Students & Alumni

Current Students

Jordan Connor

Jordan Connor, PT, DPT

Matriculation: 2024
Mentor: Rotating

Lina Kleinschmidt PT, DPT, NCS

Lina Kleinschmidt PT, DPT, NCS

Matriculation: 2024
Mentor: Rotating

Emily Stone PT, DPT, OCS

Emily Stone PT, DPT, OCS

Matriculation: 2024
Mentor: Rotating

Nina Carson

Nina Carson, PT, DPT

Matriculation: 2023
Mentor: Michael Bade

Josh Kniss

Joshua Kniss, PT, DPT

Matriculation: 2023
Mentor: David Howell

Peter Thomsen

Peter Thomsen,  PT, DPT, MS 

Matriculation: 2023
Mentor: Cory Christiansen

Melissa Tran

Melissa Tran, PT, DPT, MPH

Matriculation: 2023
Mentor: Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley

Lauren Van Valkenburgh

Lauren Van Valkenburgh, PT, DPT, MHA

Matriculation: 2023
Mentor: Mark Manago

Frannie Westlake

Frannie Westlake, PT, DPT

Matriculation: 2023
Mentor: Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley

rachael brink akay

Rachael Brink Akay, PT, DPT

Matriculation: 2022
Mentor: Cory Christiansen

Mathew Wingerson

Mathew J Wingerson, MS

Matriculation: 2022
Mentor: David Howell, PhD, ATC

Grace Ditzenberger

Grace Ditzenberger, PT, DPT

Matriculation: 2022
Mentor: Kristine Erlandson (unofficial)

Wesley Thornton

Wesley Thornton, PT, DPT, NCS

Matriculation: 2021
Mentor: Andrew Smith

Alumni

Katherine Smulligan
Mentor: David Howell
Degree Completed: 2024
Current Position: TBD
Research Interests: Vestibular, Oculomotor, and Cervical Spine Dysfunction After Concussion: Implications for Recovery and Subsequent Injury Risk.

Lauren Hinrichs-Kinney
Mentor: Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley
Degree Completed: 2023
Current Position: Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Physical Therapy Program
Research Interests: Using mixed methods to enhance the translation of rehabilitation research into clinical practice.

Michelle Rauzi
Mentor: Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley
Degree Completed: 2023
Current Position: Advanced Research Fellow, Denver VA Center of Innovation (COIN)
Research Interests: Technology to enhance rehabilitation interventions, remote patient monitoring, and health promotion.

Jeremy Graber
Mentors: Elizabeth Juarez-Colunga, Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley, Michael Bade
Degree Completed: 2023
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Seattle-Denver COIN, VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System
Research Interests: Clinical decision support, personalized rehabilitation, total joint arthroplasty rehabilitation, and research involving electronic health record data.

Lindsay Ollerenshaw
Mentor: Dawn Magnusson
Degree Completed: 2023
Current Position:  Research & Evaluation Manager at the State of Oregon
Research Interests:  Health systems, qualitative and quantitative methodologies, and early childhood programs.

Andrea Marshall
Mentor: Michael Bade
Degree Completed: 2022
Current Position: US Army Holistic Health and Fitness Director
Research Interests: Musculoskeletal injury prediction and risk mitigation.

Julie Stutzbach, PT, DPT, PhD
Mentor: Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley
Degree Completed: 2022
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Regis University School of Physical Therapy
Research Interests: Improving rehabilitation for adults with CP and physical activity in post-acute care.

Chelsey Anderson
Mentor: Cory Christiansen
Degree Completed: 2022
Current Position: NRSA General Pediatrics Research Fellow, Cincinnati Children's Hospital
Research Interests: Shared decision making in rehabilitation settings.

Cherie Ledoux, DPT, PhD
Mentor: Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley
Degree Completed: 2021
Current Position: Social Insurance Specialist, Social Security Administration
Research Interests: The intersection of mental health and rehabilitation; critical race theory and healthcare; and implementation and health services in rehabilitation settings.

Matthew Miller, PT, DPT, PhD
Mentor: Cory Christiansen
Degree Completed: 2019
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California San Francisco
Research Interests: Movement and behavior change in the context of the chronic condition of dysvascular lower limb amputation.

Daniel Hadidi, PhD
Mentor: Lisa Brenner
Degree Completed: 2019
Current Position: Program Specialist, Rocky Mountain MIRECC for Suicide Prevention, US Department of Veterans Affairs
Research Interests: Investigating the role of diet and diet-related attitudes/behaviors on Multiple Sclerosis-related quality of life and other disease factors in male Veterans with MS. Investigating the relationship between the microbiome and mental health outcomes in Veterans. Evaluating the effects of a powered exoskeleton device on psychosocial function in Veterans with diminished ambulatory function.

Allison Gustavson, PT, PhD
Mentor: Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley
Degree Completed: 2019
Research Interests: 1) Understanding the causes of deficits in function that occur in older adults following hospitalization, 2) Exploring the barriers to practice change and the uptake of evidence based practice in post-acute care (home health and skilled nursing facilities), 3) Developing and refining multi-modal and interdisciplinary interventions to maximize patient outcomes following hospitalization, 4) Utilizing such clinical research results to develop clinical practice guidelines specific to post-acute care settings, and 5) Employing strategies for implementation and dissemination of study results to post-acute settings nationwide.

Jason Falvey, PT, DPT, GCS, CEEAA, PhD
Mentor: Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley
Degree Completed: 2018
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Yale School of Medicine
Research Interests: Rehabilitation of older adults after acute hospitalization.

Jean Marie Berliner, PT, DPT, NCS, PhD
Mentor: Margaret Schenkman
Degree Completed: 2018
Current Position: Affiliate Faculty, Regis University
Research Interests: Exploring the association between visual, vestibular, and oculomotor deficits to fatigue in people with Parkinsons disease.

Brian Loyd, PT, DPT, PhD
Mentor: Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley
Degree Completed: 2017
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Utah College of Health
Research Interests: Understanding the neuromuscular and physical functioning deficits present following lower extremity surgery or trauma, improving the practice management of physiologic changes occurring after TKA, specifically related to lower extremity swelling and edema, and implementing clinical data collection methods to improve individual estimates of recovery following TKA.

Andrew Kittelson, PT, DPT, PhD
Mentor: Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley
Degree Completed: 2016
Current Position: Assistant Professor, University of Montana
Research Interests: Focused on improving shared decision-making and personalized care in clinical practice, through the use of informatics and novel data science applications. Specifically, I am interested in using analytic techniques to help patients and clinicians better understand diagnosis and prognosis, as well as to assist in monitoring patient progress throughout an episode of care. I enjoy collaborating with a variety of different patient populations in this research: people with peripheral vascular disease, people with total knee arthroplasty, people with lower limb amputation, and children at risk of developmental delay.

Ryan Marker, PT, DPT, PhD
Mentor: Katrina Maluf
Degree Completed: 2015
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Bahar Shahidi, DPT, PhD
Mentor: Katrina Maluf
Degree Completed: 2015
Research Interests: Skeletal muscle physiology in spine pain
Current Position: Assistant Adjunct Professor, Orthopedic Surgery, UC San Diego

Rehabilitation Science PhD Program

CU Anschutz

Education II South

13121 East 17th Avenue

Aurora, CO 80045


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