UNC School of Medicine
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Karen McCulloch, PT, PhD, NCS
Professor; Assistant Director of Distance and Continuing Education
| Division of Physical Therapy Email address: karen_mcculloch@med.unc.edu |
Research Background and Interests
As a clinician who has worked in rehabilitation settings with brain injury and stroke, my interests have focused on interventions to improve limb and balance control, and methods for measurement of motor function. I have developed a number of functional measures including the Arm Motor Ability Test (used to test the more impaired arm in hemiparesis) and the Walking and Remembering Test (a test of dual-task performance of walking with a cognitive task). I have served as intervention coordinator on several clinical trials related to improvement of arm function (EXCITE trial for stroke) or to improve balance (older adults). I continue with a strong interest in the cognitive and behavioral sequelae of brain injury and how cognition affects balance.
Current Research
Education
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ph.D. - Human Movement Science
University of Alabama at Birmingham , M.S. - Physical Therapy
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill -Postgraduate Research Fellowship
University of Florida, B.S. - Physical Therapy
Teaching
Neuromuscular Examination and Intervention
Functional Assessment
Distance Education methods and administration
Selected Publications
McCulloch KL, Mercer VS, Giuliani CA, Marshall S. Development of a clinical measure of dual-task performance in walking: reliability and preliminary validity of the Walking and Remembering Test. J Geriatric PT 2009; 32:1: 2-9.
Blalock SJ, Demby KB, McCulloch KL, Stevens JA. Seniors’ perceptions of using hip protectors to reduce fracture risk. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2008; 56(9): 1773-4.
McCulloch KL. Attention and dual-task conditions: physical therapy implications for individuals with acquired brain injury, Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy 2007; 104-118.
Blanton S, Morris DM, Prettyman MG, McCulloch K, Redmond S, Light K, Wolf SL. Lessons learned in participant recruitment and retention: The EXCITE trial. Phys Ther 2006; 1520-1533.
Uswatte G, Taub E, Morris D, Vignolo M, McCulloch, K. Reliability and validity of the upper-extremity Motor Activity Log-14 for measuring real-world arm use. Stroke 2005; 36:2493-2496.
Kopp B, Kunkel A, Flor H, Platz T, Mauritz KH, Gresser K, McCulloch KL, Taub E: The Arm Motor Ability Test (AMAT): Reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change. Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 1997;78:615-20
McCulloch KL, Gross MT, Ferguson ST, Kerr LL, Wills CA, Farlow MR. Interrater and test-retest reliability of the Berg Balance Scale for patients with brain injury. Neurology Report, 1997; 21(2):50.
McCulloch KL. Standardized assessment tools for traumatic brain injury in physical therapy. Neurology Report, 1998, 22(3): 114-125.
McCulloch, KL, Novack TA. Upper extremity functional assessment in traumatically brain-injured patients. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 1990; 5:4, 1-12.
Professional Societies
Editorial Board Member, Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation
American Physical Therapy Association, Neurology Section, Director of Education
American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, Brain Injury Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group