Scholarships, fellowships, and grants. (Foundation for Physical Therapy).

Announcing Scientific Review Committee Roster for 2003

The Foundation's Board of Trustees appointed Lisa Riolo, PT, PhD, NCS, President of APTA's Neurology Section, and the Jill Pitman Jones Professor of Physical Therapy, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Norman, Okla, to the Scientific Review Com-mittee (SRC) for a 3-year term beginning January 1, 2003.

The Trustees also reappointed Kathryn E Roach, PT, PhD, Associate Professor and Associate Director of Research, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Fla, to the SRC for another 3-year term.

Richard K Shields, PT, PhD, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, was appointed to the Foundation's Board of Trustees effective January 1, 2003. Dr Shields served as chair of the SRC for 2001 and 2002; his term on the SRC expired on December 31, 2002. David Sinacore, PT, PhD, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Mo, was elected chair of the SRC for 2003.

The following physical therapists constitute the SRC for 2003:

David Sinacore, PT, PhD, Chair Washington University School of Medicine

Richard Clendaniel, PT, PhD Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 

Pamela W Duncan, PT, PhD, FAPTA University of Florida 

Stephen M Haley, PT, PhD Boston University

Diane U Jette, PT, DSc Simmons College

Lisa Riolo, PT, PhD, NCS Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center

Kathryn E Roach, PT, PhD University of Miami

Mary Rodgers, PT, PhD University of Maryland 

Anthony Delitto, PT, PhD University of Pittsburgh Ex-Officio Member President, APTA Section on Research

The SRC provides invaluable service to the Foundation and to the physical therapy profession by volunteering their time and expertise to review and score McMillan Doctoral Scholarship, Promotion of Doctoral Studies (PODS) Scholarship, New Investigator Fellowship Training Initiative (NIFTI), and Grant applications. Through its evaluations and recommendations, the SRC assists the Foundation in its mission to provide support to physical therapists to promote the development of research careers in physical therapy and to fund scientifically based and clinically relevant physical therapy research.

Evidence for Practice

Psychosocial factors are known to affect recovery from acute low back pain. Julie M Fritz, PT, PhD, ATC, and Steven Z George, PT, PhD, studied 78 people with low back pain who participated in a Foundation-funded clinical trial. A baseline examination of measures of impairment, disability, pain, and psychosocial variables was performed on the subjects, all of whom received physical therapy interventions, and work status was assessed after 4 weeks.

Fritz and George found that fear-avoidance beliefs about work were the strongest predictor of work status and were measured by the work subscale of the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire. Examination of fear-avoidance beliefs may serve as a useful screening tool for identifying patients with acute low back pain who are at risk for prolonged work restrictions. For further information, see the following:

Fritz JM, George SZ. Identifying psychosocial variables in patients with acute work-related low back pain: the importance of fear-avoidance beliefs. Phys Ther. 2002;82:973-983.

Foundation Recipient in the News

Glenn N Williams, PT, ATC, SCS, a 1999 McMillan Doctoral Scholarship recipient, 2000 and 2001 PODS I scholarship recipient, and 2002 PODS II scholarship recipient, along with his colleagues--John M Uhorchak, MD, Charles R Scoville, PT, Robert A Arcierro, MD, Patrick St Pierre, MD, and Dean C Taylor, MD--recently won the 2002 O'Donoghue Sports Injury Research Award: given by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine for the best clinical research paper of the year. This prestigious award was given to them for the paper, "Risk Factors Associated with Non-Contact ACL Injuries: A Prospec-tive Evaluation of 859 West Point Cadets," which has been accepted for publication by the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Pittsburgh-Marquette Challenge A Great Success at Conclave 

The 2003 Pittsburgh-Marquette Challenge kicked off at the National Student Conclave in Birmingham, Ala, in October 2002. Student Coordinators, Ann Getz, Marquette University, and Melissa Laufer, University of Pittsburgh, received commitments to participate in the Challenge from 58 schools and 72 students. Many commitments were from schools that have not previously participated in the Challenge. Students who signed the Challenge Pledge were eligible for raffle prizes, and the winners were: Heather Strauch, Dan Staats, Julie Margitish, John Tawfit, Vicki Van Dine, Kimberly Hardee, Lisha Stone, Amy Byars, and Kyle Brannon.

Congratulations to the Medical University of South Carolina for being the first new participating school to send in 2003 donations. Donations may come from the students and schools and they may also be sent in by physical therapists in honor of a favorite school. Physical therapists can also follow APTA President Ben Massey's lead by donating honoraria to the Challenge.

The 14th annual student-led Challenge raises money for physical therapy research that provides 1-year grants for research projects to evaluate the effectiveness of physical therapy interventions. Donations for the Challenge must be received no later than April 30, 2003, and must be made payable to the Foundation for Physical Therapy. For more information, contact the student coordinators at [e-mail] or [e-mail].

PT 2003 Funding Workshops

The Foundation will present "Foundation Funding: How to Get It" from 2:30-4:30 PM, and "Foundation Funding: Where It Goes" from 4:30-6:00 PM, on Friday, June 20, at PT 2003 in Washington, DC. The Foundation's Scientific Review Committee (SRC) and recipients of Foundation scholarships, fellowships, and grants will host the Forums. In "Foundation Funding: How to Get It," members of the SRC will offer advice and helpful tips on applying for Foundation funding. Information will include how to complete a competitive application, how applications are scored, what reviewers look for, and ways applications can be improved.

At the "Foundation Funding: Where It Goes" forum, funding recipients will discuss their projects to help participants gain an understanding about research activities and how they may lead to changes in clinical practice. Discussion will address questions such as: Why is the Foundation's support of doctoral education and postdoctoral research important? Why is scientific research important to physical therapist clinicians? How does funding from the Foundation help launch or continue research that is critical to practice? How does a major research program grow out of a pilot project?