Each year the Awards Committee solicits nominations from Neurology Section members to recognize the outstanding contributions of their peers. Congratulations to the following individuals who were recognized at the Combined Sections Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, February 2015.
Service to the Section Award: Jody Cormack, PT, DPT, MSEd, NCS (California State University, Long Beach)
Dr Jody Cormack has served the Section for many years in different leadership roles and multiple task forces that have improved the way we educate students and practice neurologic physical therapy. Dr Cormack's service began 17 years ago as Chair of the Nominating Committee of the Stroke Special Interest Group (SIG) in 1998. Three years later, she was elected as the vice chair of the Stroke SIG. Immediately after she finished her term with the Stroke SIG, Dr Cormack was appointed Chair of the Practice Committee in 2004. According to one of her colleagues, "Dr. Cormack ignited the group to seek to establish a clearer understanding of autonomous practice in neurology for physical therapists. Even after her term was complete, she continued to serve as a key member of the team who developed the Sections Perspective on Autonomous Practice in Neurologic Physical Therapy."
Dr Cormack has served in the Specialization Academy of Content Experts for Neurologic Physical Therapy from 1999 to 2002. She also served as Co-Chair of the Neurology Section Task Force for the development of Neurologic Entry-Level Curricular Content, leading the change in the way neurologic physical therapy is taught in the professional curriculum. In 2008, Dr Cormack was elected Secretary of the Neurology Section Board of Directors. As one of her nominators pointed out, "Dr. Cormack was instrumental in the development and implementation of the current strategic plan and fostering the growth of the section membership." She has mentored others with such energy, dedication, passion, commitment, and conviction that she continues to inspire section members around the country to foster collaboration among like-minded professionals.
Excellence in Clinical Practice Award: Heidi Roth, PT, DHS, MSPT, NCS (Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago)
Dr Roth's love for physical therapy started earlier in her career. Following her 2001 graduation from Washington University in St Louis, she focused on neurologic specialization. She earned her board certification in neurologic physical therapy in 2007 and various certifications in neurologic subspecialties, including a brain injury specialization from The American Academy for the Certification of Brain Injury Specialists, LSVT BIG Certification for patients with Parkinson's disease and Vestibular Certification from Emory University. She has also earned her Doctor of Health Science degree from the University of Indianapolis in May 2011. Dr Roth currently serves as the chair of the Neurology Section of Brain Injury SIG and as a member of the Neurology Section's Evidence Database to Guide Effectiveness (EDGE) Task Force for Traumatic Brain Injury.
Dr Roth is a level 4 clinician at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, where she works in the Sensory Motor Performance Program: Neural Plasticity Laboratory. She exhibits leadership and mentorship skills as a specialist committee leader for the Battery of Rehabilitation Assessments and Interventions (BRAIN) at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. As one of her colleagues noted "Dr. Roth is a strong advocate in promoting neurologic physical therapy. She is dedicated to lifelong learning and teaching others through her leadership and expertise." According to one of the numerous clinicians she has mentored, "Dr. Roth demonstrates unparalleled patience, dedication to learning and kindness; qualities that make a great clinician and a great mentor. She is dedicated to challenging those around her to become better clinicians, to teach, to learn and to grow personally and professionally on a daily basis."
Excellence in Education Award: Herbert Karpatkin, PT, DSc, NCS, MSCS (Hunter College, City University of New York)
Dr Herb Karpatkin's tremendous impact is clearly evident in the wide range of recommendations from his students, peers, department chair, and local and national colleagues who contributed to his nomination. The breadth of his teaching contributions is impressive. The support letter from one student emphasized the passion that Dr Karpatikin has for the topics on which he teaches, the confidence he instills in his students, and the genuine caring he shows to those he instructs in the classroom. "I looked forward to his classes, simply because he was inspiring." The positive impact Dr Herb Karpatkin has had on his students has been instrumental to their performance on clinical affiliations, their excellence after graduation, and their choice of careers in neurologic physical therapy.
The chair of his department noted that Dr. Karpatkin is a "gifted and creative educator... He is highly interactive, creative in his explanations and questioning of the students to determine their understanding, and generally just a pleasure to watch in his engagement of the class." Dr Karpatkin has been a member of Neurology Section for more than 25 years. He is a certified Multiple Sclerosis Specialist and Neurologic Clinical Specialist, with more than 25 years of clinical experience. He has taught in an academic setting for more than 17 years. His educational influence has been great, through his classroom instruction, mentoring of student research groups, writing (manuscripts, book chapters), presenting (posters, platforms, instructional videotapes), working as a manuscript reviewer and member of the Specialization Academy of Content Experts, actively participating on advisory boards, and being a clinical role model.
Excellence in Research Award: Edelle Field-Fote, PT, PhD, FAPTA (Shepherd Center and Emory University)
Dr Field-Fote has contributed to the research foundations of clinical practice in numerous ways. She has been the principal investigator on several NIH R01 awards with numerous other awards as a coinvestigator or collaborator, published more than 40 peer-reviewed articles, and is the author/editor of a widely respected textbook on spinal cord injury rehabilitation. More important than the quantity of her grants and publications is the quality. Her research intentionally emphasizes questions that are directly relevant to neurologic physical therapist practice. Her studies focus on comparing outcomes of different physical therapy interventions, and assessing adjuvant interventions that are intended to augment the effectiveness of practice and training. Her recent move to join Shepherd Center was motivated by her desire to work more closely with her physical therapist colleagues in translating research to clinical practice.
Beyond her individual contributions, what truly sets Dr Field-Fote apart is the impact she has had on neurologic physical therapy research in general. As the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy (JNPT), she has had a tremendous positive impact on the application of research findings to clinical practice. Under Dr Field-Fote's leadership, JNPT has blossomed. Through her role as the Editor-in-Chief, she provided the direction and momentum to strategically move JNPT through the rigorous application and review process to obtain an impact factor for the first time. This year's impact factor places JNPT among the top 5 international rehabilitation journals. Through this tremendous accomplishment, as well as her own research contributions, Dr Field-Fote plays a key role in furthering evidence-based practice throughout the physical therapy profession.
Student Research Awards
Each year the Research Committee selects the highest-ranked studies, submitted for presentation at CSM, that were completed by a postprofessional and a professional student. Congratulations to the following individuals whose student research studies were selected for this year's awards.
Postprofessional Student Research Award: Nora Fritz, PT, DPT, NCS
Abstract Title: "Interhemispheric Supplemental Motor Area Tract-Specific Measures Are Associated With Dual-Task Walking Variability in Multiple Sclerosis"
Advisor: Deborah Larsen, PT, PhD
Institution: The Ohio State University, Division of Physical Therapy, Columbus, Ohio.
Profession Student Research Award: Evan Sandler, SPT
Abstract Title: "A Dose-Response Analysis of Change in Walking Speed and Distance Associated With Different Forms of Locomotor Training in Persons With Motor-Incomplete SCI"
Advisor: Edelle Field-Fote, PT, PhD, FAPTA
Institution: University of Miami, Department of Physical Therapy, Coral Gables, Florida.