Pediatric Physical Therapy Journal Awards
Jeanne Hughes Award: Recognizes the best manuscript published in Pediatric Physical Therapy (PPT) adapted from a thesis or dissertation.
Recipient: Caitlin Deville, PT, MPT, DSc: Dr Deville is receiving the award for herpaper titled "Knowledge Translation of the Gross Motor Function Classification System among Pediatric Physical Therapists." She received her Doctorate of Science in Rehabilitation Sciences and her Master of Physical Therapy from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Dr Deville works as a pediatric physical therapist at Therapy 2000 in Dallas, TX, and is a data collector for the On Track Study, a multi-site study involving researchers, therapists, families and children with cerebral palsy.
Pediatric Physical Therapy Toby Long Award: Recognizes the best manuscript published in Pediatric Physical Therapy (PPT) notadapted from a thesis or dissertation.
Recipient: Catherine Quatman-Yates, PT, PhD: Dr Quatman-Yates is receiving the award for her paper titled "Post-concussion Postural Sway Variability Changes in Youth: The Benefit of Structural Variability Analyses." She is an orthopedic and sports physical therapist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics Division of Sports Medicine for the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Dr Quatman-Yates received her PhD from The Ohio State University and DPT from the University of Toledo. She served as a post-doctoral fellow under the mentorship of Drs. Timothy Hewett and Mark Paterno at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Sports Medicine Biodynamics Center. Her research interests include complexity science techniques and metrics and evaluation and rehabilitation of youth with orthopedic and sports injuries.
Research Awards
Outstanding Research Abstract Award: Recognizes a Section member who is the first author of an outstanding research abstract submitted to the Section for a platform or poster presentation at the Combined Sections Meeting (CSM) or for a poster presentation at the Section on Pediatrics Annual Conference (SoPAC). An award ribbon is presented to each recipient at the time and location of her/his research presentation. Selections are made by the Section's Research Committee, based on reviews and scoring of submitted abstracts; no submission is needed by the author.
SoPAC15 Recipient: Victoria Moerchen, PT, PhD: Dr Moerchen is receiving the award for herabstracttitled "Exertion during Treadmill Stepping in Infants." She is an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee where she teaches in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program. She is co-Director of a Maternal and Child Health Pipeline Training Program and directs the UWM Pediatric Neuromotor Laboratory. Dr Moerchen is currently funded to examine motor early intervention contexts that include multidomain, family-focused approaches, and she is beginning to examine physiologic variables during infant treadmill stepping. She has completed a certificate in infant mental health and has a 20-year history of clinical work in early intervention.
CSM16 Recipient: Danielle Capetillo, SPT: Ms Capetillo is receiving the award for her abstract titled "Longitudinal Analysis of Spontaneous Kicking Using a Bilateral Strategy in Infants with Perinatal Stroke: A Preliminary Analysis." She is a second-year Doctor of Physical Therapy student at The Ohio State University pursuing graduate specializations in pediatrics and research. Her research focus is infant kicking behaviors, specifically investigating differences between typically developing infants and those with perinatal stroke. She completed a part time clinical rotation with Nationwide Children's Hospital's Neonatal Clinic and is looking forward to a full time rotation this summer at Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital for Rehabilitation. Originally from the Cleveland area, Ms Capetillo hopes to work at a pediatric hospital or outpatient clinic in Cleveland after graduation.
Dissertation Award: Recognizes an active or student Section member who has completed an outstanding research project as partial fulfillment for a research doctorate (eg, PhD, DSc, EdD). Projects completed as part of a clinical doctoral degree (eg, DPT, transitional DPT) are not eligible for the Dissertation Award.
Recipient: Stacy Stolzman, PT, PhD: Dr Stolzman is a recent graduate of the Clinical & Translational Rehabilitation Health Sciences PhD Program in the Department of Physical Therapy at Marquette University. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology and her Master in Physical Therapy. Her dissertation work, "Inflammatory Markers, Physical Fitness, and Pain in Children," was supported by the Promotion of Doctoral Studies Scholarship Level I (2013-14) & Level II (2014-15), the American Dissertation Fellowship (2014-15) from the American Association of University Women, the Raynor Fellowship (2014-15) at Marquette University, and the Clinical & Translational Science Institute of Southeastern Wisconsin Pilot Trainee Grant (2013-14). She currently works at Marquette University as an adjunct assistant professor and is completing a post-doctoral fellowship examining multi-faceted wellness outcomes in an all-female high school.
Stephen Haley Research Award: Recognizes a Section member who has performed sustained and outstanding basic, clinical, and/or education research pertaining to pediatric physical therapy. The award recipient shall demonstrate evidence that the published body of research materials makes a meaningful contribution to the scientific basis of pediatric physical therapy, and one or more of the following criteria: 1) oral presentations and written articles of the research have been reported to the appropriate audiences, 2) an active attempt to foster research of others, and 3) work has been recognized by receipt of grants.
Recipient: Michelle Lobo, PT, PhD: Dr Lobo received her MPT from Hahnemann University and her Movement Science PhD from the University of Delaware. She has been a visiting researcher at The Free University, Amsterdam, and the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on developing and testing early interventions and devices to maximize participation, play, and learning. Her NIH- and DOE-funded group has members from rehabilitation, developmental psychology, engineering, and fashion and recently developed the first exoskeletal garment for rehabilitation. Her current work includes a multi-site EI study and developing and testing a range of low- to high-tech clothing aimed at increasing independence and function.
Scholarships
Student/New Professional Attendance Scholarships: Assists one student and one new professional to attend the next Section on Pediatrics Annual Conference (SoPAC) or Combined Sections Meeting (CSM).
Student SoPAC15 Recipient: Andrea Tobias, SPT: Ms Tobias is a third-year physical therapy student at the University of Minnesota. She is passionate about pediatric research and is part of Dr Gillick's Pediatric Research Lab where she works with children with hemiparesis and non-invasive brain stimulation. She is active within the Section on Pediatrics where she co-founded and is the Student Chair of the Student/New Professional Subcommittee and is an EI SIG member. For her local community, Ms Tobias has helped instruct adaptive dance classes and volunteered in research for Children's Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota.
New Professional SoPAC15 Recipient: Stefanie Azevedo Elias, PT, DPT: Ms Elias graduated with her DPT from Washington University in St Louis in 2012. Since graduating, she has been working at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Stefanie treats patients from birth to 21 with a variety of medical conditions, including cerebral palsy, torticollis, traumatic brain injury and rare genetic disorders. In addition, she is the Center Coordinator for Clinical Education for Primary Children's PT student program and is an APTA Credentialed Clinical Instructor. Ms Elias is also the Co- Communications Director for the Section on Pediatrics Students and New Professionals Subcommittee.
Student CSM16 Recipient: Nicole Terrill, SPT: Ms Terrill is a third-year student from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a graduate of LEND, an interdisciplinary leadership training program to improve care in the area of neuromuscular pediatrics. She also was a coordinator for MEDiC, a student run program that was comprised of seven health clinics to serve the homeless and underserved population within the Madison community. She is currently at Oregon Health Science University completing her second of three pediatric clinical rotations. She is passionate about working with children and the underserved, and plans to pursue a career in pediatrics.
New Professional CSM16 Recipient: Carina M Torres, PT, DPT: In 2012, Ms Torres earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Rutgers University. Her physical therapy clinical experience includes pediatrics, early intervention, orthopedics, and neurology. She primarily provides educationally and medically based services to children and young adults of all abilities, ranging in age from birth to 18 years and older at Next Step Pediatric Physical Therapy, LLC in West Caldwell, NJ. Ms Torres serves as the chair of the APTA NJ Chapter's Nominating Committee and is an active member of the APTA's Leadership Development Committee. In 2015, she was a recipient of the APTA's Emerging Leader Award.
Diversity Development Scholarship: Awards the cost of national APTA/chapter membership dues and Section on Pediatrics dues to one applicant from a minority group who is currently a student of or recent (within the last 5 years of application due date) graduate from a PT or PTA program. The scholarship is awarded by a random drawing among qualified entrants in the form of reimbursement for the cost of national/chapter and section membership dues for that year.
Recipient: Diana Vu, SPT: Ms Vu is a third-year DPT student at Southwest Baptist University. She was raised in Oklahoma City and earned her undergraduate degree in Biology at the University of Central Oklahoma. In August 2015, she had the opportunity to travel to Haiti with her colleagues to provide physical therapy services to citizens of Haiti from all ages. Diana plans to specialize in pediatrics upon graduation in May 2016.
Carol Gildenberg Dichter Memorial PCS Scholarships (5): Assists recipients with payment of PCS exam fees, attendance at a course with advanced programming (such as the SOP's Advanced Clinical Practice Course or the Section on Pediatrics Annual Conference) for continuing education credits, etc.
Recipient: Andrea Millea, PT, DPT: Dr Millea received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree from Creighton University in Omaha and immediately began working in pediatrics. Starting in the Omaha Public Schools as a school PT, she then went on to complete the Pediatric Residency Program at Duke University along with the LEND program at University of North Carolina. Ms Millea now lives in Atlanta and works as a school PT in the Atlanta Public Schools, and an early intervention/home health PT with Atlanta Physical Therapy Associates. She will be moving to London in summer 2016 and plans to continue her work as a pediatric physiotherapist for 2 years before returning to the US.
Recipient: Robyn Everson, PT, DPT: Ms Everson is a native of Lubbock, TX, who attended the University of Central Arkansas (UCA). During her time at UCA, she had the opportunity to assist in research on Kangaroo Care and pain control for preterm infants. After graduation, she completed the Pediatric Physical Therapy Residency Program through UCA in conjunction with Arkansas Children's Hospital and Allied Therapy and Consulting. Robyn currently works for Onsite Therapies Inc in Little Rock where she treats in a variety of outpatient, behavioral health, and school settings. In addition, she continues to work in acute care and inpatient rehabilitation as needed at Arkansas Children's Hospital.
Recipient: James Alfano, PT, DPT: Mr Alfano is from Fanwood, NJ, and has always enjoyed working with children, running youth basketball leagues in high school, and serving as co-president of the "Bigs & Littles" mentorship program for Philadelphia kids. Since graduating from Thomas Jefferson University in 2012, he has worked at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, starting on the outpatient team and then transitioning to acute care. Mr Alfano also works in the Seating and Adaptive Equipment Clinic and serves as point person for evaluating children for adaptive tricycles. He hopes to become an APTA credentialed clinical instructor and gives lectures to physical therapy and nursing students from local universities about varying topics in physical therapy.
Recipient: Michelle Tavera, PT: Since graduating from the University of Wisconsin's Physical Therapy program in 1991, Ms Tavera has worked in numerous settings with patients of all ages. She is currently employed in a school setting providing physical therapy services as part of a collaborative team with a focus on improving function for children ages 3 to 21 years. Other professional endeavors include acting Clinical Instructor for PT students, guest lecturing at College of St Scholastica's Physical Therapy program and the Special Education program at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and presentations throughout the school district on Ergonomics in the School Setting. Ms Tavera is near completion of earning a transitional DPT in Pediatric Science from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions.
Recipient: Kate Stribling, PT, DPT: A native of Auburn, AL, Ms Stribling earned a BS from Auburn University and received her DPT in 2011 from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where she chaired UAB's Student Physical Therapy Organization's outreach committee, received funding to participate in the Foundations of Transdisciplinary Teaming in Early Intervention project, and worked with Dr Jennifer Christy on dance-related research for children with cerebral palsy. After graduate school, Ms Stribling worked for The Bell Center for Early Intervention Programs, serving families and children in central Alabama. Currently, she is completing a pediatric PT residency and is a trainee with the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program at Oregon Health & Science University.
Service Awards
Susan Effgen Advocacy Award: Recognizes a Section member who has demonstrated consistent support for the delivery of pediatric physical therapy services in any practice setting through one or more of the following activities: advocacy for new or existing legislation or policies that support pediatric physical therapy services; participation in the development or construction of legislation, policies and/or procedures that are of importance to pediatric physical therapy practice at the regional, state, or national level; or participation in advocacy or government affairs events sponsored or supported by the APTA and its components, including state chapters, in order to promote pediatric physical therapy practice, advocacy, or legislation.
Recipient: Laurie Ray, MPT, PhD: Dr Ray has demonstrated consistent support for the delivery of pediatric physical therapy services and supporting policies for Medicaid, reimbursement, transition services, and public school services. She is on the Board of the National Alliance for Medicaid in Education and serves as Chair of the Education & Research Committee. Dr Ray collaborated with Section leadership and APTA to bring attention to Medicaid issues affecting pediatric PT practice. She has presented on Medicaid, Progress Monitoring/Data-based Decision Making and other topics at numerous conferences and serves as a resource for membership regarding Medicaid reimbursement for public schools, funding Special Education, and the provision of evidence-based physical therapy services in public schools.
Outstanding Pediatric Clinical Practice Award: Recognizes a PT or PTA Section member who has demonstrated going "above and beyond" typical job expectations, including exhibiting creativity, adaptability, energy, dedication, and innovation; of at least one of the following (asset but not requirement): advocacy, volunteer work, community service, or service to underserved populations; of competency as identified by each of the following: experiences of colleagues and clients or caregivers, ability to make intervention meaningful to children and families, effectiveness in meeting identified goals for children; and, for PTAs, of excellence in partnering with supervising PTs.
Recipient: Ellen Sturtevant, PT, PCS: Ms Sturtevant has served tirelessly as a clinician, advocate, mentor, researcher, and innovator for more than 30 years. In her role as a Clinical Specialist at Hasbro Children's Rehabilitation, she has developed a variety of effective clinical programs, and has served as a Board Member for the APTA Rhode Island Chapter, where she has developed an Evening Lecture Series, using local speakers to offer current and informative continuing education that is accessible and affordable to practitioners in the area. She also serves as adjunct professor at the University of RI Physical Therapy Program. Ms Sturtevant strives to provide family-centered and evidence-based care that is goal driven and meaningful to patients and has had a positive impact on countless colleagues, students, children, and families.
Jeanne Fischer Distinguished Mentorship Award: Recognizes a Section member who has demonstrated sustained, altruistic mentorship beyond that expected within the nominee's regular employment. Mentorship beyond clinical practice could include, but is not limited to, community service, leadership, advocacy, research and/or policy.
Recipient: Pat Tietz, PT, MS: Ms Tietz is an NDT-certified pediatric therapist with more than 35 years of experience in clinic and school-based settings. She earned her Bachelor's in Physical Therapy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her Master's in Allied Health at The Ohio State University and has worked for 31 years providing school-based and EI services at Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities in Columbus, OH, where she provided direct patient care, served as the Center Coordinator for Clinical Education, mentored OSU engineering students, and coordinated staff development programs for agency therapists. She recently brought the GoBabyGo program to the agency.
GE "Bud" DeHaven Service Award: Honors a Section member who has demonstrated sustained and extraordinary service to the Section on Pediatrics.
Recipient: Joseph Schreiber, PT, PhD: Dr Schreiber has a distinguished record of service and leadership to the Section and to pediatric physical therapy over the past two decades. Joehas served as President (2011-present), Region IV Director (2004-08), Education Committee Chair (2008-11), Communications Committee member (2002-06), SoPAC Committee member (2009-10), Pennsylvania State Representative (2002-04), Chair of the Pennsylvania Pediatric Special Interest Group (2003-07), Chair of the Southwest PA Pediatric Study Group (1998-2004), and on innumerable Section task forces and work groups. During his term as president, Dr Schreiber has participated in strategic planning meetings, Board Meetings, HODs, and Component Presidents meetings to further the work of the Section for the members and the children, adults with developmental disabilities, and families that we serve. He has taken countless hours away from his position as the DPT Program Director at Chatham University (Pittsburgh, PA) and from his family to guide the Section through the purchase of the journal title, major initiatives in clinical and educational research, development of clinical practice guidelines in pediatrics, and the growth of the Section membership and professional development offerings. He continues to participate in research and scholarship in teaching and learning with an emphasis on knowledge translation for pediatric PT clinicians. We thank Dr Joe Schreiber for his commitment to the Section on Pediatrics, for his willingness to be open to new ideas and to listen, and for his genuine interest and care for students, clinicians, academicians, and patients.
Lectureship
2016 Knowledge Translation Lectureship Award: Highlights the dynamic relationship between pediatric clinical practice and pediatric related research. This lecture is a two-person presentation by a pediatric researcher and pediatric clinician. If a pediatric researcher is nominated, he/she shall select a pediatric clinician co-presenter; if a pediatric clinician is nominated, he/she shall select a pediatric researcher co-presenter.
Recipient: Carole A Tucker, PT, PhD, PCS, Researcher: Dr Tucker is an Associate Professor in The College of Public Health, Physical Therapy Department, and in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Temple University in Philadelphia. She is the Director of the NeuroMotor Science Interdisciplinary Graduate Program at Temple, and Co-Director of the Center of Applied Clinical Research at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr Tucker has been a Pediatric Clinical Specialist (PCS) since 1996, and ACSM Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist. She serves in the World Health Organization (WHO) as an expert in health outcomes and measurement. Her research focuses on patient-report health outcomes, bioinformatics, learning health systems, and development of technology to improve function and mobility in the natural environment.
Co-Presenter: Cindy Miles, PT, PhD, PCS, Clinician: Dr Miles established her pediatric private practice in 1981 after serving the pediatric population since 1977. She is a graduate of University of Pittsburgh, School of Health Related Professionals, East Stroudsburg University-Master of Education in exercise physiology and Rocky Mountain University Health Professions-PhD in Pediatric Science. Doctoral research was potential risk factors related to torticollis diagnosis. She is Board Certified by ABPTS. Dr Miles presents nationally on pediatric private practice and reimbursement and nationally and internationally on Torticollis and Plagiocephaly, and Fitness for All Abilities. She has published in peer review journals and books on pediatric physical therapy topics.
Congratulations to all the award winners! Members are encouraged to apply and/or to nominate themselves or a colleague. Nomination forms and additional information can be found at www.pediatricapta.org under Members, then Awards & Scholarships.
