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Quick Facts

30 - Number of students in the inaugural class of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, who graduated in May 2010

62% - First-time pass rate on the certification exam by graduates of the Program in Athletic Training (national average is approximately 45 percent)

10th - Ranking of Health Sciences - Pre-Clinical major among UCF's most popular majors in 2009-2010

Research

Theodore Angelopoulos, Ph.D, MPH

  • Exercise
  • Obesity and weight management
  • Lipoprotein metabolism
  • Muscle hypertrophy
  • Physiogenomics

William J. Hanney, PT, DPT, Ph.D(c), ATC/L, MTC, CSCS

  • Identifying variables for predicting a treatment outcome
  • Prognostic identifiers for patients with back and neck pain
  • Application of strength and conditioning principles in functional rehabilitation
  • The influence of position sense in lumbosacral and cervicothoracic movement control

Patrick Pabian, PT, DPT, SCS, OCS, CSCS

  • Function, strength and laxity outcomes after ACL reconstruction
  • Functional, physical, and quality of life outcomes after total joint replacement
  • Concussion incidence, management, and return to play
  • Post-rehabilitation and return to play/participation after orthopedic surgical interventions at the shoulder and knee

Jennifer Plant, MS Ed, ATC, LAT, CSCS

  • Scapular dyskinesis following rotator cuff injury in tennis players
  • Sacroiliac joint dysfunction in unilateral sport athletes
  • Learning styles of undergraduate and graduate athletic training students and the relationship to application in the clinical setting
  • Role straing of graduate and post-graduate athletic training students

Matthew Robinson, MA

  • Childhood Obesity
  • Aging
  • Metabolic Syndrome 

Carey Rothschild, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS

  • Prevention and treatment of overuse injuries in runners and triathletes
  • Prevention and treatment of pregnancy-related musculoskeletal pain and injury
  • Hip strength and flexibility in runners
  • Barefoot running
  • Management of the injured worker

Michael J. Rovito, Ph.D.

  • Health promotion and behavioral change disciplines specifically on men's health issues.
  • Informed decision-making in prostate health maintenance
  • Cancer screening promotion
  • Health messaging methodologies

Judi Schack-Dugre. PT, DPT, MBA

  • Healthcare delivery modeling
  • Linking productivity, performance and profitabllity
  • Entrepreneurial success in the health-related business start-up
  • Aging

Kristen Schellhase, EdD, ATC, LAT, CSCS

  • Athletic Training Education

Suha Saleh, Ph.D, MT

  • Diabetic neuropathy/retinopathy and community health
  • Health education
  • Curriculum develoment and evaluation

Gerald Smith, PT, Ph.D.

  • Neural Plasticity
  • Neural Regeneration
  • Neuro-rehabilitation

Jennifer Tucker, PT, DPT, PCS

  • Physical activity in children
  • Physical activity in children with special needs/chronic disease
  • Effective parent education
  • Service delivery models for pediatric physical therapy

L. Timothy Worrell, MPH, RRT

  • History of Cardiology
  • Hemodynamic Monitoring of the Critically Ill Patient
  • Invasive Cardiovascular Diagnostic Techniques
  • Non-Invasive Cardiovascular Diagnostic Techniques

 

 

HP Highlights

  • William J. Hanney

    Congratulations to William Hanney, D.P.T., ATC, LAT, instructor of physical therapy, for receiving the Young Investigator Research Grant from the Orthopaedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association! The $8,100 grant will support his research on the “Development of a Clinical Prediction Rule to Identify Patients with Neck Pain Likely to Benefit from Education and Exercise.” Neck pain is common and accounts for a large portion of an orthopedic physical therapist’s case load. Decisions on how to treat these patients can be difficult. A clinical-prediction rule will provide a guiding strategy for identifying patients with neck pain who are likely to benefit from clinical exercises.
  • Cori Thompson

    Congratulations to Cori Thompson, B.S., M.S., ATC, CSCS, PES, on winning the COHPA's 2010 Outstanding Alumni Award for the Department of Health Professions! Thompson earned her B.S. in athletic training from UCF in 2005. She is currently employed as the head athletic trainer for Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.. She also has worked as a certified athletic trainer for the U.S. Tennis Association Women's Professional Circuit.
  • Suha Saleh

    The department welcomes Suha Saleh, Ph.D., as the new director of the health sciences – pre-clinical program. Saleh joined the UCF faculty in August 2010. She came from the University of Texas at El Paso, where she was a clinical assistant professor in the Clinical Laboratory Sciences program. She has a Ph.D. in physiology and B.S. in medical technology. Her research interests includes diabetic retinopathy and community education about the management and prevention of eye diseases.
  • Judi Schack-Dugre

    Judi Schack-Dugre, PT, D.P.T., M.B.A., instructor of physical therapy, made an invited presentation on “Objectifying Competitive Opportunities” at the Florida Physical Therapy Association’s Sept. 23-26 conference in Orlando (see www.fpta.org). According to Schack-Dugre, it is vital... more for businesses to “objectify” their competitive opportunities. They can accomplish this by identifying opportunities, labeling them and developing strategies surrounding them to maximize competitiveness. Her presentation also covered defining competition in a given business model and included discussions on value in health care and how internal culture and policies and procedures affect competitive positioning within a given market. Schack-Dugre has an M.B.A. and years of experience as a director of rehabilitation in an acute-care hospital system and an owner of a private physical therapy practice.