Mariana Wingood, P.T., D.P.T., M.P.H., Ph.D., G'21, Interprofessional Health Sciences Program
Social Sciences, Humanities, and Creative Arts Category

During her three years as an undergraduate, Mariana Wingood completed a bachelor’s degree in Biology, minoring in Health Science and Athletic Coaching. In 2009, she started a three-year Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT) program. While working as a physical therapist, Mariana focused on providing high-quality physical therapy care to older adults and became a Certified Exercise Expert for Aging Adults (CEEAA) and a Board-Certified Geriatric Specialist. As a clinician, Mariana considered the complexities of how best to disseminate research and knowledge meant to improve the quality of care for older adults. Grappling with this complicated issue, she started taking research classes as part of the Graduate Certificate in Epidemiology. While taking biostatistics, she fell in love with data and decided to pursue a Ph.D. in Interprofessional Health Sciences, which meant stopping full-time patient care, addressing her fear of statistical analyses, and realizing that she can become a scientific writer even if English is her third language.

As a doctoral student, Mariana sought out mentorship from Dr. Nancy Gell and Dr. Denise Peters, two researchers with interests similar to hers: older adults, preventative care, and physical activity. With their guidance, she focused on identifying how physical therapists who treat patients 50 years and older use physical activity promotion and prescriptions. In addition to identifying current practice patterns, Mariana examined the clinical barriers stopping physical therapists from incorporating physical activity in their day-to-day clinical practice. She learned that physical therapists are not using standardized assessments to identify physical activity barriers and developed a new tool called the Inventory of Physical Activity Barriers (IPAB). The IPAB helps initiate the conversation about physical activity barriers and solutions. She discovered that while the tool is a great first step in the clinical setting, physical therapists need additional guidance on empowering their patients to initiate or increase their level of physical activity. In order to continue strengthening her skills as an independent researcher, Mariana is completing a one-year post-doctoral fellowship through Academy Health and a two-year post-doctoral fellowship through the New England Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) at the VA in Boston, where she is developing and implementing interventions that provide physical therapists with step-by-step guidance on addressing inadequate physical activity levels among patients 50 years and older.

The Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award recognizes exceptional work on behalf of a doctoral student, as demonstrated by their dissertation, including significant contributions to their field of study.