The Applied Biomechanics Laboratory, in collaboration with the UNC Division of Physical Therapy and the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at West Virginia University, has been awarded a pilot research grant from the NIH-funded North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute for our project titled “The peripheral motor repertoire as a neuromuscular constraint on walking balance integrity in age-related falls risk”. The scientific premise of the project is that all individuals rely on a principal number of peripheral neuromuscular commands – a “peripheral motor repertoire” – to accomplish everyday walking tasks during which falls may occur. Our overall objective is to test the hypothesis that a reduced peripheral motor repertoire used for everyday walking tasks represents a neuromuscular constraint on older adults’ ability to successfully respond to walking balance perturbations and prevent falls in the community. Our long-term goal is to introduce a novel neuromuscular mechanism for age-associated balance impairment as a target for diagnostic testing and rehabilitation to prevent falls in older adults.