabilities
- Autism
- DCD
- Neuroscience
- Global health
- Post-Doctoral Fellowship, University of Minnesota, 2023
- PhD, Physical therapy, University of Cape Town, 2019
- MS, Rehabilitation and physical therapy, Central South University, 2013
- BS, Physical therapy, University of Ghana, 2007
Emmanuel Bonney, PhD, is an assistant professor at the School of Kinesiology in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. Bonney’s research addresses neurodevelopmental and neurobehavioral health issues in the US and around the world with a specific focus on motor development and learning in typical and atypical populations.
His current program of research is motivated by two neurodevelopmental disorders research challenges. First, motor impairments are highly pervasive in children with neurodevelopmental disorders and are known to significantly impact affected children’s health and outcomes. Yet, we do not have reliable and accessible methods to better characterize subtle motor deficits among these individuals in early development. To address this, Bonney's team is leveraging novel behavioral imaging and machine learning approaches to optimally characterize early emerging motor and behavioral risk profiles in infants and toddlers across diverse cultural contexts. Improving measurement precision will help us to better model heterogeneity inherent to neurodevelopmental disorders, which will subsequently afford new opportunities for population-based surveillance and perhaps personalized early interventions for children with developmental disabilities.
Second, it is still unclear which features of atypical development (e.g., autism) are universal across cultures and which are context specific. Thus, Bonney is examining child behaviors, family experiences, and core features of autism across diverse ethnic and cultural groups in the United States and internationally to better understand how unique cultural practices, beliefs, and social expectations shape child development and neurodevelopmental health. This data will inform the development of culturally sensitive screening and intervention programs to better support children and their families
Teaching
- KIN 3132: Introduction to Motor Development Across the Lifespan
- KIN 3135: Introduction to Motor Learning and Control
- KIN 3993: Directed Study in Kinesiology
- KIN 5981: Research Methods in Kinesiology and Sport Management
- KIN 8211: Seminar in Perception and Action
- Bonney, E., & Elison, J. T. (2023). Confronting Epistemic Injustice and Inequity in IDD Research: The Value of Theorizing Beyond Dominant Culture’s Perspective. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 128(5), 375-378.
- Smits-Engelsman, B. C., Bonney, E., & Jelsma, D. (2023). Task-specificity and transfer of skills in school-aged children with and without developmental coordination disorder. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 133, 104399.
- Bonney, E., Abbo, C., Ogara, C., Villalobos, M. E., & Elison, J. T. (2022). Sex differences in age of diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder: Preliminary evidence from Uganda. Autism Research, 15(1), 183-191.
- Bonney, E., Villalobos, M., Elison, J., Sung, S., Wosu, A., SSemugabo, C., ... & Gibson, D. (2021). Caregivers’ estimate of early childhood developmental status in rural Uganda: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 11(6), e044708.
- Smits-Engelsman, B., Bonney, E., & Ferguson, G. (2020). Motor skill learning in children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder. Human Movement Science, 74, 102687.
- Bonney, E., Ferguson, G., Burgess, T., & Smits-Engelsman, B. (2019). Benefits of activity-based interventions among female adolescents who are overweight and obese. Pediatric Physical Therapy, 31(4), 338-345.
- Bonney, E., Rameckers, E., Ferguson, G., & Smits-Engelsman, B. (2018). “Not just another Wii training”: a graded Wii protocol to increase physical fitness in adolescent girls with probable developmental coordination disorder-a pilot study. BMC Pediatrics, 18, 1-13.
- Bonney, E., Ferguson, G., & Smits-Engelsman, B. (2017). The efficacy of two activity-based interventions in adolescents with developmental coordination disorder. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 71, 223-236.