Foundation NIFTI Award to Fund Promising Research Fellowship

Brian Loyd, PT, DPT, PhD, first began his clinical research career while completing a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. This work helped him gain experience in acquiring funding and producing a peer-reviewed manuscript.

After earning his DPT, Loyd began his PhD program in rehabilitation science at the University of Colorado Anschultz Medical Campus with a focus on improving function and recovery in mobility limited populations. During his PhD training, Loyd was a contributing or first author on 7 peer-reviewed publications and the first author on 9 peer-reviewed conference abstracts. He completed this work under the mentorship of Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley, PT, PhD.

Recently, Loyd was awarded a $100,000 Foundation for Physical Therapy Research New Investigator Fellowship Training Initiative (NIFTI). The NIFTI supports postprofessional, doctorally prepared physical therapists as they begin their research careers.

“I will use the award funding to support my project focused on characterizing laboratory, clinical, and community-based outcomes in people with unilateral vestibular hypofunction,” said Loyd. “Receiving the NIFTI will give me an outstanding start in my early career and help my transition into becoming an independent researcher.”

During his fellowship he will work under the dual mentorship of Lee Dibble, PT, PhD, Professor at University of Utah’s Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training, and Michael Schubert, PT, PhD, FAPTA, Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

“As researchers and clinicians, we rely upon laboratory and clinically based outcomes that may fail to capture changes in a patient’s participation and community-based performance, “said Loyd. “This study will provide a comprehensive assessment of the impact unilateral vestibular loss has on community-based performance and determine how well laboratory and clinical outcomes represent true community level participation.”

The 2019 NIFTI award is supported through the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Scholarship Fund. APTA is the Foundation’s Pinnacle Partner in Research.

Loyd’s additional honors and awards include a 2016 APTA CSM Marilyn Gossman Graduate Student Research Award, a 2017 Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy Fellowship in Geriatric Research Award, and a 2013 Foundation for Physical Therapy Research Florence P. Kendall Scholarship.

Select Foundation Grants and Scholarships Awarded