DPT - PhD in Bioengineering Program awarded NIH T32 Training Grant

A new grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will support students pursuing both their doctoral degree in physical therapy and a PhD in bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh.

The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) - PhD in Bioengineering program, a collaboration between the Swanson School of Engineering and the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS), has been awarded a NIH T32 training grant. Co-directed by Rakié Cham, professor of bioengineering, and Patrick Sparto, professor of physical therapy, the five-year grant offers annual funding for students to integrate a physical therapy education with bioengineering research training, training clinician-scientists to be leaders in rehabilitation research. 

"Whether our trainees ultimately go into physical therapy or bioengineering in their career, this program allows them to become better clinical researchers." Cham said. "A physical therapist with strong technical skills can tackle the right research questions, and an engineer with clinical training will better understand what's relevant to patients."

Students begin the dual-degree program by pursuing their DPT at SHRS in the Department of Physical Therapy, then transitioning to a research lab of their choice to obtain a PhD in Bioengineering. Throughout both the DPT and PhD curriculum, trainees funded by this grant will complete integrated clinical and bioengineering research training, including mentored research, lab rotations, seminars, clinical practice, and teaching experience. 

“This is a great opportunity for both faculty and students.” Sparto said. “The potential pool of PhD advisors expands, because advisors know upfront that a student already has two years of support, allowing more freedom for our students to pursue their research interests and helping our faculty plan ahead when taking on a new student.”

The grant will support each student with one year of tuition during their DPT education, two years of support toward their PhD studies, and an additional stipend to help cover cost of living expenses. 

“We have a wonderful group of participating faculty with a variety of diverse research programs and experience that students can go into, and our alumni have gone on to be really successful in their careers and with postdoctoral fellowships.” Sparto said. “I think these outcomes have really helped to demonstrate the power of funding a program like this to benefit our students.”