Madeleine Hackney
Overview
Dr. Madeleine E. Hackney is an Associate Professor in the Emory School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology and a Research Scientist with the Center for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation at the Atlanta VA. She graduated from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and completed pre-medical curriculum at Hunter College, City University of New York. She received her PhD in Movement Science at Washington University in St. Louis and then completed post-doctoral work at Emory University and the Atlanta VA in geriatric sensorimotor rehabilitation. Before graduate school, Dr. Hackney was a professional contemporary and ballroom dancer with international performance credits, including the movies, Mona Lisa Smile, and Mad Hot Ballroom, the musical, Evita and The Today Show. Since 2000, she has been certified as an American Council on Exercise (ACE) personal trainer and is an instructor of ballroom dance, yoga and Pilates. Her Pilates mentor, Kathy Grant, was a direct protege of J. Pilates.
Dr. Hackney is most known for her research on adapted Argentine tango dance, which she designed and refined for targeting the mobility and cognitive impairments of older adults with and without Parkinsons disease (PD). She has pursued research goals through two VA career development awards (CDA). The first award evaluated the effects of adapted tango versus mobility/balance training on function in older veterans with visual impairment. The second award, determines the neural correlates of internally and externally guided lower limb movement, and compares the efficacy of internally versus externally guided rehabilitation, delivered via adapted Argentine tango, in veterans with PD.
Dr. Hackney uses laboratory and clinical measures to characterize mobility and gait under simple and challenging conditions (e.g., backward walking, dual tasking), computerized posturography to assess balance responses and a range of cognitive instruments. Her overall goals are to: (1) design optimal rehabilitative physical interventions for individuals with Parkinsons disease, and older adults with respect to their cognitive abilities, and (2) detect mechanisms underlying movement pathologies by characterizing motor patterns in challenging conditions, (3) investigate neural pathways of motor control and remediation/compensation through imaging techniques and (4) design and evaluate educational programs that contribute to wellness and learning throughout the developmental lifecycle.
Dr. Hackney aims to determine the characteristics of physical rehabilitative strategies, in terms of motor pattern and timing, dosage, duration, intensity, and overall effectiveness that will have high compliance while enhancing balance, mobility and quality of life and reducing fall risk for older adults with low vision. She is keenly interested in identifying movement programming, pedagogical methods of movement instruction, and related aspects (i.e. music accompaniment, assisting devices and tools, environment) that will optimize group physical activities for specific populations. She also investigates aspects pertaining to improved quality of life, enjoyment, satisfaction and goal-attainment as a result of rehabilitative physical activity approaches.
Dr. Hackney has been dedicated to volunteer community service, including serving on the Advisory Council for the Parkinson Foundation Georgia and has recruited and mentored many undergraduates and graduate students to volunteer as assistants in group studies. She enjoys mentoring students. She has been an active member of the CVNR Outreach Committee since 2011 and is currently the chair. Dr. Hackney has served on VA Review Panel since 2013 and for the National Institutes of Health since 2017. She also reviews for the Czech Science Foundation and the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Translational Center. She has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and several PD foundations. Dr. Hackney's work has been featured in the New York Times, Scientific American, in Oliver Sach's Musicophilia and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. She has presented her work nationally and internationally as an invited speaker, including at the Karolinska institute in Sweden, and in Tel Aviv, Israel. Dr. Hackney was the 2015 recipient of the Selma Jeanne Cohen Dance Lectureship award provided by the Fulbright foundation and was a finalist for the 2016 Atlanta Magazine's Groundbreaker of the Year.
Academic Appointment
- Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine and Geriatrics, Emory University School of Medicine
- Adjunct Assistant Professor, Rehabilitation Medicine, Emory School of Medicine
- Adjunct Assistant Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University
Education
Degrees
- PhD from Washington University in St. Louis
- Pre-medical curriculum from Hunter College, City University of New York
- BFA Dance from New York University
Research
Focus
- Identify and design optimal rehabilitative physical interventions (exercise and dance-based) for older populations and subsets with particular symptomatology; e.g., those with Parkinson Disease and older adults with sensorimotor impairments. (2) Detect mechanisms underlying specific movement pathologies by characterizing motor patterns in challenging conditions, and investigating neural pathways of motor control.
Publications
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Life-long music and dance relationships and therapeutic impressions in individuals with and without mild cognitive impairment to inform the design of music- and dance-based therapies.
J Alzheimers Dis Page(s): 13872877241294090
03/25/2025 Authors: Kazanski ME; Dharanendra S; Rosenberg MC; Chen D; Brown ER; Emmery L; McKay JL; Kesar TM; Hackney ME -
Digital gait biomarkers in Parkinson's disease: susceptibility/risk, progression, response to exercise, and prognosis.
NPJ Parkinsons Dis Volume: 11 Page(s): 51
03/21/2025 Authors: Mancini M; Afshari M; Almeida Q; Amundsen-Huffmaster S; Balfany K; Camicioli R; Christiansen C; Dale ML; Dibble LE; Earhart GM -
Group and partnered dance for people living with dementia: an overview of intervention design and measurement considerations.
Front Psychol Volume: 16 Page(s): 1500688
01/01/2025 Authors: Jehu DA; Bek J; Bennett C; Hackney ME -
Digital dance programs for Parkinson's disease: challenges and opportunities.
Front Psychol Volume: 16 Page(s): 1496146
01/01/2025 Authors: Bek J; Jehu DA; Morris ME; Hackney ME -
Impacts of adapted dance on mood and physical function among persons living with Alzheimer's disease.
J Alzheimers Dis Page(s): 13872877241298529
12/23/2024 Authors: Bennett CG; Guttmann RP; Hackney ME; Amin R; Weaver S -
Neurologic dance training and home exercise improve motor-cognitive dual-task function similarly, but through potentially different mechanisms, among breast cancer survivors with chemotherapy-induced neuropathy: Initial results of a randomized, controlled clinical trial.
J Alzheimers Dis Page(s): 13872877241291440
11/25/2024 Authors: Worthen-Chaudhari LC; Crasta JE; Schnell PM; Lantis K; Martis J; Wilder J; Bland CR; Hackney ME; Lustberg MB -
The cognitive neuroscience and neurocognitive rehabilitation of dance.
BMC Neurosci Volume: 25 Page(s): 58
11/06/2024 Authors: Hackney ME; Burzynska AZ; Ting LH -
Associations Between Music and Dance Relationships, Rhythmic Proficiency, and Spatiotemporal Movement Modulation Ability in Adults with and without Mild Cognitive Impairment.
J Alzheimers Dis Page(s): JAD231453
07/06/2024 Authors: Slusarenko A; Rosenberg MC; Kazanski ME; McKay JL; Emmery L; Kesar TM; Hackney ME -
Associations between music and dance relationships, rhythmic proficiency, and spatiotemporal movement modulation ability in adults with and without mild cognitive impairment.
06/08/2024 Authors: Slusarenko A; Rosenberg MC; Kazanski ME; McKay JL; Emmery L; Kesar TM; Hackney ME -
Life-long music and dance relationships inform impressions of music- and dance-based movement therapies in individuals with and without mild cognitive impairment.
05/14/2024 Authors: Kazanski ME; Dharanendra S; Rosenberg MC; Chen D; Brown ER; Emmery L; McKay JL; Kesar TM; Hackney ME