In a recent news release, The Foundation for Physical Therapy announced that its Board of Trustees recently awarded $215,000 in Florence P. Kendall Doctoral Scholarships and Research Grants to seven physical therapists.

William G. Boissonnault, PT, DPT, DHSc, FAPTA, FAAOMPT, extends the Foundation’s congratulations to the researchers, and adds, “To our generous donors who make these awards possible; we are indebted to you!”

According to the release, the Florence P. Kendall Doctoral Scholarship awards $5,000 to annually to selected physical therapists as they begin their first year of graduate studies toward a postprofessional doctoral degree. These scholarships are funded by the Kendall Fund.

The scholarship recipients include Jason Falvey, PT, DPT, GCS, CEEAA, University of Colorado, Denver; Alison Kosir, PT, DPT, University of Colorado, Denver; and Matthew Ithurburn, PT, DPT, PCS, The Ohio State University.

The release notes that the Magistro Family Foundation Research Grant, which totals out to $80,000, was awarded to Bernadette Gillick, PT, MSPT, PhD, and assistant professor in the Program in Physical Therapy at the University of Minnesota. The grant is funded by the Magistro Family Endowment Fund.

Gillick’s 2-year project, “Novel Neuromodulatory Interventions in Pediatric Hemiparesis,” is intended to combine two treatment strategies, transcranial direct current stimulation and constraint-induced movement therapy, in an effort to investigate the potential effect of improving hand function in children with weakness due to stroke. Gillick received her bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from Marquette University, her master’s in physical therapy from Rosalind Franklin School of Medicine and Science, and her PhD in rehabilitation sciences from the University of Minnesota.  She was also awarded Promotion of Doctoral Studies (PODS) II Scholarships from the Foundation in 2009 and 2010.

Recipient of the $40,000 Miami-Marquette Challenge Research Grant, Jan Hughes-Austin, PT, MPT, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Family and Preventative Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. The release states that the grant’s namesake, the Marquette Challenge, is a student-led fund-raising initiative. Hughes-Austin’s 1-year project, “Vertebral Bone Mineral Density, Inflamed Joints, and Physical Activity in First-Degree Relatives of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis,” is designed to examine relatives of individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to learn more about the underlying disease process and help create interventions for bone loss and joint destruction. Austin received her master’s in physical therapy from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and her PhD in epidemiology from the University of Colorado.

Next up among the grant recipients is Heather Ross, PT, MPT, PhD, a research assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Florida. Ross was awarded a $40,000 Foundation Research Grant. The release notes that Ross’ 1-year project, “Rehabilitation to Elicit Maximum Stroke Recovery Following Stem Cell Transplantation,” targets the combining of a regenerative medicine tool with a tailored rehabilitation modality in order to improve outcomes following stroke. Ross received her master’s in physical therapy from East Carolina University and her PhD in anatomy and neurobiology from Virginia Commonwealth University, the release says.

Rounding out the grant recipients is Rogelio Coronado, PT, PhD, CSCS, FAAOMPT, postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation at Vanderbilt University, who has been awarded a $40,000 Orthopaedic Research Grant. Coronado’s 2-year project “Improving Physical Activity and Function with Cognitive-Behavioral Based Physical Therapy After Spine Surgery,” aims to determine the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral-based physical therapy (CBPT) on physical activity and function after spine surgery. Coronado received a master’s degree in physical therapy from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and a PhD in Rehabilitation Science from the University of Florida.

[Source: Foundation for Physical Therapy]