The School of Applied Physiology at the Georgia Institute of
Technology (Georgia Tech), Atlanta, Georgia, has announced the
introduction of the world’s first O&P PhD program. The PhD in
Applied Physiology, Focus in Prosthetics and Orthotics program,
will prepare students to become leading-edge academicians and
research investigators in general rehabilitation medicine and
specifically in orthotics and prosthetics, according to Georgia
Tech. The program will accept three students per year in a
collaboration with Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering and nearby
Emory University’s school of medicine. Robert Gregor, PhD, the
program’s director, describes the program as “interdisciplinary
education and research in biomechanics and the physiological basis
of movement control.” According to a university press release, “the
flexible curriculum with a series of required and elective classes
is designed to accommodate basic undergraduate preparation in
engineering and the lifesciences as well as pre-professional
applicants and post-professional applicants in the fields of
medicine, prosthetics/orthotics, as well as physical and
occupational therapy.”
