Application Review Process

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How Applications are Reviewed

The independent Scientific Review Committee (SRC) is responsible for peer-reviewing applications for Foundation funding. Members are appointed by the Board of Trustees and serve as volunteers for three-year terms. The committee is comprised of physical therapy researchers who collectively have the range of expertise and experience across all the types of funding the Foundation offers.

The SRC reviews and scores applications for four types of funding that the Foundation offers each year: the Promotion of Doctoral Studies scholarships, the Postdoctoral Fellowship, the letters of intent for our Magistro Family Foundation and two Paris Patla research grants, and for all research grants being offered each year.

The Research Committee, a standing committee of the Board, considers the SRC review scores and makes recommendations for awards based on best scores. The full Board then makes final decisions on all awards. The Board reserves the right not to make an award.

Application Review Process

Submit Application on ProposalCentral

All applications must be submitted through the Foundation’s account on ProposalCentral.

Applications Checked for Compliance

The Foundation checks all submitted applications for eligibility, completeness, and for fully meeting all application requirements. Ones that are not fully compliant are triaged and are not assigned to the SRC for review.

SRC Review and Scoring

Remaining applications are matched to appropriately expert primary and secondary SRC reviewers who independently evaluate and score their assigned applications. The SRC aligns its review criteria and scoring with NIH’s. These two scores are then averaged to produce the initial peer-review score.

After this first review round, applications not meeting the scoring cut off are triaged from further consideration. Remaining applications with qualifying scores are discussed by the SRC in online review meetings. Members discuss and then cast scores. The average of those post-discussion scores becomes the application’s final score.

Research Committee Selects Applications to Recommend

The best scoring applications are presented to the Board’s Research Committee, which recommends the best-scoring application(s) to the full Board which makes final decisions on which applications are to be provisionally awarded funding.

Award Decisions

The Board of Trustees reviews Research Committee recommendations and makes the final decisions on all awards.

Funding Announcements

The Foundation notifies all applicants of whether they have been successful or not prior to making a public announcement. Review comments and scores are available for applications that went through at least the initial peer-review round.

Meet the Scientific Review Committee Members

Scientific Review Committee members are appointed by the Board of Trustees to provide independent and expert peer reviewing of applications for Foundation funding. It is comprised of physical therapy researchers with experience preparing physical therapists and physical therapist assistants for research careers and with experience conducting successful and impactful physical therapy research themselves.

Murray Maitland, PT, PhD, FAPTA – Chair

University of Washington

Sandra Kaplan, PT, DPT, PhD, FAPTA

Rutgers University School of Health Professions

Sean Rundell, PT, DPT, PhD

University of Washington

Amy Bailes, PT, PhD

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Division of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy

Valerie E. Kelley, PT, MS, PhD

University of Washington

Richard Severin PT, DPT, PhD, CCS

University of Illinois Chicago

D. Michele Basso, EdD, PT

The Ohio State University, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Anne Kloos, PT, PhD

The Ohio State University

Bahar Shahidi, PT, DPT, PhD

University of California San Diego

Mark Bowden, PT, PhD

Brooks Rehabilitation

Amit Kumar, BPhT, MPH, PhD

University of Utah, College of Health

Andrew Smith, PT, DPT, PhD

University of Colorado School of Medicine
Anschutz Medical Campus

Garrett Scott Bullock, PT, DPT, PhD

Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Trevor Lentz, PT, MPT, PhD

Duke University School of Medicine

Beth Smith, PT, DPT, PhD

University of Southern California

Jason Falvey, PT, DPT, PhD

University of Maryland, Baltimore

Phil McClure, PT, PhD, FAPTA

Arcadia University, Health Sciences Center

Jill Stewart, PT, PhD

University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health

Hui-Ting Goh, PT, PhD

Texas Women’s University

Noelle Moreau, PT, PhD

Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center

Liang-Ching Tsai, PT, PhD

Georgia State University

Tarang Jain, PT, PhD

Idaho State University

John Popovich, Jr, PT, DPT, ATC, PhD

Michigan State University

Catherine Quatman-Yates, PT, DPT, PhD

The Ohio State University, Wexner Medical Center, College of Medicine School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Lisa VanHoose, PT, MSPT, MPH, PhD, FAPTA

University of Louisiana School of Allied Health