Stephen E. Alway, PhD, FACSM, dean of the College of Health Professions at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has named Jeffrey Taylor PT, PhD, DPT, SCS,CSCS, chair of the Department of Physical Therapy. He will begin his new role in August.
Dr. Taylor will also serve as the director of the new UTHSC Human Performance Research and Clinical Care Laboratory that will be a part of the Division of Rehabilitation Sciences in the College of Health Professions.
“Dr. Taylor is a nationally recognized leader in physical therapy who has had significant clinical experience and success in research and funding in the area of human movement and sports injuries,” Dean Alway said. “He will provide outstanding energy for reshaping the Department of Physical Therapy and elevate its national visibility. We are delighted to recruit a leader of the caliber of Dr. Taylor to our college.”
He comes to UTHSC from High Point University in High Point, North Carolina, where he was an associate professor and director of Curriculum and Outcomes and the course director for the Movement Science curriculum for the Department of Physical Therapy. Prior to his faculty appointment, Dr. Taylor practiced for eight years as a physical therapist in general and sports medicine outpatient clinics in New York and Pennsylvania.
Dr. Taylor has an active research program in prevention and rehabilitation of lower-extremity athletic injuries and monitoring internal and external load in athletes during competition and rehabilitation. He has published 35 peer reviewed publications, with three manuscripts currently under review by various journals. He has presented his research at national and international scientific meetings and mentored undergraduate and graduate research students.
Dr. Taylor earned a Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences from the University of Delaware, a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Duke University, and a PhD in kinesiology with a concentration in applied neuromechanics from the University of North Carolina.