Featured News
Every day VCU Physical Therapy students, alumni, faculty and staff do extraordinary things. Read more about our latest achievements below.
PT recognizes students during Commencement activities
In May, the Department of Physical Therapy recognized the Class of 2026, including several students who received honors and awards.
VCU Physical Therapy shines at APTA Combined Sections Meeting in Anaheim
Faculty, students and alumni from VCU’s Department of Physical Therapy left the 2026 American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections Meeting in Anaheim feeling energized, connected and proud of the program’s growing national impact.
Delivering pediatric PT through a trauma-informed lens
After graduating from Georgia State University with an art history degree, Rachel Burch Belcher found herself at a crossroads. She had planned to pursue museum education but, after being waitlisted for graduate school, took a job as a nanny. The role brought her into the life of a young child with significant developmental delays, a turning point she didn’t yet recognize.
Chris Reading ‘85 pushes for physical therapy’s place in the healthcare system
Forty years into a career that began in the clinic, Chris Reading is helping shape the future of physical therapy at the national level. A 1985 graduate of VCU’s physical therapy program, Reading spent nearly two decades in clinical practice in the Richmond region before moving into executive leadership.
VCU Physical Therapy students help drive amendments to Virginia health care legislation
At this year’s Virginia General Assembly, two VCU Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students helped push forward legislation designed to better support health care providers serving vulnerable populations.
Unlimited by campus boundaries
The stories in our Winter 2026 newsletter remind us that the power of a VCU Physical Therapy education stretches far beyond our campus.
VCU innovators create device to mimic real blood flow to surgical training simulations
Recent invention disclosure highlights a pump that could benefit physicians, military medics, educators and, ultimately, patients.
CHP simulation lab upgrades raise the bar for PT and OT training
When they stepped into the simulation lab on the second floor of the College of Health Professions this fall, physical and occupational therapy students found it had undergone considerable changes. Thanks to a $108,000 allocation from the Higher Education Equipment Trust Fund, it now features a more immersive, hands-on training environment that reflects the evolving demands of modern health care.
Duppen driven to improve mobility and independence for people with Parkinson’s
When Chelsea “CJ” Duppen PT, DPT, PhD began treating patients in rural North Carolina, she was one of only two clinicians in her county trained to handle neurologic diagnoses.
VCU researcher expands understanding of mobility after amputation with NIH-funded study
Understanding how individuals with lower-limb amputations navigate their communities – and why many remain dissatisfied with their mobility, even after successful rehabilitation – is the focus of a new research project led by Paul Kline, DPT, Ph.D., assistant professor in VCU’s Department of Physical Therapy.
