Michele Sterling

PhD, MPhty, BPhty, FACP, (Australia)

Michele Sterling is Professor in the Recover Injury Research Centre, Program Lead of the Musculoskeletal Injuries research program and Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) in Road Traffic Injury Recovery all at The University of Queensland, Australia. She is a Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist and a Fellow of the Australian College of Physiotherapists. Michele’s research focusses on the mechanisms underlying the development of chronic pain after injury, predictive algorithms for outcomes and developing effective interventions for musculoskeletal injury and pain. She has conducted numerous cohort studies and clinical trials investigating the effectiveness of various treatments and their combinations including exercise, psychological treatments, manual therapies and multidisciplinary care. She has received over $13M in research funding from the NHMRC, ARC and industry partners. She has editorial roles with several leading journals and textbooks, and has over 200 peer-reviewed publications. Michele is an elected member of the leadership Council of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP).

Matthew Smuck

MD

Dr. Matthew Smuck is the Chief of PM&R and Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Stanford University. He is also the Medical Director of Rehabilitation Services for Stanford Healthcare where he specializes in the comprehensive conservative management of spine disorders. He is a physician leader and current Vice President of the Spine Intervention Society (SIS), and has served on the Board of Directors of the North American Spine Society (NASS) and the Foundation for PM&R. Dr. Smuck is also an award-winning researcher who pioneered the new field of physical performance monitoring. He directs the Wearable Health Lab at Stanford, investigating medical applications of mobile technology to improve musculoskeletal and neurologic disease detection, treatment and prevention. His work is recognized by numerous research society awards and publication awards, including the ISSLS Medtronic Award in 2012, the American Academy of PM&R’s 2014 President’s Citation Award, the PM&R Journal’s 2015 Best Original Research Award, the 2016 ISSLS Prize, and The Spine Journal’s Annual Outstanding Paper Award in 2013, 2016, 2017 & 2018.

Jan Dommerholt

PT, DPT

Dr. Jan Dommerholt is a Dutch-trained physical therapist who holds a Master of Professional Studies degree with a concentration in both Biomechanical Trauma and Healthcare Administration from Lynn University, and a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences.  Dr. Dommerholt has taught hundreds of courses and lectured at over 60 conferences throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East while maintaining an active clinical practice. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies and is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy, Cuestiones de Fisioterapia, and the Journal of Invasive Therapies in Physical Therapy. He has published 5 books, nearly 80 book chapters and over 130 articles. Jan is president/CEO of Myopain Seminars and Bethesda Physiocare in Bethesda, MD. His early career mentors included Drs. Janet Travell, David Simons, Robert Gerwin, Richard S. Materson, Karel Lewit, and Peter Baldry, among others.

Larry Benz

DPT, OCS, MBA

Dr. Larry Benz, DPT, OCS, MBA, MAPP, is the President/CEO of Confluent Health. He is nationally recognized for his expertise in private practice physical therapy and occupational medicine. Dr. Benz’s current areas of interest include conducting research and integrating empathy, compassion, and positive psychology interventions within physical therapy. He will be releasing a book in the near future, Called to Care, that highlights this research.

With over 175 invited presentations to PT programs, national conferences, and MBA programs throughout the country, Dr. Benz has been on APTA’s Advisory Panel on Practice and The Board of the American Board of Physical Therapy and was a Trustee and Chairman with The University of Louisville. He is currently a Trustee with the Foundation for Physical Therapy. He is the recipient of numerous business and physical therapy awards including the Kentucky Physical Therapy’s Outstanding Physical Therapists award and Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year for his region. His foundation is the co-developer of Jacmel Rehabilitation in Haiti which can be found at PThelpforHaiti.org.

Stephen Schmidt

PT, MPhysio, OCS, FAAOMPT

Steve is a physical therapist with over twenty years of experience treating patients with chronic pain and movement dysfunction. His interests in manual therapy, neurology, pain neuroscience and movement impairments led him to pursue a diverse range of training opportunities including two different year-long manual therapy courses, the 6-month program in Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) and a Masters of Physiotherapy (Manipulative Physiotherapy) in Adelaide at the University of South Australia. He currently works at the Kaiser Foundation Rehabilitation Center treating patients with neurological impairments, teaching in the PNF program and serving as adjunct faculty at Samuel Merritt University. He is a Fellow in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists, a board certified specialist in orthopaedic physical therapy and is an instructor with the International Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Association (IPNFA). He has taught numerous seminars for the Neuro Orthopaedic Institute (NOI), the International Spine and Pain Institute (ISPI) and is faculty for the ISPI/EIM Pain Specialty Certification Program.

Paul Mintken

PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT

Paul has taught musculoskeletal content for the past 15 years. His active research agenda focuses on conservative care for musculoskeletal disorders as well as spinal and extremity manipulation and dry needling. Paul is currently an Associate Professor for the University of Colorado Physical Therapy Program, on the faculty at Evidence in Motion, Lead Clinician at the Wardenburg Health Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Adjunct Faculty for the Regis University Fellowship in Orthopaedic Manual Therapy.