Margaret Finley, PT, PhD

Margaret Finley is an assistant professor and Director of Research. Her doctoral research focused on scapular kinematics during wheelchair propulsion and activities of daily living.

She completed a Career Development Grant with the Veteran's Administration Rehabilitation Research Service investigating the effect of robotic assisted rehabilitation in persons with upper extremity impairments and continues as a co-investigator on a VA Rehabilitation Research Service Merit Review Grant on the Evaluation of Robot Assisted Neuro-Rehabilitation. Margaret received a 2010 InQuery grant for a study on the relationship of prosthetic socket design and gait function in Veterans with transfemoral amputations. This project is in collaboration with the Richard Roudecush VAMC. Her research has been funded by grants from the Veteran's Administration, NIH and Foundation of Physical Therapy.

She has published more than 30 research-based manuscripts and abstracts in the areas of wheelchair propulsion biomechanics, overuse syndromes in persons with disabilities and robotic-assisted rehabilitation outcomes. Dr. Finley has presented at international and national scientific meetings. She serves as a reviewer for numerous journals including Clinical Biomechanics, Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development. She is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association's orthopedic and research sections, as well as the American and International Societies of Biomechanics. And, Margaret was elected vice chair of the biomechanics special interest group of the APTA research section.

Her primary teaching responsibilities are in the professional DPT program directing the research track and teaching clinical skills, biomechanics and  research methodology. In the postprofessional program, she teaches clinical research and serves as a chair and committee member to numerous juried projects.

Congratulations to Margaret! She and Stephanie Combs 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.

Click to view Dr. Finley's publications.