The Distinguished Lecture Series in Sports Medicine at Hope College will present its first address of the 2005-06 school year on Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. in the Maas Center.

Dr. Mitchell Cordova of the University of North Carolina-Charlotte will discuss "The Hoffman Reflex: Applications in Sports Medicine Research and Clinical Practice."

The public is invited. Admission is free.

The Hoffman reflex is a tool that has been used by many researchers to evaluate various neurological conditions, musculoskeletal injury, adaptations to therapeutic interventions and pharmacological agents, and assessment of motor skills. In sports medicine research, it is most commonly evoked in quadriceps muscle group and leg musculature.

Mitch Cordova is a certified athletic trainer with a Ph.D. in biomechanics from the University of Toledo. He is presently chair of the Department of Kinesiology at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

He is one of the nation's leading experts on the evidence-based management of athletic injuries. He has published more than 120 scientific papers on athletic injury treatment and rehabilitation, and serves on the editorial boards of the "Journal of Athletic Training" and the "Journal of Sport Rehabilitation."

The Distinguished Lecture Series in Sports Medicine, which features a variety of topics, is designed for health care professionals with an interest in physically active patients, and is intended for students, educators and clinicians alike. It is co-sponsored by Shoreline Orthopaedics, Orthopaedic Associates of Grand Rapids, GRSportsCenter and the college.

A total of five presentations have been scheduled for the 2005-06 school year. The next four addresses will be presented on Thursday, Nov. 3; Monday, Feb. 6; Wednesday, March 8; and Monday, April 3. All lectures in the series begin at 7 p.m., and will be presented either at the college or at Mary Free Bed Hospital in Grand Rapids.

The Maas Center is located on Columbia Avenue at 11th Street.

Additional information about the Distinguished Lecture Series in Sports Medicine may be found online at https://hope.edu/academic/kinesiology/athtrain/ dlssm/index.html