Michelle M. Lusardi, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Faculty Emerita
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Professional Interests
Professional Interests- Balance and falls, physical frailty in later life
- Functional Assessment of older adults
- Neurological Rehabilitation, Prosthetics and Orthotics
- Family systems and family development
Degrees & Certifications
- DPT, MGH Institute of Health Professions 2010
- Ph.D., Family Studies/Gerontology, University of Connecticut 1993
- MS, Allied Health/Education, University of Connecticut 1987
- BS, Physical Therapy, SUNY Downstate Medical Center 1976
Teaching Responsibilities
- Consultation for semester 2 (neurological physical therapy), semester 3 (prosthetics) and semester 4 (spinal cord injury) of the DPT program
- Consultation for the graduate certificate in Geriatric Health & Wellness
Research Interests & Grants
Past Editor in Chief, Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy; Wolters Kluwer/LWW; official publication of the Section on Geriatrics, American Physical Therapy Association
Principle Investigator: Functional Performance in Community Living Older Adults: 12 month follow up. University Creativity and Research Grant, Sacred Heart University, June 2002-June 2003. ($3,100).
Principle Investigator: Functional Performance in Community Living Older Adults: A Normative Study. Connecticut Physical Therapy Association Research Grant, January 2002-June 2002. ($1,750).
Project Director, Geriatric Rehabilitation: Education and Advanced Training (GREAT) Initiative. DHHS/BHPr, Allied Health Program. July 2001-June 2004. (#D37 HP00808) ($350,000)
Advisory Committee and Conference Planning Group member. RA Wong, Project Director. Evidence Based Health Care in Geriatric Rehabilitation, Marymount University, Arlington VA. March 2001. DHHS/Agency for Health Care Policy & Research.
Hersher Foundation Faculty Grant: Incorporating Content on Ethics into an Undergraduate Course: Frailty and Chronic Illness in Later Life, June 2000 ($1500)
Faculty Fellow, Collegium: a Colloquy of Faith and Intellectual Life, Fairfield University, June 1999.
Project Director, Technical & Educational Resources for Community Outreach in the Elders 2000 Project, Connecticare Fund 1998-1999 ($4,925)
Project Director, Elders 2000: An interdisciplinary Team Approach to Educational Opportunities in Geriatric Rehabilitation. Allied Health Project Grant (#1 D37 AH00616), DHHS, September 1997 - August 2000 ($336,000)
Co-Investigator and site coordinator, “PREHAB” sub-study (sensitivity and predictive validity of the Continuous Scale-Physical Functional Performance Test in frail older adults) National Institute on Aging, Gill T, & Tinetti M (Principle Investigators), Yale University School of Medicine, 1998-2000.
Co-Investigator and site coordinator: Utility of a novel performance-based measure of physical function in studies of promising intervention programs. Novartis Foundation for Gerontological Research. Gill T, & Tinetti M (Principle Investigators) Yale University School of Medicine 4/99-3/00
Consultant, Intervention Development Team, “DRIVER” Intervention Development Grant, National Institute on Aging, Tinetti M & Marottoli R (Investigators), Gottschalk M (Intervention Coordinator). Yale Medical School. 1998-2000.
Research Fellow, National Institute on Aging/Brookdale Foundation Summer Institute on Research in Aging, Airlie House, VA, July 15-22, 1995
Awards & Fellowships
- Dean’s Leadership Award, College of Health Professions, Sacred Heart University, April 2012
- Dean’s Leadership Award, College of Education & Health Professions, May 2010
- Dorothy E. Carlin-Eleanor J. Carlin Award for Excellence in Academic Teaching, American Physical Therapy Association 2006
- Distinguished Educator Award, Section on Geriatrics, American Physical Therapy Association, 2003
- Joan Mills Award for Exceptional Contributions, Section on Geriatrics, American Physical Therapy Association 2001