Leadership message: Department of Physical Therapy

By Krista Vandenborne, Ph.D.

Krista Vandenborne Headshot
Dr. Krista Vandenborne

The start of a new year is always an exciting time as people renew their commitment to improved health and physical fitness. In the UF PHHP Department of Physical Therapy, this is a way of life inside and outside the classroom.

For instance, the UF DPT Fitness Committee is a team of exercise and sports enthusiasts who promote fun and challenging fitness for their cohort. These students plan events that entail fitness related activities that bring the whole class together and potentially push themselves outside their comfort zone. Their mission as future physical therapists is to promote movement and exercise in everyone’s daily routine, so they lead by example!

The DPT Fitness Committee is just one way in which these future clinicians and rehabilitation researchers are instilled with a commitment to health promotion and preventive care along with a belief in the right of each individual to have ready access to health care.

Our Doctor of Physical Therapy students put those principles into practice by participating in community engagement activities across the curriculum, providing valuable rehabilitation, injury prevention and wellness services through Rehabilitation Education Activity and Community Health programs. Students develop clinical leadership skills through peer learning while contributing to community needs. Examples include the Physical Therapy Equal Access Clinic, Community Health, Gaitor Challenge, Global Outreach Program and Children on the Go. These programs are overseen by our faculty who train the next generation of physical therapists in real world environments. Several of these initiatives are made possible thanks to the generosity of donors. Alumni donors have also been instrumental in helping to generate scholarships ($142,000 in support last year) for DPT students, many of whom are active in our community outreach programs.

Research and clinical training come together in our department through programs such as the Brooks-UF PHHP Research Collaboration and the BREATHE Center. These collaborations facilitate high quality rehabilitation research that ultimately advances the delivery of clinical services. Our faculty have been committed to a cross-training model that allows clinical researchers to establish strong basic research foundations, and gives basic scientists exposure to clinical experiences. 

This past year, our outstanding faculty published 81 peer-reviewed articles, garnered $8.3 million in external research funding, and graduated 72 DPT students and six Rehabilitation Science Ph.D. students. Many faculty received prestigious awards for their continuous efforts in teaching, research and service, including honors from the American Physical Therapy Association, the American Physiological Society, the Florida Physical Therapy Association and the University of Florida. Our senior faculty are extremely committed to the success of our junior faculty and provide excellent mentorship in both teaching and research. 

Our culture of mentorship has been a keystone of the success of our program. This year, we celebrate 20 years of the prestigious Interdisciplinary Training Program in Rehabilitation and Neuromuscular Plasticity, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health and has supported 54 Ph.D. students since its inception. The program emphasizes the interaction and joint training of rehabilitation clinicians and basic scientists with a common interest in translational research in neuromuscular plasticity.

We are eagerly anticipating the APTA’s Combined Sections Meeting in Houston February 13-15. Many of our faculty, students and alumni will be presenting pioneering research spanning the diverse field of physical therapy. If you will be in Houston, please join us on Thursday, Feb. 13 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Marriott Marquis Houston Ballroom 7 for our annual Alumni and Friends Reception.

We are grateful for the support of the College of Public Health and Health Professions in all of our endeavors, and we look forward to this coming year as we continue our important work in the classroom and in the community.

Krista Vandenborne, Ph.D., is a distinguished professor and chair of the College of Public Health and Health Professions Department of Physical Therapy.