SHRS Blog

In her documentary “Pittsburgh’s Lost Chinatown,” Lydia Ott shares the story of her grandmother, also named Lydia Ott, who grew up at 510 Third Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Chinatown in the 1930s. She hopes it will open the eyes and hearts of others to the unique values, character and strengths that immigrant families bring to any community. And also the challenges they faced.

“She is the epitome of what a professor should be…a gifted lecturer who manages the classroom with poise.” 

Every year since 1999, SHRS has awarded the Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award in recognition of a faculty member’s excellence and dedication to the school’s teaching mission. Lori Cherok, interim director of the Nutrition Science program and assistant professor in the Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition, was announced as this year’s winner ...

I graduated with my master’s degree nine years ago. Nine years is a long time to be out of the swing of taking exams, meeting deadlines, writing papers, etc. Having been a preceptor and educator myself, I was nervous about being a student again when I enrolled in the SHRS Doctor of Physician Assistant Studies (DPAS) online program. 6 months into the one-year program, I feel like I am finally adjusting to my new normal and I want to share what I’ve learned. ...

As students on the pre-health track, we all know how important it is to keep our grades up and achieve high scores on the graduate school admissions tests. This alone places a lot of pressure on students looking to go into health care fields and at times it can seem like we’re just keeping our head above water. In my first year of college, I remember being shocked to learn that I had to seek out clinical, volunteer, and research experiences in addition to all the work required to achieve a high GPA. It seemed impossible to balance everything at the time and I remember being completely lost on where to start. I had no idea where to find these experiences or how to start looking.

Establishing the Master of Science in Athletic Training program at the University of Pittsburgh came at a time when evolution was necessary to ensure professional prosperity and health care competence. As an allied health care provider, athletic trainers possess a wide variety of skills that are unique and unlike any other health care profession. Athletic trainers provide care under the direction of a supervising physician in accordance with their education, training and state’s rules and regulations. ...

The University of Pittsburgh is one of seven institutions awarded funding through the distribution of $5.7 million in research grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD. The University’s Schools of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS), Public Health and Engineering, and community partners Women for a Healthy Environment (WHE) and the Allegheny County Area Agency on Aging (AAA), received a grant of $918,709 to reduce environmental hazards in residential settings to allow more people to age safely in their homes.

For students interested in graduate studies in sports science at Pitt, Proessl is in a perfect position to remark on the strengths of the program as well as to make the distinction between the master’s and PhD programs. The Master’s in Sports Science (MSSS) program was just being developed as he worked on his PhD. Proessl watched it grow into the European model he had envisioned for himself as a master’s student years before. Now “It’s a one-of-a-kind program,” he says. “Pitt SHRS is in a very unique position. It’s one of the few schools with a master’s degree in Sports Science. The MS has a one-year internship with a team or lab of interest, which is very special in the U.S., it’s something I never had a chance to get. I had to create my own program. It’s the same model as in Europe. If you want to be a sports scientist, the practical experience can’t be underestimated.” 

As an assistant professor and researcher of Health Informatics in the Department of Health Information Management at the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, I am leading our efforts at the Pitt HexAI Research Laboratory. I am passionate about improving health care. ...

Three SHRS faculty assumed new leadership roles effective October 1. Tom Platt, professor and associate dean for Academic Partnerships, is now chair of the school’s Department of Community Health Services and Rehabilitation Science (CHSRS). ...

On Friday, September 16, the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) was finally able to come together to celebrate its 50th anniversary of academic excellence at the University of Pittsburgh and to recognize distinguished SHRS alumni on their career achievements. ...

Andrew Sprague, assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, was recently awarded $645,053 by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases for a five-year project titled, “Graft harvest as a model of tendon injury: Trajectory of recovery and clinical outcomes.” Below, he explains the study and its importance to future tendon injury patients. ...

This past December, Kelsey Watters crossed the stage as one of the first graduates of the University of Pittsburgh’s online Doctor of Clinical Science in Occupational Therapy (CScD) program --a program that began strategizing her success years ago.