In a recent news release, the Foundation for Physical Therapy reports that its Board of Trustees recently awarded a total of $235,500 in Promotion of Doctoral Studies (PODS) I & II Scholarships and a New Investigator Fellowship Training Initiative (NIFTI) to 15 physical therapists.

Barbara Connolly, PT, DPT, EdD, FAPTA, notes in the release that the foundation is “proud to be able to support such outstanding early-career physical therapist investigators.”

As part of its postprofessional Doctoral Opportunities for Clinicians and Scholarships (DOCS) program to fund the most highly qualified doctoral and postdoctoral students preparing for research careers, the release says, the foundation awards PODS I Scholarships of $7,500 each year to physical therapists or physical therapist assistants who have completed at least two full semesters or three full quarters of their coursework toward a postprofessional doctorate degree.

PODS II Scholarships of up to $15,000 each are awarded to physical therapists or physical therapist assistants who have been formally admitted to postprofessional doctoral candidacy.

These scholarships are funded by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Fund, the Neurology Endowment Fund, and the Center of Excellence/Health Services Research (COE/HSR) Fund, the release notes.

The 2015 PODS I Scholarship recipients include: Amelia Arundale, PT, DPT, University of Delaware; Daniel Bittel, PT, DPT, Washington University in St Louis; Jason Falvey, PT, DPT, GCS, CEEAA, University of Colorado, Denver; Timothy Faw, PT, DPT, NCS, The Ohio State University; Abbigail Fietzer, PT, DPT, University of Southern California; Allison Kosir, PT, DPT, University of Colorado, Denver; and Trevor Lentz, PT, University of Florida.

The release states that Timothy Faw, PT, DPT, NCS, The Ohio State University, was named recipient of the 2015 Patricia Leahy Award. The award is intended to honor his application in postprofessional studies within neurology. The award, the release adds, is given in memory of APTA Section on Neurology member, accomplished physical therapist, and Foundation Doctoral Training Research Grant recipient, Patricia Leahy, PT, MS, NCS. Leahy was a professor at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and was one of the first physical therapists ever to receive the Neurologic Certified Specialist certification. According to the release, this scholarship is supported by members of the Neurology Section through the Foundation’s Neurology Endowment Fund.

Recipient of the Miami-Marquette Challenge Award for exceptional achievement with a PODS application was Trevor Lentz, PT, DPT, University of Florida. The award finds its roots in the 2014-2015 Miami-Marquette Challenge. The Marquette Challenge, the release says, is the signature annual fund-raising initiative of the Foundation, raising more funds each year than any other Foundation activity. The Challenge is coordinated and carried out by physical therapist and physical therapist assistant students nationwide. Students organize grassroots fund-raisers on their campuses and in their local communities, seeking to raise awareness for and benefit the Foundation for Physical Therapy. Since its start, the Challenge has reportedly raised more than $3 million and has specifically funded over 20 research grants and scholarships.

The release goes on to report that recipients of the 2015 PODS II Scholarship include: Allyn Bove, PT, DPT, University of Pittsburgh; Kendra Cherry-Allen, PT, DPT, Washington University in St Louis; Andrew Kittelson, PT, DPT, University of Colorado, Denver; Rebekah Lawrence, PT, DPT, OCS, University of Minnesota; Philip Malloy, MS, PT, Marquette University; Jacqueline Palmer, PT, DPT, University of Delaware; and Andrew Smith, PT, DPT, Northwestern University.

Recipient of the 2014 Mary Lou Barnes Award was Andrew Smith, PT, DPT, Northwestern University. Smith was given the award in recognition of his PODS II application in postprofessional studies within neurology. The release notes that the award is presented in honor of APTA Section on Neurology member and accomplished physical therapist Mary Lou Barnes, PT, FAPTA. Barnes was the founding director of the West Virginia University physical therapy program and served as chair of Georgia State University’s program. During her terms, the release says both programs achieved national recognition. Members of the Neurology Section provided support for this award through the Foundation’s Neurology Endowment Fund.

Kendra Cherry-Allen, PT, DPT, Washington University in St Louis, was named the Viva J. Erickson Award recipient. The award reflects Cherry-Allen’s academic and leadership achievement with a PODS II application in honor of Viva J. Erickson, PT, who the release designates as an accomplished physical therapist and leader within the APTA.

Lastly, the New Investigator Fellowship Training Initiative (NIFTI), which totals out to $78,000, was awarded to Amee Seitz, MS, PT, DPT, PhD, OCS, of Northwestern University. The NIFTI is designed to support postprofessional, doctorally prepared physical therapists as they begin their research careers. It is designed to accommodate both traditional postdoctoral and new faculty applicants for a closely mentored research experience.

The release states that Seitz’s fellowship will include a research training experience titled “Mechanisms of Painful Rotator Cuff Tears: Establishing Scientifically Based Treatment.”

She will be under the mentorship of Jules Dewald, PT, PhD, director of the Neuroimaging and Motor Control Laboratory in the department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Science at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and Ana Maria Acosta, PhD, an associate professor in the department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences at Northwestern University. This award is supported through the APTA Supporting the Profession Fund and the APTA Fund.

[Source: The Foundation for Physical Therapy]