2022: Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley, PT, PhD, FAPTA

Professor & Director, Rehabilitation Science PhD Program
PT Section Director for Research and Development, Physical Therapy Program
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center

Associate Director for Research, Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center
VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System 

Dr. Stevens-Lapsley is a professor and director of the Rehabilitation Science PhD program as well as the PT section director for research and development in the Physical Therapy program at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center. She is also the associate director for research for the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center within the Eastern Colorado Healthcare System. She is focused on identifying, integrating, and advancing innovative evidence-based medicine solutions for older adult rehabilitation through highly effective research methods and partnerships. She has 20 years of clinical research experience including patients after joint arthroplasty and medically complex patient populations.

Dr. Stevens-Lapsley is a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association, and her clinical research has resulted in numerous publications (150+), national and international speaking invitations, and awards such as the Marian Williams Award for Research from the American Physical Therapy Association. Over the past 15 years, she has received over $20 million dollars to support her clinical research. 

There are an increasing number of methodological approaches that can be used in clinical research ranging from mechanistic studies of muscle function to pragmatic studies of how evidence-based interventions can be implemented in real world clinical practice. Each scientific approach is valuable and necessary to accelerate advances in rehabilitation science, however designing research with the end in mind (e.g. stakeholders) with any type of research is increasingly necessary to facilitate eventual translation of research into widescale clinical practice. Early stakeholder engagement improves the relevance of research and improves ultimate clinical adoption. This lecture focuses on the evolution of a scientific program towards the design of research questions with clinical implementation goals in mind, using practical examples of lessons learned while trying to optimize mobility in older adults.