Dr. Chad E. Cook, PT, PhD, MBA, FAAOMPT

Professor Chad Cook is a clinical researcher, physical therapist, and profession advocate with a history of clinical care excellence and service. His passions include refining and improving the patient examination process and validating tools used in day-to-day physical therapist practice. He has authored or co-authored three textbooks, including the influential Orthopedic Physical Examination Tests: An Evidence-Based Approach, has published over 315 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and has received or currently has funding with the NIH, Department of Defense, and the VA. He lectures internationally on orthopedic examination, manual therapy, and treatment and is currently the Director of Research Facilitation at the Department of Orthopaedics and the Director of the Center for Excellence in Manual and Manipulative Therapy at Duke University in the United States. Chad is a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the APTA and is a multi-award winner in research, teaching, and service.

Professor Jill Cook

Jill Cook is an Emeritus Professor in musculoskeletal health in the La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre at La Trobe University in Melbourne Australia. Jill’s research areas include sports medicine, ballet, and tendon injury including tendon pathology, treatment options and risk factors for tendon injury.

Sharon Dunn, PT, PhD

Sharon Dunn, PT, PhD, is the Dean of the School of Allied Health Professions and Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences at LSU Health Shreveport. She graduated in 1987 with a BS in PT from LSU, and was a gradual student through 2006, when she earned her PhD in Cellular Biology and Anatomy, also from LSU Health Shreveport. Sharon’s research interests include conservative clinical approaches to the management of common musculoskeletal conditions and translational research of applied mechanical loading to healing tissue to determine dosing effects the ultimate functional and biomechanical tissue integrity. Dr. Dunn previously served on the PT faculty and as program director, teaching professional issues, anatomy, biomechanics, and orthopaedic PT. Her clinical practice and board specialty is in the area of orthopaedics. Throughout her career, Dr. Dunn has been professionally engaged in efforts to promote public policies to enhance the public’s access to high quality health services and excellence in practice delivery. She is a past-president of the American Physical Therapy Association and has significant experience in health policy and collaborative approaches to health delivery. She advocates for a team-based approach and patient-centered management for better health in our communities.

Christine Goertz, D.C., Ph.D.

Christine Goertz, D.C., Ph.D. is a Professor in Musculoskeletal Research at the Duke Clinical Research Institute and Vice Chair for Implementation of Spine Health Innovations in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Duke University School of Medicine. She is also founder and Chief Executive Officer of the not-for-profit Spine Institute for Quality and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Epidemiology within the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa. Formerly she was Vice Chancellor of Research and Health Policy at Palmer College of Chiropractic, where she directed the largest center for chiropractic research in the United States, and a program official at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Goertz received her Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree and certificate to practice acupuncture from Northwestern Health Sciences University in 1991 and her Ph.D. in Health Services Research, Policy and Administration from the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota in 1999. Her 30-year research career has been devoted to working with multi-disciplinary teams to design and implement clinical and health services research studies that increase knowledge regarding the effectiveness and cost of complementary and integrative health practices, with a focus on patient-centered, non-pharmacological treatments for spine-related disorders. Dr. Goertz has received more than $35M in federal funding as either principal investigator or co-principal investigator, primarily from NIH and the Department of Defense, and co-authored over 120 peer-reviewed papers. She currently serves as a Member of the Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (IPRCC), the Bone and Joint Initiative Low Back Pain Task Force and is Chairperson of the Board of Governors for the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

Professor Laurie Hartman

Laurie Hartman is Associate Professor of Osteopathic Technique at the British School of Osteopathy, and has been teaching osteopathic and manipulative technique and manual therapy since 1964. He is in great demand internationally and has taught and lectured in 17 different countries with osteopaths, physiotherapists, medical manipulative groups and chiropractors.

Professor Hartman’s development of classical BSO techniques has been a major force in bringing awareness of osteopathic methods to a world-wide audience.

Dr. Greg Kawchuk BSc, DC, MSc, PhD

Dr. Greg Kawchuk BSc, DC, MSc, PhD is a full professor in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Alberta. Greg is a Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College graduate (1990) who practiced chiropractic for 15 years in multidisciplinary settings before earning his PhD in bioengineering and becoming a full-time researcher. He was the recipient of the first chiropractic research chair in Canada and in 2004, was recruited to the University of Alberta as the Canada Research Chair in Spinal Function. Dr. Kawchuk’s research interests are focused on back pain and spine function. His work spans basic science, clinical trials and implementation. Competitive awards from major provincial, national and international funding agencies support Dr. Kawchuk’s work and include CIHR, NSERC, and NIH. To date, his work has resulted in over 150 papers, the most recent of which have been published in Scientific Reports and PLOS One. Dr. Kawchuk is a founding member of CARL, the Chiropractic Academy for Research Leadership, a global mentoring program for early-career scientists and is presently leading the new GLA:D Back initiative in Canada.

Dan Rhon, PT, DPT, DSc, PhD, OCS, FAAOMPT

Dr. Dan Rhon retired from active federal service as a medical officer in the US Army after 20 years. He is a Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He is also the Director of the Musculoskeletal Research in Primary Care Program at Brooke Army Medical Center. He received his Masters in Physical Therapy and Doctor of Science Degrees from Baylor University. He received his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Temple University, and his PhD from the University of Newcastle. He completed a a manual therapy fellowship at Brooke Army Medical Center and a research postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Utah. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Research Award from the US Army Medical Specialist Corps, a 2-time Rose Award recipient for Excellence in Research from the APTA, and also a recipient of the Eugene Michaels New Investigator Award from the APTA. His research interests revolve around the identification and implementation of optimal care pathways for musculoskeletal pain disorders.