Scholarships, Fellowships, and Grants.

Scholarship and Fellowship Winners Announced

The Foundation for Physical Therapy Board of Trustees will disburse $270,000 for the 2001 Doctoral Opportunities for Clinicians and Scholars (DOCS) program. The DOCS program includes opportunities for postdoctoral fellowships and doctoral scholarships. This year, 1 fellowship and 22 scholarships were awarded.

The fellowship portion of DOCS, called New Investigator Fellowship Training Initiative (NIFTI), funds postdoctoral research for physical therapists who have completed their doctoral education within the past 5 years. The $30,000 fellowship is renewable for 1 year. Jennifer S Brach, PT, PhD, GCS, University of Pittsburgh, will receive a 2001 NIFTI fellowship for research that will identify factors related to physical activity behavior in older adults.

The Promotion of Doctoral Studies scholarships (PODS I and PODS II) fund physical therapists who have completed 1 full year of doctoral course work and wish to continue their course work or have entered the dissertation phase of their education.

The PODS I scholarships award $7,500 each to physical therapists who have completed at least 2 full semesters or 75% of their course work toward a doctorate. The $15,000 PODS II scholarships are for physical therapists who have been formally admitted to doctoral candidacy. Some recipients receive 50% funding depending on graduation date and budget requirements.

The recipients of the 2001 PODS I scholarships are:

James T Cavanaugh IV, PT, MS, NCS
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

John D Childs, PT
University of Pittsburgh

Almas Dossa, PT, MS, CCS
University of Massachusetts

Stacy Fritz, PT
University of Florida

Laura Frey Law, PT
University of Iowa

Karen L McCulloch, PT, MS, NCS
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Susanne M Morton, PT
Washington University, St Louis
Recipient of the Patricia Leahy scholarship,
available to physical therapists to fund
postprofessional doctoral studies in neurology.
The recipient is selected from current
applicants who are awarded a PODS I
scholarship. The scholarship is funded by
the APTA Neurology Section.

Susan M Sigward, PT
University of Southern California

Samuel Ward, PT
University of Southern California

Glenn N Williams, PT, SCS
University of Delaware

The 2001 recipients of the PODS II scholarships are:

Christopher S Bickel, PT, MPT
University of Georgia, Athens

Terese L Chmielewski, PT, MA, SCS
University of Delaware

Kristen Moisio Estela, PT, MS
Rush Medical College

Steven Z George, PT, MS
University of Pittsburgh

Anne Gross, PT, MPT
Oregon Health Sciences University
Recipient of the Marylou Barnes scholarship,
available to physical therapists to
fund postprofessional doctoral studies in
neurology. The recipient is selected from
current applicants who are awarded a
PODS II scholarship. The scholarship is
funded by the APTA Neurology Section.

Valerie E Kelly, PT
Washington University, St Louis

JoAnn Kluzik, PT, MS, PCS
Oregon Health Sciences University

Katrina S Maluf, PT, MSPT
Washington University, St Louis

Patricia J Manns, PT
Oregon State University

Barbara M Quaney, PT
University of Iowa

Jennifer E Stevens, PT, MPT
University of Delaware
Recipient of the Viva J Erickson scholarship,
available to physical therapists to
fund postprofessional doctoral studies to
prepare for academic leadership of physical
therapy education programs. The
recipient is selected from current applicants
who are awarded a PODS I or
PODS II scholarship.

Christine Wells, PT, MS, CCS, ATC
University of Pittsburgh

The DOCS program is open to full-time or part-time students. Applications and guidelines for the 2002 DOCS program are available and are due by January 15, 2002. To request an application, e-mail the Foundation at [e-mail], or call 800/875-1378.

Clinical Research Network Receives $485,000 in Support

Recent donations from the Orthopaedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), the Section on Geriatrics of APTA, the Section on Research of APTA, and Section on Research member Gary L Soderberg, PT, PhD, FAPTA, will help launch the Foundation for Physical Therapy's new Clinical Research Network.

The Clinical Research Network will bring universities, hospitals, clinics, and other institutions together to share resources and work together to examine the effectiveness of physical therapist practice.

"The members of the Orthopaedic Section are pleased to support the Clinical Research Network [with a $350,000 contribution]," said Michael T Cibulka, PT, MHS, OCS, Orthopaedic Section President. "We hope that the network will benefit physical therapists by showing the veracity of our assessments, the accuracy of our prognoses, and the effectiveness of our interventions for the patients that we see every day in the clinic. Helping to underwrite the Clinical Research Network makes sense because the goals of the Network are perfectly in tune with the priorities of the Orthopaedic Section."

The Section on Geriatrics donated $90,000 to the Network. Section President Jennifer M Bottomley, PT, PhD, noted that "the Foundation's mission of funding clinically relevant research is in harmony with the Section's mission. There is a lack of clinically relevant research in geriatrics, so when we heard about the Clinical Research Network, we enthusiastically supported this contribution."

"When the Clinical Research Network was explained to our group, you could sense the excitement," said Section on Research President Anthony Delitto, PT, PhD, FAPTA. "Although we have committed a significant amount of our operating revenue to this donation, Section members understand the urgency and need for research and Section board members unanimously supported the contribution."

In addition to the $30,000 donated by the Section on Research, section member Gary L Soderberg, PT, PhD, FAPTA, demonstrated his personal support with a commitment to raise and personally donate another $15,000. "The Clinical Research Network is designed to help us realize our responsibility, both as individuals and as the profession at large," said Soderberg. "We continue to recognize that research is necessary to determine the efficacy of our treatments, which in turn leads to delivery of the best possible patient care. Financial support must be generated immediately and over a long duration to meet the Foundation's research goals."

"On behalf of the Foundation, I want to express how grateful we are to the sections and Gary Soderberg," said Foundation President Jayne L Snyder, PT, MA. "Their extremely generous donations will enable us to begin our Clinical Research Network and answer questions that are critical to the physical therapy profession."

To receive a copy of the Clinical Research Network guidelines and application, e-mail the Foundation at [e-mail], or call 800/875-1378.