One of the trickiest parts of treating patients with neuromuscular diseases such as Parkinson's and Multiple Sclerosis is figuring out how to keep them active and moving.

Fourth-year medical student Kyra Ives dove in, spending one summer studying the effect of deep brain stimulators on patients with Parkinson's disease.

She and her team watched participants experience major differences in tasks involving gait and balance.

Through that work, Ives also uncovered a number of obstacles for people with both Parkinsons and MS.

That's something she and the mobility lab team analyzed more closely the next summer, after MS patients sent in photo dispatches of their daily lives.