EPSIG x Research Panel: Diverse Pathways to Pelvic Health Research

Join the early professional special interest group as we discuss the diverse paths to pelvic health research. We will be interviewing a variety of researchers as they share their journeys into expanding the field of pelvic health and how you can get involved at any stage of your career.

The EPSIG will be hosting a panel of researchers in the pelvic health field. they will be discussing how they got into research, whether it be through formal academic training or mentorship. We will be interviewing a variety of researchers who took different paths towards their involvement in academic and clinical research.

• Participants will learn about the diverse pathways into pelvic health research (spoiler alert: you do not have to get a PhD!)
• Participants will be exposed to practical application of how to get involved with academy research
• Participants will learn more about how research is conducted and published to better understand clinical application of evidence-based practice

Speakers

• Rachel Worman, PT, DPT, PhD
• Laurel Proulx, PT, DPT, PhD, Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist
• Andrea Wood, PT, DPT, PhD(c) candidate, Board Certified Women's Health Clinical Specialist
• Jenny LaCross PT, DPT, PhD, ATC, CLT, Board Certified Women's Health Clinical Specialist

Rachel Worman, PT, DPT, PhD has been a licensed physical therapist (PT) in the United States for 17 years and has extensive dual training, clinical and teaching experience in both musculoskeletal and pelvic health physical therapy. She has worked as a musculoskeletal and pelvic health provider in the private outpatient setting and most recently held a senior physical therapy position as a pelvic health provider in the Women’s Health and Urology clinics of a large medical foundation in Northern California. She has held part-time and adjunct faculty positions at both the California State University (CSU) at Fresno and Sacramento, as well as a clinical lecturer position at the University of California (UC) at Davis School of Medicine, Division of Pain Medicine and currently serves as the inaugural chair of the Academy of Pelvic Health's new research committee. She received her Master of Physical Therapy (MPT) from CSU Fresno in 2007, and Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT) from the joint program at UC San Francisco and CSU Fresno in 2008. In 2019 she was awarded a full scholarship to attend the University of Queensland and in 2024 completed her Doctor of Philosophy under the advisory team of Professor Paul Hodges, PhD and Ryan Stafford, PhD. Her research challenges how pelvic health providers have previously considered pelvic health outcome measures and terminology across a myriad of pelvic health conditions in male, female, pediatric and transgender populations across the lifespan and forms a framework for future research in the field of pelvic health. Her innovative research further developed novel tools and methods necessary to objectively measure pelvic floor muscles.

Laurel Proulx , PT, DPT, PhD, Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist received her Doctor of Physical Therapy from Regis University and her PhD focusing on musculoskeletal impairments of persistent pelvic pain from Texas Woman’s University. Proulx is also a Board-Certified Orthopedic Specialist and is certified in Applied Functional Science and dry needling. She is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor at Baylor University. Clinically, her passion is exploring the biomechanical link between the hip, lower extremity, and core canister to the pelvic floor while also implementing pain science principles for those with complex pelvic pain presentations. She loves getting people back to what they love without pain, leakage or fear. She prioritizes functional movement assessment and patient-centered goals whether that is getting up from a chair with your new baby or max deadlifting without leakage. She has a vested interest in improving the gap between pelvic health research and clinical practice for her patients, physical therapists, and all health professionals.

Andrea Wood, PT, DPT, PhD(c) candidate, Board Certified Women's Health Clinical Specialist is a Board Certified Women's Health Clinical Specialist (WCS) with 11 years of clinical experience treating individuals in pelvic health. She is currently a PhD candidate in physical therapy at the University of Miami, FL where she is focusing her dissertation on physical therapy treatment for chronic constipation. She has presented on the role of physical therapy in various gastroenterology-related disorders to the University of Miami medical residents and fellows. Additionally, she has presented on pelvic health considerations internationally for individuals with hypermobility spectrum disorders through the Ehlers-Danlos Society and optimizing pelvic health along the Ovarian cancer continuum through the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance. She lectures on pelvic health to the doctorate of physical therapy students at the University of Miami and is excited to launch her course, "Foundations of Inclusive Pelvic Health' for graduate students this summer. She is an active member in the section on pelvic health, serving as an item writer for the ABPTS board specialty exam and case reviewer for WCS applications. Her primary career goal is to advocate for the importance of physical therapy to the public and other medical providers and stakeholders through evidence-based research demonstrating improved patient outcomes. She also aims to continue to bridge gaps between active clinical care and research.

Jenny LaCross PT, DPT, PhD, ATC, CLT, Board Certified Women's Health Clinical Specialist possesses over a decade of clinical experience. She is also a second-year postdoctoral research fellow with University of Michigan’s Pelvic Floor Research Group in the departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Mechanical Engineering. She received her B.S. in Kinesiology-Athletic Training from University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine. Upon earning her clinical doctorate, Jenny’s passion for women’s health care led her to complete a post-professional pelvic health residency at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center: Centers for Rehab Services. She then completed a post-professional certificate program in Women’s Health Physical Therapy at Texas Woman’s University, where she is also completed her PhD studying acetabular dysplasia, an understudied non-arthritic hip pain condition that predominantly affects individuals assigned female at birth. Her clinical and research desire is to empower women to keep moving across the lifespan in their desired capacity.