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The Division of Physical Therapy would like to announce the Giuliani/Wellman Scholarship, which honors the dedication and research of Carol Giuliani, PhD, PT, FAPTA, and longtime professor. All donations to this scholarship will provide financial assistance to PT PhD students pursuing a degree in human movement science with specialties in geriatrics and/or neurology.

Carol’s vision was instrumental in establishing a collaborative PhD degree program with faculty from physical therapy, exercise and sports science, and biomedical engineering. She served as the program’s inaugural director from 1998-2009. Carol has devoted her career to improving the lives of people experiencing movement dysfunction, including decreasing falls risks among older adults, and improving movement and function following a stroke. Her research has focused on motor control principles to improve intervention strategies and has also focused on the efficacy of community screening and intervention programs. Within the APTA, she has served two terms as president of neurology section and has chaired the task force on doctoral education.

We spoke with Priscilla Raasch-Mason, who is spearheading this effort. We also spoke with Vicki Mercer, PT, PhD, and director of the Human Movement Science program.

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What motivated you to begin this scholarship?

Priscilla: “Carol has been a lifelong mentor for me. Whether you’ve been an undergraduate or an advanced graduate, she has always been there to support you, and it’s time for us to return that honor and support Carol.”

Describe the impact Carol has had in your life and in the lives of others.

Priscilla: “It’s important to note that Carol has worked tirelessly and without expectation of any reward. She has been a teacher and mentor for all of us. Every graduate who has worked with Carol, they know. They’re in the lab, and she’s right there with you… Carol has given her all. She has done so much in the field of physical therapy to create, expand, and advance knowledge about human movement… It doesn’t really matter what your research project is; Carol gets excited about it. She makes teaching exciting. That is very typically Carol. She inspires the best out of everybody around her.”

Vicki: Carol has been a wonderful mentor to me and to many others who have pursued education beyond the entry-level physical therapy degree. I was first bitten by the research bug as a student, before the start of UNC’s PhD program in Human Movement Science. Carol was arguably our most dynamic instructor, and she got my classmates and me excited to learn more about the important, clinically relevant questions that researchers in physical therapy studied at the time. She helped us to realize that we, too, could contribute to discovering the answers to these questions by means of carefully designed and implemented research studies. Carol initiated an intensive, week-long “beach course” for those of us who were interested in neurological and pediatric rehabilitation. For this course, we rented a house on Topsail Island and spent our days reading and discussing the scientific literature in a particular topic area. The intellectual challenge and the fun that we experienced at these courses created in many of us a strong desire to continue to learn and grow as researchers. In my case, Carol was a major motivating force behind my decision to complete a PhD.

Why is it important to support PhD students specifically?

Priscilla: Supporting students who are in need and who are researching either geriatrics are neurology is important. These are both areas that need more research. We have to prepare for the future.

Vicki: PhD students often must make major financial sacrifices to pursue a PhD and a research career. For those who are physical therapists, the decision to enroll in a PhD program typically means an additional four to five years of education and training beyond the three-year DPT program. Although these students may work as research assistants, teaching assistants, and/or as clinicians in our faculty practice, their primary focus must be on obtaining the knowledge and skills necessary to become content experts and independent researchers in a specific area of research interest. This means countless hours spent in the laboratory or in clinical or community research settings. The yearly stipend that these students receive is only a tiny fraction of what they could earn as full-time clinicians. These students need our support in order to succeed on this challenging, but critically important, career path.

What’s on the horizon for the HMSC program?

Vicki: We would like to continue to grow the program, increasing the number of students enrolled and faculty available to mentor them. Obtaining funding to support students is a major challenge, particularly within the Division of Physical Therapy, which lacks the funding for TA positions that is available within the Department of Exercise and Sports Science. One long-term goal is to have one or two DPT graduates each year go directly from the DPT program to the HMSC program with adequate funding available to support all five years of their PhD training.

What would you say to others who are considering donating?

Priscilla: If you’ve ever had a really great conversation with Carol, of if she’s helped you with research, this is the time to donate.

Vicki: The physical therapy profession, and all of us who are members of the profession, are indebted to the physical therapist researchers who have laid the scientific foundation for the field and who continue to build on that foundation. By donating to the Giuliani/Wellman scholarship, you will help support individuals who will be future leaders in physical therapy research. They will educate the next generation of physical therapists, provide scientific evidence to guide clinical decision making, and make discoveries that may transform clinical practice and lead to improved outcomes for our patients. Evidence-based practice (and practice-based evidence) cannot exist without the ongoing efforts of physical therapist researchers. Thank you for your contribution!