SLU Program in Physical Therapy Welcomes PhD Student Samantha Price, PT, DPT, to the Integrated Applied Sciences – Health Sciences Program

Hello, my name is Samantha Price. I will be a PhD student within the Integrated Applied Sciences – Health Sciences program at Saint Louis University. I received my bachelor’s degree in human health sciences, pre-physical therapy at the University of Kentucky, and my doctorate in physical therapy at the University of Dayton. I have since been working clinically as a neurodevelopmental physical therapist at Dayton Children’s Hospital. Additionally, I have 5 years experience working in biomechanics/motion analysis labs and am so excited to get started on this new journey.

Pursuing a PhD at SLU with a focus in lower extremity biomechanics and motion analysis will enable me to deepen my current knowledge/training as well as achieve my long-term goals. These goals include becoming an independent researcher with aspirations of becoming a lab director and securing a physical therapy faculty position. This specific PhD program creates more autonomy in program setup and will prepare me to become a well-rounded, collaborative researcher. Furthermore, the overall message of the university including a call to service and focus on God is very important to me. 

I was initially introduced to Dr. Pat Corrigan’s research as a third year PT student as he presented at our research symposium. After being connected through a mutual professor, I quickly found that our research interests and previous training in biomechanics align. More importantly, I am eager to challenge my current research knowledge through investigating musculoskeletal pathologies with ultrasound, working with epidemiological data, exploring motor learning during functional tasks, and adding the additional avenue of pediatric orthopedic injuries.  

As a current physical therapist, I am constantly searching for evidence-based treatment methods to produce the best patient outcomes. Practicing in pediatrics, these questions commonly come up short due to the lack in current research. As a result of my previous training in motion analysis orthopedics along with my current focus in neurodevelopmental pediatrics, I frequently utilize all aspects of physical therapy specialties to treat the whole person. Having both clinical experience and working to grow in my knowledge of biomechanics will uniquely position me to become an expert in pediatric treatment methods.