VALENTIN AND PABIAN named Chair of Departments

After serving as Associate School Director of the School of Kinesiology & Physical Therapy, Division Head & Program Director of the Division of Physical Therapy, and Professor of Physical Therapy — all at the University of Central Florida — Patrick Pabian, PT, DPT, PhD, accepted the position of chair and professor of the Physical Therapy department this summer.

And last winter, Virginia L. Valentin, DrPh, PA-C, was named chair and director of the Physician Assistant Studies department. Valentin previously served as a registered nurse, physician assistant, assistant and associate professor, and division chief. With more than 20 years of experience in healthcare and academia — along with a previous role as an Assistant Professor in UK’s Physician Assistant Studies Program — she most recently served as an Associate Professor and Chief of the Division of Physician Assistant Studies in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine. She was also the senior author on the PA Education Association’s Article of the Year, “Maximizing Black applicant matriculation in U.S. PA Programs.”

In the fall, Pabian was sworn on to the board of directors for the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT) at the Physical Therapy Education Leadership Conference.

The College of Health Sciences’ Professional Master of Science in Athletic Training Program (AT) has earned its initial accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE).

“The accreditation process allows for unlimited opportunity to grow, reflect, and plan,” said Johanna Hoch, PhD, ATC, and Program Director of the Professional Master of Science in Athletic Training. “Oddly enough, these are three of my favorite processes when tackling anything that I do. When I started here in 2017, the date of 2022 seemed so far away, and I can remember being so anxious for the time to get here. But the time flew — I think it was honestly the fastest five years of my life. And here we are today, announcing that we have received initial accreditation. I do hope that all of our readers can see my smile through these words.”

Hoch went on to note how it was an entire team of faculty, staff, clinicians and the Program’s Medical Director who made the achievement possible.

Brian Noehren, PT, PhD, FACSM and interim Associate Dean for Research and professor in the College of Health Sciences, is the latest recipient of the College’s Joseph Hamburg Professorship in Rehabilitation Sciences.

Noehren, who joined the faculty of the College of Health Sciences in 2009 as an Assistant Professor in the department of Physical Therapy, is currently the Director of the University of Kentucky Human Performance Lab/ BioMotion Lab. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2016 and to Professor in 2020.

Scott Lephart, Ph.D., dean of the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences, was honored because he was the primary author of the most cited paper published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine in 1997 (along with Danny M. Pincivero; Jorge L. Giraldo, M.D.; and Freddie H. Fu, M.D.). As such, the journal asked Lephart to provide a 10-minute presentation discussing his article, which they then posted on YouTube and Facebook.

The original paper — titled “The Role of Proprioception in the Management and Rehabilitation of Athletic Injuries” — has been cited more than 500 times since it was originally published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine in 1997.

Seth Hagan, a third-year student in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, has been named one of 11 national scholarship award winners for 2022 by the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions.

Hagan, 24, is a native of Goshen, Ky., and attends the DPT program at Kentucky’s Hazard campus. A former athlete at Centre College, he was naturally interested in neuroscience and biology, and on a study abroad trip to Uganda and Eastern Africa, he was able to observe their own medical techniques.

Joneen Lowman, PhD, CCC-SLP, and Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) received the Fellowship of the Association Award from the American SpeechLanguage-Hearing Association (ASHA).

Lowman is Project Director for LinKS, a Department of Education grant to train graduate CSD students in the use of telepractice with the school-age population, as well as the Director of the Center for Telehealth Education, Research and Outreach, including the interprofessional telehealth graduate certificate.

Twenty-five high schoolers were inducted into the Healthcare Diversity Program’s second year at Bryan Station High School.

The Diversity Healthcare Program provides support, mentors and enrichment activities, as the teens practice preparing a resume and interviewing for jobs. They also complete diversity training and can shadow UK graduate students, interact with healthcare teams, and immerse themselves in clinical settings.

Four people with ties to the College of Health Sciences were honored at the 31st Annual Lyman T. Johnson Awards Luncheon.

There were four nominees from the College, two from 2021 and two from 2022 — and all were honored because the event was unable to be held last year due to COVID.

Congratulations to Casey Carter, Geoffrey Staton, Jasa Harris and Mariah Morton.

Judith L. Page, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, has been named one of 14 University Research Professors.

The 2022-23 University Research Professorship Awards honor faculty members who have demonstrated excellence that addresses scientific, social, cultural and economic challenges in the Commonwealth, across the region and around the world.

In the summer, a special group of Physical Therapy graduates had a 50-year reunion — one that was actually 52 years in the making.

Seven of the original 12 students got together (with two on Zoom) to celebrate their class.

Three times the students tried to organize the event, and each time, the COVID pandemic provided a roadblock. But even a pandemic couldn’t keep these Wildcats from sharing their UKPT memories.