Faculty

Chair of the Department: Jennifer Collins, PT, MPA, EdD
Professor, Department of Health Science and Physical Therapy
Dr. Jennifer Collins has a bachelor's degree in physical therapy from Russell Sage College, a master's degree in public administration from the State University of New York at Brockport, a certificate in gerontology from St. John Fisher College and a doctoral degree in higher education from the University of Rochester. She has more than twenty five years of experience as a physical therapist with fifteen years in physical therapist education, and is a tenured faculty member at Nazareth.

Her areas of interest for teaching are psychosocial aspects of disability, gerontology, developmental disabilities, management, and education. Her research interests are primarily qualitative in the areas of PT education, professionalism and professional development, functional mobility in older adults, and home health care. She is active in professional activities at the local, state, and national level and is currently Secretary of the New York State Physical Therapy Association (NYPTA) serving as a member of the Executive Committee.

She is an APTA Trainer for its Clinical Instructor and Credentialing and Advanced Clinical Instructor Courses. She is an item writer for the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy. Dr. Collins has presented several research studies at national meetings in higher education and physical therapy, most recently in the student professional development at the 2007 World Congress of Physical Therapy (WCPT) in Vancouver, BC.

Assistant Professor: Andrew Bartlett, PT

Andrew S. Bartlett I graduated from Utica College of Syracuse University in Physical Therapy in 1997. Prior to achieving my Physical Therapy degree I obtained a BS in Therapeutic Recreation and a Masters in Public Administration. I am currently working towards to my PhD in Physical Therapy from Nova Southeastern University. In addition to teaching part time within Nazareth's Physical Therapy Department, I practice full time at Visiting Nurse Services, a home health agency.

Associate Professor: Connie Chau, PT, PhD
Dr. Connie Chau's main research interest is motor control with an emphasis on neurophysiology and neuropharmacology. She received her undergraduate and graduate training from McGill University where she earned a BS in physical therapy and an MS in rehabilitation science. She pursued her doctoral training in the Physiology Department, Center for Neurological Science, University of Montreal, Canada. Dr. Chau also undertook further training as a postdoctoral fellow to better understand the changes of receptors in the spinal cord after injury using autoradiographical techniques.

She has a keen interest in fundamental scientific research and the application of this research to humans. Her research goals are to conduct human studies based on findings from animal research and to develop potential treatment strategies in the rehabilitation of patients with neurological deficits. Dr. Chau is actively conducting studies of locomotion in both pediatric and adult populations using the Gaitrite anaylsis system. She will present her latest results on locomotion in normal 4 and 5 year old children in the upcoming APTA combined session meeting in San Diego, 2006.

She has also completed a pilot study investigating the combined effects of Physical Therapy and interactive treadmill training on the recovery of locomotion in chronic stroke patients. Currently, she is investigating the effects of body weight supported-treadmill training on chronic stroke patients. Dr. Chau has published articles in Journal of Neurophysiology, Progress in Brain research and Journal in Physiology. She has also co-authored book chapters on recovery of locomotion and spinal cord plasticity.

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Assistant Professor: Staffan Elgelid, PT, PhD, CFT, LMT

Staffan Elgelid has been a Physical Therapist for 20+ years. A native of Sweden and graduate of the University of Central Arkansas, Staffan has worked in a wide variety of settings, including owning his own clinics, and has presented at conferences on a wide variety of topics such as Guided Imagery, Healthy Aging, Mentoring, Awareness, Core Strengthening, and Feldenkrais, both in the US and in Europe.

Dr. Elgelid currently serves as the North American Representative for the International Feldenkrais Federation, is on the board of directors for the North American Feldenkrais Guild, is the Editor of The International Feldenkrais Federation on-line research journal; and is an Advisory Board member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists.

A former Nazareth professor, he has returned to teach in areas such as Soft Tissue Techniques, Health Promotion and Wellness, and a wide array of clinical courses.

Assistant Professor: Sara Gombatto, PT, PhD

Dr. Gombatto received her bachelors degree and masters degree in physical therapy from Ithaca College. After practicing in an orthopedic outpatient physical therapy clinic for several years, she pursued her doctoral degree in Movement Science in the Physical Therapy Program at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. During her doctoral training, she was awarded competitive doctoral training scholarships from the Foundation for Physical Therapy (PODS I & II, Barnes-Leahy Scholarship).

Dr. Gombatto’s areas of interest for teaching include kinesiology, musculoskeletal diagnosis and treatment, and research. Her primary area of interest for clinical practice and research is in the examination of treatment of musculoskeletal pain, and in particular low back pain. Her dissertation work focused on examining mechanisms underlying chronic/recurrent low back pain and this work has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as: Physical Therapy, Clinical Biomechanics, and Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She recently presented a portion of her dissertation research in poster format at the World Congress for Low Back and Pelvic Pain in Barcelona, Spain and will be presenting a poster at the APTA Combined Sections meeting in Nashville, TN in February 2008.

Currently, using the new 3-D motion capture system in the Physical Therapy Department, Dr. Gombatto is interested in extending on her doctoral work to examine the relationship between the movement patterns we observe during a clinical test and movement patterns displayed during functional activities in people with low back pain.

Associate Professor: Marcia Miller Spoto, PT, DC, OCS
Dr. Miller received a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from Daemen College in Amherst, New York and a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College in Davenport, Iowa. She is certified as an orthopedic specialist by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. Dr. Miller has over 25 years of clinical experience, with a practice focus in orthopedic conditions of the spine. She teaches in the areas of musculoskeletal diagnosis and treatment, differential diagnosis and kinesiology.

Her research interests are in the areas of physical therapy diagnosis and manual therapy education. She is the owner of STAR Physical Therapy in Fairport, NY, and has been active in promoting the interests of private practice in the Rochester area. She has served on several local committees, including the Blue Choice and Preferred Care physical therapy subcommittees, and was a founding member of the Rochester Physical Therapy Alliance. She has served as a consultant to Xerox Corporation in the development of a back school. Dr. Miller is a tenured faculty member and recently had a summer grant to develop a student manual for the kinesiology course that she teaches.

Director of Clinical Education: J. J. Mowder-Tinney PT, PhD
Dr. Mowder-Tinney is the Director of Clinical Education. Prior to this appointment, she taught at Nazareth College as an adjunct instructor providing many different areas of expertise including: Associate Director of Clinical Education, June 2004 to 2006, Rehabilitation Course Coordinator, Spring 2002, 2003 and 2004. She received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Colorado, Boulder and her Master of Science in Physical Therapy from University of Miami in Florida. She is currently a doctoral candidate in physical therapy at NOVA Southeastern University.

In addition she is a member of the American Academy of Wound Management, Fellow, Certified Wound Specialist, American Physical Therapy Association, and a Neurology Certified Specialist. Dr. Mowder-Tinney’s research interests include: balance and falls assessment, neurological interventions, including an on-going case report of high-level spinal cord injury. She has served on many professional committees related specifically to spinal cord injury rehabilitation, wound care, and adaptive seating.

Assistant Professor: Mary Ellen Vore, PT, MS
Mary Ellen Vore received a BS degree in physical education from the State University of New York College at Brockport, and a MS degree in physical therapy from D'Youville College in Buffalo, NY. She is a doctoral candidate in physical therapy at NOVA Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She has experience as a clinical practitioner in the areas of orthopedic, acute care, prevention and wellness.

Her current research focus includes investigating critical thinking skills of physical therapy students and efficacy of modalities. Ms. Vore serves as the Vice Chair and a Delegate Assembly member for the Finger Lakes District of the New York Physical Therapy Association. She is also a member of the Ethics Committee for the New York Physical Therapy Association.

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Associated Faculty

Kate Eichinger, PT, NCS
Kate Eichinger received her masters degree in Physical Therapy from Springfield College in Massachusetts. She has 10 years of clinical experience in a variety of areas with the majority of it working with the neurologic population. She became a Neurologic Certified Specialist (NCS) in 2005 and is pursuing her transitional doctorate of Physical Therapy at Upstate Medical University. Kate has taught in the Neurologic/Rehabilitation courses at Nazareth College and Ithaca College. Katy is an active member of the APTA. She has served the Finger Lakes district as a legislative liason in the past. She is currently the District Chair. Katy has also served as a delegate to the House of Delegates.

Donna Latoy, PT, MS
Ms. Latoy received her Associate's degree in business management from Alfred State University and her Master's degree in physical therapy from D’Youville College. She is a Certified McKenzie Specialist and certified in Complete Decongestive Therapist for the treatment of Lymphedema. Donna has been an adjunct instructor at Nazareth College for seven years. She has had fourteen years of clinical experience as a physical therapist in orthopedics and rehabilitation and is currently treating patients in the homecare and clinical setting.

She developed a golf specific evaluation and exercise program and treated several local golfers and golf pros for the enhancement of their game.She also created a lymphedema treatment program at Rochester Rehabilitation Center which included grant writing and marketing. She has presented information on the treatment of lymphedema to the radiation/oncology department at Rochester General Hospital and at the breast care conference at Strong Memorial Hospital. Donna continues to specialize in orthopedics, TMJ, treatment of the spine, and lymphedema which includes a large population of cancer patients. She is persuing her certification specialty in orthopedics this year.

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Mary Therese Novak, PT, MBA
Mary Therese Novak has been an Adjunct Instructor in the Physical Therapy Department at Nazareth College since 1998. She received her BS in Physical Therapy from Russell Sage College in 1985 and her MBA in Health Systems Administration from Union College in 1990. She also taught in the Physical Therapy programs at SUNY Health Science Center in Syracuse, NY and Russell Sage College in Troy, NY prior to joining the Nazareth faculty. Her clinical experience is primarily in outpatient orthopedics.

Andrew Opett, MSPT
Andrew Opett received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from SUNY Geneseo (1996), a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Sciences from Nazareth College (2000), and a Master of Science degree in Physical Therapy from Nazareth College (2001). Andrew is currently employed at STAR Physical Therapy in Fairport. He has a special interest in orthopedic manual therapy and aquatic therapy. His has attended continuing education courses including Proprioception and Dynamic Stabilization for the Lower Extremities, Mulligan Concepts and Techniques, and Differential Diagnosis in Physical Therapy. Andrew is also an adjunct professor of human anatomy in the Department of Biology at Monroe Community College.

Annette M. Willgens, PT, MA
Annette has been an adjunct to the Nazareth College Faculty for 3 years with expertise in the area of Pediatrics and Neurology. She has been a Pediatric Physical Therapist for 16 years and has a Master’s degree in Developmental Disabilities from NYU. In addition to teaching, Annette is interested in hippotherapy and is persuing Level 2 certification and clinical specialty in this area.

Brianne Young, MSPT

Brianne received a Bachelor of Health Science degree from Nazareth College (2002), a Master of Science degree in Physical Therapy also from Nazareth College (2003), and a transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Scranton (2006). She is currently employed at Lifetime Care, a home health company in Rochester, but also spent 3 years at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester working in pediatrics. She has an interest in pediatrics especially in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, and pediatric oncology. She has attended continuing education courses including Pediatric Myofascial Release, Pediatric Seating and BART Pediatric Massage.