Message from the Director

Mark Bishop, PT, PhD, FAPTA

Happy Spring everyone. I hope you are doing well and have had a great start to 2025.

This month, over 600 family, friends, partners, and others joined us to hear William G Boissonault, PT, PhD, FAAOMPT, FAPTA give the Barbara C White lecture and celebrate the graduation of the Class of 2025 at our convocation and White Coat ceremony. Congratulations to the Class of 2025 and a special acknowledgement for all those recognized with awards, and academic and pro bono honors.

Spring semester, the Class of 2026 “put the rubber to the road” and completed their first full-time clinical experience. Thank you to all of you for helping train UF DPT student physical therapists.

The Class of 2027 navigated practical exams in Examination and Evaluation and Introduction to Exercise Science, oral exams in HPW2, skills checks in Manual Therapy, and demonstrated understanding of the fundamentals of Neuroscience and pathophysiology.

Many students continue their work in the community through the REACH program supporting activity promotion, working with children in adaptive gymnastics, and providing pro bono physical therapy services through the Equal Access Clinic (EAC) network. Others are working with faculty in ongoing research projects of recreational athletes, agricultural workers with pain, and patients in in-patient rehabilitation, and assisted with data extraction for clinical practice guidelines.

More than twenty faculty, students, and alumni participated in education sessions, platforms, and poster presentations this year in Houston and it was great to catch up with so many of you at the Alumni Reception. Faculty continue to serve our profession in state and national organizations.

Our very own David Fuller, now Associate Dean for Research, presided over a newly reformatted PHHP Days this Spring highlighting the work done across the college pillars of scholarship, education, and service. Dr Fuller was also recognized with the Comroe lectureship from the American Physiological Society.

Despite radical revamping of federal funding, department faculty members continue to have success in rehabilitation-focused and rehabilitation-related research bringing in more than $8 million dollars in external funding. Our faculty also received the highest number of recognition letters from the Dean and Provost’s offices for outstanding student ratings of teaching.

For Gator Giving Day this year we supported the Rolf and Anne Kuhns Endowment for Physical Therapy, which supports clinical excellence and in part keeps our Clinical Learning Center and Equal Access Clinic functioning and the Alumni and Friends scholarship, supporting students from diverse backgrounds to become physical therapists. The newsletter highlights all the students who have been supported through named endowments and your amazing generosity. Thank you everyone for your continuing support of DPT education at the University of Florida.

Also, Dr Judi Schack-Dugré will be leaving UF to take a leadership position in the Dean’s office of Pima Institute in Arizona. Judi has been an integral part of the clinical education team for UF DPT as an Assistant Director and Director of Clinical Education. Good luck Judi on the new endeavor.

Follow the links for all the details about these events and achievements.

Last, with your continuing support and the outstanding work of faculty, staff and students in UF DPT, we remain ranked #1 overall in Florida and the #5 public DPT program in the nation. Thank you everyone for your hard work.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy summer.

Bishop

2025 Pro Bono Network Conference

The Physical Therapy Equal Access Clinic (PT EAC) had the privilege of presenting at the 2025 Pro Bono Network Conference, held at Widener University, PA. Their presentation, titled “Operational Innovations to Enhance Efficiency and Accessibility at the PT EAC,” showcased key strategies to improve patient scheduling, reduce no-show rates, and expand access to care. Highlights included the development of a structured patient confirmation system, flexible scheduling options, and the expanded involvement of student and faculty volunteers. These initiatives have significantly improved clinic operations and enhanced the delivery of care to underserved communities in Gainesville.

The PT EAC extends its sincere appreciation to faculty mentors Dr. Kim Dunleavy and Dr. Mike Hodges, student physical therapists Sujan Parab, Abigail McDougall, and Ashley Kloch, as well as all EAC board members and dedicated volunteers for their outstanding leadership, service, and passion for delivering inclusive, community-centered care.

Project Yucatán 2025

During spring break DPT Students Grace Campins, Elise Barnes, Samantha Churchey, and Lathan Dixon joined Dr. Kim Dunleavy, Dr. Donovan Lott, and Dr. Mike Hodges to visit the Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan (UADY) for the Project Yucatán 2025 trip. This was an excellent opportunity for the second and third year DPT students to build professional relationships with international colleagues and practice their clinical skills while providing patient care to hundreds in the state of Yucatán.

The students reflected on their experience at UADY, “Project Yucatán was an amazing experience that taught us all a great lesson in adaptability.  As future clinicians, we tend to become reliant on specific exercises to treat patients. However, when working in a clinic that doesn’t have much equipment, it is important to be able to think on your feet to adapt exercises so that they can still be beneficial to patients. One of the biggest surprises was that most of the patients that we treated in Yucatán slept on hammocks instead of beds. This posed an additional challenge because it meant that patients often did not have the ability to perform any supine exercises at home, further enforcing the lesson on adaptability. Despite the challenges, we are really grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from our professors and from the UADY students in Mexico. We hope that we were able to make a difference, however small, in the lives of the patients we treated, and will always carry the lessons learned on this trip about resourcefulness and compassion with us when we practice PT in the future.“

Introducing the UF DPT Class of 2025

We are pleased to announce that the 69 strong Class of 2025 has graduated. These Gator PTs are ready to deliver best in class patient care. Congratulations, Doctors!

Faith Davis 2025 WEC Winter Circuit Champion

Faith Davis isn’t just an SPT - she’s also an award winning show jumper. Last winter and spring, Faith and her horse Carmit T (who she calls, Midget - Midge for short - in the barn) competed at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala winning in the 2025 WEC Winter Circuit Champion in the 1.45m High Junior/Amateur Division. 

She was joined by classmates who came down to support her at her final competition in the professional Saturday Night Lights Grand Prix class before she started training for the summer circuit to kick off.

Giving Dental Students a Lift

This spring our SPTs headed over to the UF Dental School to help train dental students in how to safely transfer patients from a wheelchair. Together we can make sure that everyone gets the health care they deserve!

SPTs Run Half Marathons

In February Alyssa Sholder ran her first half marathon - running nearly every day through the winter in preparation. By the time you are reading this, she will have already competed in her first full marathon. Way to go Alyssa!

Meanwhile Taylor Pray, Ashley Bolin, and Gabi Hoban ran the Donna Half Marathon in Jacksonville. It was Taylor’s third half marathon and Ashley’s first. Well done, SPTs!

PT Amazing Race

Volunteers from the 3rd year class Josie LeBlanc, Brittany Skinner, Daniel Gil, Vassilios Dimitroupoulus, and Toshita Barve joined instructors Chris Pregony, Katie Buzzanca, and Brenton Latta to role play challenging patient care scenarios in the Health Promotion 2 PT Amazing Race. Student teams demonstrated skills prior to moving to the next station without any safety penalties. The teams for each set of 3 cases who finished in the shortest amount of time and least penalties were crowned the amazing race winners for their session.

Students Join Dr. Dunleavy, Dr. Beneciuk, and Dr. Blythe on Low Back Pain Project

Gator PT Students Daniel Gil, Victoria Martinez, and Anthony Zaleski joined Dr. Kim Dunleavy, Dr. Jason Beneciuk, and Dr. Janeen Blythe in their research on prevention strategies for agricultural workers that resulted in the publication of "Self-Management Strategies for Low Back Pain Among Horticulture Workers: Protocol for a Type II Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Study". The study was funded by the Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety and builds from two earlier pilot studies including a study led by Dr. Dunleavy on Back Pain in Clam Aquaculture workers conducted in Cedar Key.

Daniel and Victoria assisted with checking translations for the Spanish instruments and scripts for the videos. Anthony had worked for a landscape company prior to acceptance to the PT program and assisted with content development and video clips for the training materials. Dr. Blythe is the research coordinator and her Spanish skills as well as her Physical Therapy expertise have been invaluable for working on the video creation, coordination with companies, and overall research processes. The research group has been working with multiple companies throughout the North Central Florida and Treasure Coast regions with over 80 participants in the study. The emphasis on self-management and prevention of back pain, along with awareness of the risks of opioids and reliance on pain medication for worker health is matched with short targeted videos and methods to help remind workers to use non-medication alternatives such as specific exercises and work-related alternatives to reduce overload and musculoskeletal pain. The methods also emphasize worker participation and discussion to support each other in these physically demanding occupations.

Understanding Rotator Cuff Atrophy in Tennis Players

Sujan Parab (SPT ‘26) is uniting his background in tennis with his passion for rehab. He has launched a research study, under the mentorship of Dr. Federico Pozzi, examining rotator cuff (infraspinatus and supraspinatus) muscles morphology in tennis players. The study focuses on understanding how atrophy of rotator cuff muscles affect shoulder function and contribute to injury risk in this population with the ultimate goal of informing evidence-based strategies that can enhance athletic performance and support long-term musculoskeletal health in overhead athletes.

Pro-Bono Honor Society

The University of Florida community service and outreach programs provide opportunities for students to gain valuable real-world experience while contributing to the community through the REACH group activities (Community Health, Gaitor Challenge, Children on the Go, Equal Access Clinic). These programs depend on student leaders who are nominated and elected and provide essential service far beyond required hours for the activities. The students develop administrative and leadership skills, support their peers and incoming classes, maintain and improve the services, and drive new initiatives. The following leaders from the Class of 2025 received Pro Bono Honors and will be recognized by the Pro Bono Physical Therapy National Honor Society for their leadership and service.

Pro Bono Honors 2025

• Jeet Bhagu
• Isabella Fernandez
• Caroline Folsom
• Hillary Porto
• Amanda Russo
• Riley Sams
• Eliana Sevilla
• Sun Shoua
• Vanessa Stamas

ACAPT Honors

The National Physical Therapy Student Honor Society was established by ACAPT in 2018 to recognize current Doctor of Physical Therapist students who:

Demonstrate excellence, integrity, and professionalism in areas of:

• academic achievement (top 25%),
• leadership, 
• service or research, and
• demonstrate strong moral character, ethics and the core values of the PT profession.

2025 National Physical Therapy Student Honor Society Inductees:

• Rachel Horan
• Amanda Russo
• Lila Taylor

Martha C. Wroe Outstanding Clinical Student

The Martha C. Wroe Outstanding Clinical Student Award recognizes a graduating student who has completed all clinical affiliations demonstrating outstanding clinical performance and great promise in the field of physical therapy as documented by their clinical instructors.

Evans Family Scholarship

The Evans Family Doctor of Physical Therapy Scholarship supports tuition and partial cost of living expenses during the entire DPT program. The Scholarship Committee considers first year students who demonstrate academic achievement, overcoming hardships, financial need, and promise to the physical therapy profession.

"I’m extremely thankful for the Evans Family Scholarship. Their recognition of my hard work, and balancing life's obstacles that were thrown at me, has truly allowed me clear and passionate focus on my end goal of helping people." -Madelyn Corliss

Evans Family Scholarship

The Evans Family Doctor of Physical Therapy Scholarship supports tuition and partial cost of living expenses during the entire DPT program. The Scholarship Committee considers first year students who demonstrate academic achievement, overcoming hardships, financial need, and promise to the physical therapy profession.

The Claudette Finley Scholarship Award

Julia Conrad Trojanowski Scholarship

Julia Conrad Trojanowski was a 1990 alumna of the physical therapy program. This scholarship was established in her memory.This scholarship is awarded annually to an outstanding first year physical therapy student with a GPA of at least 3.65. Additional criteria include excellent clinical skills as demonstrated in laboratory and practical examinations. The student must also be recognized by his/her colleagues as a caring, compassionate, and highly principled person of outstanding character.

"I chose a career in physical therapy because I’m passionate about helping people reclaim their lives — especially those who may have been overlooked or counted out. I believe everyone deserves the opportunity to live pain-free and to move through life with confidence and dignity." - Shaye Hachey

Julia Conrad Trojanowski Scholarship

Frederick Family Scholarship

Bill and Mary Ann Frederick established the Frederick Family Scholarship in Physical Therapy to endow scholarships for students in the physical therapy department. The DPT student is nominated by his/her peers during the spring semester of their second year.  The Scholarship Committee considers criteria for selection including treating others with positive regard, dignity, and respect, dependability when given responsibilities by peers and faculty, and showing good judgment in decisions particularly those that have an impact on peers.

McWells Scholarship Fund in Physical Therapy

Rolf and Anne Kuhns Endowment for PT Scholarship

The Rolf and Anne Kuhns Endowment for PT Scholarship is awarded to a student who demonstrates outstanding performance in the first full-time clinical internship, thereby showing promise as a future clinician of excellence.

“I'm most looking forward to continuing to learn and grow as a clinician through continuing education so that I can provide the best care to my future patients. This scholarship provided me the opportunity to stay in Florida to pursue my clinical education, which led to me finding a passion for the neurologic specialty of physical therapy.” -Taylor Pray

Open for business - Dr. Alex Hill Shares Advice for Fellow PHHP Grads Interested in Starting a Business

Dr. Alex Hill (DPT ‘24) - who was recognized as a 2025 40 Under 40 honoree -  shared advice for PHHP students (and alums) who are thinking of starting a business.

“Get curious. When I was first thinking about starting my business, I signed up for so many newsletters, just to learn. I got curious, and I started to listen to podcasts and read articles about what other people are doing and where to start. My view of what a business was and what it could be completely shifted.”

Where are They Now - Dr. Trevor Lentz Alum Spotlight

Dr. Trevor Lentz (MS PT ‘06) is an assistant professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Duke Clinical Research Institute at Duke University. His work focuses on improving the implementation and value of non-pharmacologic health care for people with musculoskeletal pain conditions

Power to the Pelvis - Dr. Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas Destigmatizes Pelvic Health with Humor and Sensitivity

Dr. Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas (DPT ‘14) visited Gainesville’s very own Lynx Books as part of her book tour for Power to the Pelvis: Improve Your Pelvic Floor for Better Digestive, Urinary, Reproductive and Sexual Health. She finds that a little humor can go a long way in combating stigma around sensitive topics in health care.

MSU Young Alumni Award  - Dr. Lucas VanEtten

Gator PT Lucas VanEtten (DPT ‘09) has been recognized by his undergrad alma mater with the MSU Young Alumni Award, to be presented on October 23, 2025. The award recognizes alums age 40 or younger who have made a lasting impact through their work in areas like industry, innovation, the arts, science and research — often on a national or global scale. Congratulations, Lucas!

Gator PT Recognized as Gator 100 - AGAIN!

Chris Simms (DPT ‘08) is the founder and owner of Choice Rehab Connections, a company he launched in 2016 with the vision of creating a streamlined, supportive platform to transform how home health agencies and therapists connect — making the process more efficient, collaborative and patient-centered. The company has grown rapidly, now partnering with more than 30 home health agencies and employing a network of more than 100 therapists across Florida. He remains passionate about elevating standards in the industry while mentoring the next generation of health care entrepreneurs.

“Since our last appearance on the Gator100, Choice Rehab Connections has continued to grow and evolve,” Simms said. “Our focus has remained on delivering exceptional care while building strong relationships and providing therapists with a supportive environment. Looking ahead, we’re focused on expanding our footprint throughout Florida and continuing to invest in both the people and the systems that make our mission possible. It’s been an exciting season of growth — and we’re just getting started.”

APTA Outstanding Physical Therapist Resident - Dr. Shane Mathew

Gator PT Shane Mathew (DPT '23) was selected to receive the 2025 APTA Outstanding Physical Therapist Resident Award. The Outstanding Physical Therapist Resident Award honors recent residency graduates in order to recognize the intrinsic value of post-professional training and thereby promote and provide for the development and accreditation of residency education programs in physical therapy. Congratulations, Shane!

CSM Alumni & Friends Reception

We once again had a fantastic turnout at CSM 2025 in Houston, TX - with over 20 Gator PTs presenting posters, platform sessions, and educational sessions. As always the highlight was Thursday night’s Alumni & Friends Reception. Will you join us at CSM 2026 in Anaheim? Mark your calendars for February 12-14, 2026!

Celebrating 20 Years of the NMPT Symposium

This year we celebrated the 20th Annual Neuromuscular Plasticity Symposium with a datablitz featuring T32 trainees presenting their research, a poster session with over 60 presenters, and plenary talks by Dr. Randy Trumbower and founding PI Dr. Krista Vandenborne.

Congratulations to poster award winners Nacho Raguzzi, Kayla Burrowes, Tinu Olarewaju, Harrison Clarke, Dr. Jeremy Ducharme, and Mehdi Ahmadian!

Mark your calendars for the 21st Annual NMPT Symposium - March 12 & 13, 2026!

Neuromuscular Plasticity Nines: From Genes to Brain to Nerve to Muscle to Behavior!

Doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows are invited to present talks about their own research. Scientists in all roles are invited to listen and participate in interactive discussions, including students at every level, from undergraduate students to postdoctoral fellows, technicians, and faculty. All presentations are in-person in Communicore C1-003 and will be held every Thursday during the summer from 9 – 10 a.m.

Farewell to Judi Schack-Dugré

We are sad to see Dr. Judi Schack-Dugré leave the department, but are excited as she takes the next step in her career as Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs at the Pima Medical Institute in Tucson, AZ, where she will oversee clinical affairs and community partnerships. Congratulations, Judi!

Dave Fuller Gives Comroe Lecture at American Physiological Society

Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Physical Therapy Dr. David Fuller was awarded the Julius H. Comroe Jr. Distinguished Lectureship by the Respiration Section of the American Physiological Society. In April, Dr. Fuller presented his lecture titled “The Fundamental Importance of Basic Science for Understanding and Treating Respiratory Neuromuscular Disease“. Congratulations, Dave!

Clinical Education Excellence – The Evolving Student with Rachelle Studer-Byrnes

Rachelle Studer-Byrnes continued our tradition of giving back to the practitioner community with her Clinical Education Excellence webinar presentation on The Evolving Student. Stay tuned for the next installment in the series!

Bishop and Musolino join Bialosky and Beneciuk on APTA PTJ Editorial Board

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Mark Bishop and Dr. Gina Musolino have joined Dr. Joel Bialosky and Dr. Jason Beneciuk as Editorial Board Members (EBM) of the APTA PTJ - the Physical Therapy Professional's Premier Scientific Journal. Dr. Bishop and Dr. Musolino have served previously as long-standing peer reviewers with prior recognitions as distinguished manuscript reviewers.

Welcome Melissa Carpio

Please join us in welcoming Melissa Carpio to the Department of Physical Therapy

Melissa joins the department’s administrative team as a Human Resources Generalist. Her role will provide HR support for staff recruitment, hiring, onboarding, payroll, transfers, and separations, as well as volunteers, affiliation management, account setup, IT requests, training compliance, and security roles.

Melissa is an HR professional with six years of experience, having worked with the Martin County School District and UF Scripps.  She is passionate about fostering positive organizational culture and supporting individuals within the workplace.  With a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Melissa is currently pursuing a master’s in HR Management to further enhance her expertise. Outside of work, Melissa enjoys antiquing, spending time with loved ones, exploring local events, and traveling—especially road trips—seeking new adventures along the way.

Gator Giving Day

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Kuhns Scholarship on Gator Giving Day! We are pleased to let you know that we exceeded our goal - bringing in $3,507 to help support the next generation of Physical Therapists.

Thank you for your support!

Remember, It's All For The Gators!