SHSP Announces Reorganization and New Department of Rehabilitation Sciences
The Newly Created Department Comprises of the Division of Physical Therapy and Division of Speech-Language Pathology
The School of Health Sciences and Practice (SHSP) has announced the creation of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, which comprises of the Division of Physical Therapy (PT) and Division of Speech-Language Pathology (SLP). The new department will be led by Sambit Mohapatra, Ph.D., P.T., chair and professor (nominated) of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, who will begin on July 1. He joins New York Medical College (NYMC) from the Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Science in the University of Vermont’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences, where he is a tenured associate professor and program director of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program.
“The new Department of Rehabilitation Sciences will expand students’ interdisciplinary opportunities to learn evidence-based modalities to help injured, ill and recovering patients develop or regain mobility, motor and language functions to achieve optimal health,” said Robert W. Amler, M.D., M.B.A., dean of the SHSP and vice president for government affairs.
Janet Dolot, M.S., D.P.T., Dr.P.H. ’14, PT, OCS, has been named chief and associate professor in the Division of Physical Therapy in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences. Vikas Grover, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, has been named chief and associate professor in the Division of Speech-Language Pathology in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences.
Dr. Mohapatra earned his Ph.D. in rehabilitation sciences and neurosciences from the University of Illinois, Chicago. He held a faculty position at the University of Montana in the Department of PT and also served as a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University’s MedStar Health Research Institute in Washington, D.C. Dr. Mohapatra has a strong research and publication/presentation record and a solid background in clinical settings as a licensed physical therapist. His research focuses upon individuals with neurocognitive brain disorders that impact balance. Recently, this research has included individuals with long COVID-19 who are experiencing balance-related issues. He is active in the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) among other organizations and has served as a grant reviewer for the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research for a number of years.
“We congratulate Dr. Dolot and Dr. Grover as they assume their newly appointed roles as division chiefs,” said Dr. Amler. “Realignment of our existing programs in physical therapy and speech-language pathology in a unified Department of Rehabilitation Sciences affords our faculty greater flexibility in sharing expertise across disciplines to pursue their professional goals in research, teaching and service,” Dean Amler said.
Dr. Dolot joined the NYMC faculty in 2005 and has served as interim chair of the Department of Physical Therapy since last year. She has served as director of clinical education, lead instructor and coordinator of the orthopedic curriculum and one of the co-coordinators of the problem-based learning courses. She earned her MSPT and D.P.T. degrees from Simmons University and her Dr.P.H. in health policy and management from SHSP. She completed post-graduate training in manual therapy and is a board-certified clinical specialist in orthopedic physical therapy. Dr. Dolot is an active member of the APTA, having served as committee chair for the research and the payment and practice committees of the APTA Academy of Leadership and Innovation, treasurer for the Hudson Valley District of the New York State (NYS) chapter of APTA and NYS chapter delegate to the House of Delegates.
Dr. Grover joined the NYMC faculty in 2019 as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor based on the strength of his excellent instruction and scholarly activities. He completed his Ph.D. in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences from The Graduate Center, City University of New York, and is a licensed speech-language pathologist in New York. He is a certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA, CCC-SLP) and is an active member of the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics. Dr. Grover also serves as the professional development manager in ASHA’s Special Interest Group 19. He is an active researcher whose research findings have been shared in respected professional journals and presented internationally. Through his work in second language learning, he focuses on the link between perception and production which involves acoustic analysis of the speech of the second language speakers. Dr. Grover is also passionate about family involvement in early intervention and the importance of counseling as an integral part of the SLP field.
SHSP Vice Dean Ben Johnson, Ed.D., will serve as interim chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences through June 30, 2023.