Stephanie Combs, PT, PhD, NCS

Stephanie Combs is an assistant professor. She teaches in the areas of neurological rehabilitation and movement science in the professional Doctor of Physical Therapy program and in the postprofessional program. Stephanie was the 2010 KSPT Teacher of the Year, and received the 2010 UIndy Faculty Achievement Award for KSPT.

Stephanie earned a PhD in Interdisciplinary Health Studies. Her doctoral dissertation focused on the effects of body weight support treadmill training on multiple dimensions of recovery in persons with chronic stroke. In 2008, Stephanie was awarded the Western Michigan University Interdisciplinary Health Science Department and All University Graduate Research and Creative Scholars Award.

Stephanie’s research interests involve investigating the effects of interventions that apply principles of motor control and motor learning for individuals with neurologic dysfunctions, and examining biomechanical characteristics of movement patterns associated with gait and reaching in order to develop a better understanding of recovery and compensatory adaptations in persons with chronic stroke.  Stephanie has published her research in the areas of rehabilitation for persons with stroke and Parkinson’s disease and has presented her work at international and national scientific conferences. She was awarded a grant from the Parkinson’s Awareness Association of Indiana (2010-2011) and a 2009 InQuery grant for the study, “a comparison of non-contact boxing training and traditional therapeutic exercise on functional outcomes in persons with Parkinson's disease”. Stephanie was also awarded a 2010 Research/Creative Endeavors Program grant for the study, “Comparison of Short-Bursts of Body Weight Supported Treadmill Training versus Overground Walking Training in Participants with Chronic Stroke.”

Stephanie is a board-certified clinical specialist in neurologic physical therapy. Stephanie is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association and the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. She serves as a member of the regional conference committee of the Neurology Section of the APTA.

She has experience working with adults and children with neurological dysfunction in the clinical arenas of acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, home care, and outpatient rehabilitation.

Congratulations to Stephanie! She and Margaret Finley received a 2011 UIndy InQuery Collaborative Grant for the modification and beta testing of a novel therapeutic exercise for improving upper extremity motor function in persons with chronic stroke.

Research participants are needed for study to examine the differences between two different modes of walking training for people with chronic stroke.

Click to view Stephanie's publications.