Recent Graduates
Todd Cade, PT, PhD
Todd was the first student to enroll in the Phd in Physical Rehabilitation Science in 1997. Focusing his work in rehabilitation physiology, Todd pursued research in oxidative metabolic insufficiency as a mechanism of fatigue related disability in people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. Todd was in fact one of the first authors on the first paper describing oxidative metabolic insufficiency and functional aerobic impairment in adolescents with HIV infection. Todd went on to determine that much of the oxidative impairment suffered by individuals infected with HIV is the result of the medication regimen commonly used to control the progression of the infection. As a graduate student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Todd received the Presidents Award from the Mid Atlantic Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine. By the time he graduated for the program in 2002, Todd had published or submitted eight articles and was the primary author on five of these. Todd accepted a post-doctoral Fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine in the Department of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Diabetes, St. Louis. There he continued to work on HIV and metabolism, using MRI techniques and muscle chemistry assays. He is currently an Assistant Professor in their department.
Margaret Finley, PT, PhD
During her doctoral training, her laboratory research focused on propulsion mechanics and metabolic changes in manual wheelchair users in response to an exercise intervention and the development of a tool to determine functional independence in this diverse population. Margaret was afforded the opportunity to participate in the data collection, and reduction, as well as data analysis to answer different research questions. Margaret expanded the research to include projects focused on investigating the secondary upper extremity pathologies common to this population. Through her laboratory research exposure, she had fen abstracts accepted for presentation at national and international scientific conferences, eight as primary author. Based on her research, information from a pilot project on the prevalence of shoulder pathology in wheelchair users was presented at the 2000 Combined Sections Meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association and the 5th Scientific Congress for the 2000 Paralympics Games in Sydney Australia. Margaret was strongly encouraged to write and submit manuscripts based on her work. To date, she has been an author on seven manuscripts (primary on four), with five accepted for publication and the other two currently under review (primary on one).
As a doctoral student, Margaret successfully applied for and received over $35,000 in funding. She received funding through the American Physical Therapy Association Promotion of Doctoral Scholars ($7500), the International Society of Biomechanics Travel Grant ($2000), the University of Maryland Graduate Student Research Grant ($1000), International Society of Biomechanics Dissertation Grant ($4000) and a Veterans Administration Pre-Doctoral Associated Health Rehabilitation Research Fellowship ($18,500). Her work was recognized by the University of Maryland with a Graduate Merit Award ($2000).
Margaret completed the Phd program in 2003 and became a post-doc and became a post-doc on an Associate Investigator award through the Veterans Administration, which enables her to expand her expertise as she works with new mentors in the area of gait and imaging techniques. She will soon take an Assistant Professor position at the University of Indianapolis in the Department of Physical Therapy. She will be the Director of the Movement Science Lab.
Rich Lovering, PT, PhD
Beginning his PhD education in 1998, Rich was instrumental in developing an animal model of eccentric contraction-induced muscle injury. His dissertation focused on the characterization of muscle injury at the level of the cell membrane and cytoskeleton and addressed some of the molecular mechanisms in rehabilitation. His accomplishments are published in peer-reviewed journals of high quality. His work was funded through the inter-departmental program in muscle biology and the NFL. Rich graduated from the program in 2003 and immediately began a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine. He is currently the recipient of a K award from NIH.