UofL neurosurgery professor earns national award from physical therapy group

UofL neurosurgery professor earns national award from physical therapy group

Andrea Behrman, Ph.D.

Andrea L. Behrman, Ph.D., has received the John H.P. Maley Lecture Award from the American Physical Therapy Association. The award honors APTA members who have made distinguished and sustained contributions to the professional of physical therapy and who possess acknowledged skills in the organization and presentation of written or oral communications. Behrman will present the John H.P. Maley lecture at the 2014 APTA Annual Meeting in Charlotte, N.C.

Behrman is a professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery and the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center at the University of Louisville. She also is co-director of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation NeuroRecovery Network.

The focus of her work is on clinical and research aspects of pediatric rehabilitation and neurorecovery as well as spinal cord injury recovery in pediatrics and adults. Behrman’s work is applied in a clinical setting at Frazier Rehab Institute’s Spinal Cord Injury Program and Pediatric NeuroRecovery Program, part of KentuckyOne Health.

Behrman is no stranger to accolades for her expertise. In 2009, she was honored as a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the APTA recognizing her contributions to advance the profession through leadership, influence, and achievements. Also in 2009, Behrman received the First Annual J. Brooks Brown Research Award, given to a researcher associated with Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla., who has demonstrated outstanding achievement and contribution to rehabilitation science and research. She also received Furman University’s Distinguished Alumni Award and the Neurology Section of APTA’s Research Award.

In 2008, Behrman was honored as the first recipient of the Duke University Physical Therapy Program Alumni Award for Clinical Practice. Her honors also include the Doctoral Research Award, given by the Foundation for Physical Therapy and the Marylou Barnes Doctoral Scholarship Award, given by APTA’s Neurology Section.

A co-founder of the Neurology Section’s Spinal Cord Injury Special Interest Group, she served as the SIG secretary from 2002-2004. She also served as Secretary of the Neurology Section from 1990-1994.

Behrman is a member of APTA’s Neurology, Pediatrics, and Research sections; the Society for Neuroscience; the American Spinal Injury Association; the Association of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals; and the International Society for Posture and Gait Research.