DPT research pairs students with faculty

Students in the University of North Georgia's (UNG) Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program are gaining valuable experience thanks to the research and innovation track within the DPT. 

After researching alongside  Dr. Stanislaw Solnik, associate professor of physical therapy, Dr. Adrien Buttram, '23, presented at two conferences and published an article in the Journal of Biomechanics, a top-tier journal in the field of rehabilitation and orthopedics. Other students who helped with the research and article were Ben Thomas, JT Hagar and Stephanie Gibson, and students who served as data collectors were Damon Knighton, Karlie Abernathy and José Canelon.

The group examined the impact of certain activities on movement variability. Buttram said the research helps her as a physical therapist when she is testing patients to rule in or rule out a certain problem.  

"Now I know how these tests were formulated and put into practice," Buttram said. "I didn't appreciate how much went into every test we do until I did this research." 

Buttram took part in every step of the research, from finding subjects, giving tests, collecting and analyzing the data to making the poster.  

"Each year, several faculty incorporate students into their ongoing scholarly agenda to pique student interest in contributing to the body of PT evidence in the future. Each patient can be thought of as a single-subject research study deserving of a similar careful gathering of data and analysis of results as would be included in a formal study," Dr. Kimberly Castle, professor and department head of physical therapy, said. "We also encourage students to consider further training in the future to perform independent research studies by pursuing PT residencies or terminal academic degrees."

Solnik said the research students are able to conduct within the DPT program helps them in their future careers.  

"These projects we do with students, we try to make sure they are clinically relevant," Solnik said. "The field of physical therapy is changing. There's more and more pressure on physical therapy to become precision-based and evidence-based." 

Maddison Holder, a third-year DPT student from Swainsboro, Georgia, conducted survey research along with Dr. Brian Maloney, assistant professor of physical therapy; Dr. Myra Lisa Barnes-Foster, professor of physical therapy; Dr. Don Walsh, associate professor of physical therapy; and fellow students David Park and Rebekah Cox to see how physical therapy and PT assistant programs were teaching aquatic physical therapy and the impact of COVID-19 on their delivery of that instruction.  

The group's research was accepted to the Combined Sections Meeting, and Maloney presented it at the national conference. Their scholarly work filled a gap as research on the topic of aquatic physical therapy in academic curricula was limited in the past few decades. It was a new subject for Holder too, but now she feels better equipped for what comes next. 

"I can advocate for the importance of aquatic physical therapy," Holder said.  

Dr. Andrzej Przyzbyla, professor of physical therapy, has also had multiple recent research projects involving his students.  

"I always want to offer the opportunity for students to be part of the research process when they are able to," Przyzbyla said. "On top of presenting, students have an excellent opportunity to network."