Profiles in excellence. (Scholarships, Fellowships, and Grants).

Lynn Snyder-Mackler, PT, ScD, ATC, SCS, FAPTA

Lynn Snyder-Mackler, PT, ScD, ATC, SCS, FAPTA, Professor, Department of Physical Therapy and Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biomechanics and Movement Sciences, Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, University of Delaware, was recently named a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association (FAPTA) at Annual Conference in June. The FAPTA designation is used to recognize those whose work has resulted in lasting and significant advances in the science, education, and practice of the profession of physical therapy and it is the highest award given by APTA. Snyder-Mackler is a 1988 and 1991-1992 Foundation recipient and a former member of the Foundation's Scientific Review Committee.

Snyder-Mackler is currently principal investigator (PI) of a 5-year, $1,040,713 grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), "Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) for Older Individuals After Total Knee Arthroplasty." The aim of this research is to determine whether using NMES with a traditional rehabilitation program in elderly people who have osteoarthritis after total knee arthroplasty will result in greater strength and functional gains than a traditional rehabilitation program without NMES.

Dr Snyder-Mackler also is PI of a $630,000 grant scheduled to end in November 2004 from NICHD, "Dynamic Stability in the ACL Injured Knee." The goal of this research is to develop more effective, physiologically based, nonoperative rehabilitation programs to stabilize the knee after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture. The experiments are designed to better understand how training promotes dynamic knee stability and to explore whether adding perturbation training to an intense rehabilitation program improves function in non-copers who elect nonoperative management.

Her work continues as co-PI on a $1,100,000 grant, "Knee Alignment and the Progression of Osteoarthritis," from the National Center for Research Resources with Katherine Rudolph, PT, PhD, University of Delaware. The aim of this project is to determine whether the restoration of normal anatomical realignment will result in normal function and whether changes in walking or muscle activation are consistent with conditions that reduce the progression of osteoarthritis.

Dr Snyder-Mackler recently published Physical Therapies in Sport and Exercise: Principles and Practice (Churchill Livingstone, Inc; April 2003), co-edited with Gregory S Kolt, PT, PhD. The book outlines research findings that support the various physical therapy interventions for sport and exercise injuries and details many of the latest evidence-based approaches to the examination, evaluation, management, rehabilitation, and prevention of injuries. The text provides an introduction to the anatomical structures involved, discusses general issues in sport and exercise injury and pain management, and examines various injuries. The book also covers various management skills for sport and exercise injuries in different groups of patients and addresses the medical issues involved with the use of imaging techniques and drugs. A review of this text will be published in Physical Therapy.

In addition, Dr Snyder-Mackler is a mentor to several recent Foundation recipients:

Wendy Hurd, PT
2002 McMillan recipient

Michael Lewek, PT
2002 PODS II recipient

Ryan Mizner, PT
2001 McMillan recipient
2002 PODS I recipient

Glenn N Williams, PT, SCS
1999 McMillan scholarship recipient
2000 and 2001 PODS I recipient
2002 PODS II recipient

Other Foundation recipients whom she
has mentored include:

Martha Eastlack, PT, PhD
1993-1995 award recipient

G Kelley Fitzgerald, PT, PhD, OCS
1995 and 1997-1998 award recipient

Katherine Rudolph, PT, PhD
1997-1998 award recipient
2000 Research Grant recipient

Jennifer E Stevens, PT, MPT, PhD
2000 PODS I recipient
2001 PODS II recipient

Terese Chmielewski, PT, PhD, SCS
2001 PODS II recipient

Dr Snyder-Mackler is a prime example
of excellence not only in research but in
education and in fostering the scientific
pursuits of others.

Paul LaStayo, PT, PhD, CHT

"The Positive Effects of Negative Work: Increased Muscle Strength and Decreased Fall Risk in a Frail Elderly Population," an article by Paul LaStayo, PT, PhD, CHT, Associate Professor, University of Utah. This article resulted from his postdoctoral research fellowship at the Sarver Heart Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, and recently appeared in the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences (2003; 58A[5]:419-424). The purpose of the research on which this article was based was to determine if a high muscle force, low-energetic-cost eccentric training intervention is safely tolerated and if it could reverse the loss of muscle mass and function, in the elderly. A sample of 21 elderly subjects who were frail received 11 weeks of lower-extremity resistance training. The treatment group of 11 performed negative work with an eccentric high-force ergometer, and a control group of 10 performed traditional exercises. Results of the research demonstrated that there was greater strength increase following the negative work training, which led to improvements in balance, stair descent, and fall risk. This intervention may be useful for many frail elderly people with impaired mobility, high fall risk, and low exercise tolerance.

LaStayo received a PODS II doctoral scholarship in 1999 and a NIFTI fellowship in 2000 from the Foundation. The research in his recent article was supported by the National Institute of Health (NIH), the Foundation for Physical Therapy, and Arizona Proposition 301 Biotechnology Funds.