Physical therapist George D Fulk, Ph.D., professor and chairman of the physical therapy education department in the College of Health Professions at Upstate Medical University, has been named a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).
The Catherine Worthingham Fellow is the ATPA’s highest honor and awarded to association members who have “demonstrated unwavering efforts to advance the physical therapy profession for more than 15 years.”
The ATPA represents more than 100,000 physical therapists, physical therapy assistants and physical therapy students.
Numerous nominations supporting Fulk’s fellowship spoke of his excellence in teaching, research and clinical care. An associate from Johns Hopkins wrote: “Dr. Fulk is an extremely talented individual, critical thinker, and able to add valuable thought and content with insight into any discussion. He will be an asset to the forward-thinking body of current Catherine Worthingham Fellows and is a natural leader of critical discussion.”
Prior to joining Upstate in 2018, Fulk was associate dean of health sciences at Clarkson University, where he also served as a professor of physical therapy. He also held adjunct and faculty posts in physical therapy at Notre Dame College, Nova Southeastern University and the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Fulk’s research, teaching and clinical expertise are in the areas of enhancing motor recovery and quality of life in people with neurological health conditions.
Fulk’s field of research has been focused on stroke rehabilitation and assessing the accuracy of technology used to measure post-stroke walking ability. His work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense and the New York Physical Therapy Association, among others.
He is editor of one of the most widely used textbooks in the field of physical therapy education, “Physical Rehabilitation” (F.A. Davis Company), and authored dozens of articles in peer-reviewed journals and is a sought-after presenter at professional and academic conferences.
Fulk has been a licensed physical therapist for 25 years.
Fulk holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Brandeis University, a master of science degree in physical therapy from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and PhD in physical therapy from Nova Southeastern University.
Photo: Fulk