What did you do on your summer vacation? For Liz Wellsandt, PT, DPT, PhD, OCS, assistant professor in our division of physical therapy education, it was an exciting and busy few months!
The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) named Liz an APTA Emerging Leader, she received an APTA New Investigator grant, and she just had a baby (her third) on July 16, 2017.
The Emerging Leader Award identifies and honors one physical therapist (PT) or PT assistant “emerging leader” from each APTA component (state or section) who demonstrated extraordinary service early in his or her physical therapy career. The individual should have made exceptional overall accomplishments and contributions to APTA, the component, and the physical therapy profession to advance APTA’s vision.
The $100,000 New Investigator Fellowship Training Initiative (NIFTI) fellowship will include a research training experience entitled “Role of Physical Activity in Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis.” Liz will be under the mentorship of Kaleb Michaud, PhD, associate professor in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology in the department of Internal Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Yvonne Golightly, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
The APTA Supporting the Profession Fund and the APTA Scholarship Fund made the NIFTI award possible.
The NIFTI supports post-professional, doctorally prepared physical therapists as they begin their research careers. It is designed to accommodate both traditional postdoctoral and new faculty applicants for a closely mentored research experience.
Liz, congratulations and thank you for the excellent UNMC CAHP representation!