Chair Department of Physical Therapy
Program Director: Doctor of Physical Therapy

Contact Information
Office: Ricketts 210
Phone: 518-244-2056
Email: pohlp@sage.edu

Degree Information

PhD - University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
MS - University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
MS - Queens College, Flushing, NY
BS - Adelphi University, Garden City, NY

Title of dissertation: Changes with practice in the control of goal-directed aiming: effects of age and unilateral brain damage

Certifications

Licensure
Physical Therapy, State of California, #PT 11258, 1982 - present

Courses Taught

PTY 647: Analysis of the Professional Literature in Physical Therapy for the transitional DPT

Research

Research interests are in the area of stroke rehabilitation and cognitive interventions for adults with early Alzheimer's Disease

Recent Publications (2006 to present)

Kemper, S., McDowd, J., Pohl, P., Herman, R., & Jackson, S. (2006). Revealing language deficits following stroke: the cost of doing two things at once. Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, 13, 115-139.

Pohl, P. S., McDowd, J. M., Filion, D., Richards, L. G., & Stiers, W. (2006). Implicit learning of a motor skill after mild and moderate stroke. Clinical Rehabilitation, 20, 246-253.

Pohl, P. S., Froehlich-Grobe, K., McKiernan, B., Vacek, K. M., Donnelly, M., & Gaughan, J. G. (2006) Access to polling places in the 2004 Presidential election: the experience of one metropolitan Midwestern city. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 60, 404-408.

Pohl, P.S., McDowd, J.,M.,  Filion, D., Richards, L.G., Stiers, W., & Kluding, P. (2007). Task switching after stroke. Physical Therapy, 87, 66-73.

Boyd, L. A., Quaney, B. M., Pohl, P. S., & Winstein, C. J. (2007) Learning implicitly: effects of task and severity after stroke. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, 21,444-454.

Pohl, P. S., & McDowd, J. M. (2007). Guest Editors of Special Issue: Cognition and neurologic physical therapy. Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy, 31. Commentary pp 96-97.

Pohl, P. S. Motor learning. (2008). Topics in Neurology: In Touch Home Study Course. American Physical Therapy Association.  (Revision from original contribution in 1999)

Natarajan, P., Oelschlager, A., Agah, A., Pohl, P. S., Ahmed, S. O., & Liu, W. (2008). Current clinical practices in stroke rehabilitation: a regional pilot survey. Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 45, 841-849.

Billinger, S. A., Guo, L. X., Pohl, P.S., Kluding, P. M. (2010) Single Limb Exercise: Pilot Study of Physiological and Functional Responses to Forced Use of the Hemiparetic Lower Extremity. Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation, 17,128-139.

Pohl, P. S., Kemper, S., Siengsukon, C. F., Boyd, L., Vidoni, E., & Herman, R. E.  (in press). Older adults with and without stroke reduce cadence to meet the demands of talking. Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy.

Pohl, P. S., Kemper, S., Siengsukon, C. F., Boyd, L., Vidoni, E., & Herman, R. E.  (in press). Dual task demands of hand movements for adults with stroke: a pilot study. Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation.

Accomplishments

Awards
1999 - Fellow of the Stroke Council of the American Heart Association
2008 - Faculty Research Investigator Award, University of Kansas Medical Center

Current Grant Awards
Alzheimer's Association 2007-2010 (1 year extension), "Effects of delivery mode of cognitive intervention in early AD"

Allied Health Research Institute 2009-2010, "The influence of gender and marital status on outcomes and placement following stroke"

Research Presentations (2005 to present)

Abstract published
PS Pohl, S Kemper, L Boyd, C Siengsukon,, RE Herman, E Vidoni.  The cost of doing two things at once after stroke: deficits in ambulation, hand movements and speech. Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy (2007), Volume 31, p. 203.

Abstracts not published
Billinger, S. A., Lentz, A., Gajewski, B. J., & Pohl, P. S. Gender does not predict discharge functional independence measure after stroke. Research poster at International Stroke Conference, Los Angeles, CA, February 2011.

McDowd, J., Kanaan, S., & Pohl, P. Intensive individual cognitive training in Alzheimers Disease:  evidence for limited effects. Research poster at Gerontological Society of America national meeting, New Orleans, LA, November 2010

Balance and gait in adults with very mild Alzheimer's Disease: a pilot study .
Kanaan SF, Pohl PS. Research poster at Kansas Physical Therapy Association state meeting, Wichita, KS, April 2010.

Practice Effects on Task Switching in Adults with Early Alzheimer's Disease.  Kanaan S, McDowd J, Pohl PS. Research poster at Cognitive Aging Conference, Atlanta, GA, April 2010.

The cost of doing two things at once after stroke: deficits in ambulation, hand movements and speech. PS Pohl, S Kemper, L Boyd, C Siengsukon,, RE Herman, E Vidoni. Research poster at KUMC Faculty Research Day, Kansas City, KS, November  2007.

Task effects impact implicit learning after stroke. Boyd L, Quaney B, Lin J, Vidoni  E. Pohl PS, Winstein CJ. Research poster at Kansas City Area Life Sciences Research Day, Kansas City, MO, Spring 2005.

Membership in Professional Organizations

American Physical Therapy Association
American Physical Therapy Association Section on Geriatrics
American Physical Therapy Association Section on Education

Service

Director of Research, Neurology Section, American Physical Therapy Association, 2008-2009

Associate Editor, Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy (previously known as Neurology Report), 2001-present

Secretary of the Stroke Special Interest Group of the Neurology Section/ APTA, 2002 – 2005

Journal Reviewer

• Physical Therapy
• Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy
• Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy
• American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Clinical Rehabilitation
• Experimental Brain Research
• Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
• Journal of Gerontology
• Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development
• Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair
• Physical Therapy Case Reports