Skip to main content

A physical therapist (PT) educator with more than 2 decades of education experience and more than 40 research publications has been selected as APTA's 2018 Visiting Scholar.

Mary Jane K. Rapport, PT, DPT, PhD, FAPTA, has been selected as the recipient of the APTA Early-Investigator Research Fellowship. Rapport will spend her sabbatical year focusing on research related to physical therapy education and its impact on professional behaviors, clinical decision making, and/or clinical outcomes. Her responsibilities also will include other activities in support of research-related programs at APTA.

Rapport is a professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where she also is director of the pediatric physical therapy residency program. With a background that includes extensive publications on topics ranging from pediatric physical therapy to PT education and development of the physical therapy workforce, Rapport brings firsthand knowledge of the research landscape.

"This is an important time for investigations into clinical education in physical therapy, and Dr Rapport will play a key role in helping APTA contribute to the body of knowledge that will guide the evolution of education programs," said Robyn Watson Ellerbe, PhD, APTA's vice president of research. "We are excited to have an investigator of such a high caliber join the APTA team."


You Might Also Like...

Article

Physical Therapy in the News: February 2026

Mar 4, 2026

"Physical Therapy in the News" is a monthly series that highlights recent media coverage of the profession and APTA members.

Article

APTA CSM Attendees Amplify PT For Future Me, Sharing Messages to 80,000+

Mar 3, 2026

From their first steps to their golden years, Americans want to live longer, healthier lives. Yet, according to APTA's latest consumer research report,

News

Rural Health Care Workforce Shortages Highlighted in Congressional Hearing

Feb 25, 2026

This week, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, through which most legislation affecting Medicare and Medicaid passes, held a hearing titled