Call for Applications

2027 APTA Biomechanics SIG Student & Post-Doc Travel Awards

Due Date: October 18, 2026

About the Awards

The APTA Biomechanics Special Interest Group (SIG) is pleased to announce the 2027 Student & Post-Doc Travel Awards. The awards support promising PhD students and postdoctoral researchers in biomechanics who are presenting their research at the APTA Combined Sections Meeting (CSM), February 4-6, 2027, in Philadelphia, PA. Multiple awards are available, each consisting of a certificate and a $600.00 check.

Each award is funded by an industry sponsor. The sponsor's name appears on the awardee's certificate, on this page, and when the award is announced.

Premier Student & Post-Doc Travel Award: The top-ranked application receives the Premier award. It is funded by our Silver sponsor and presented by a representative of the sponsor at the Biomechanics SIG Business Meeting at CSM.

Eligibility

Applicants must be current or pending members of the APTA Biomechanics Special Interest Group at the time of submission. Applicants must be enrolled in a research doctoral program (e.g., PhD) or completing a postdoctoral research position in the area of biomechanics in the year before CSM 2027. Students enrolled only in a professional (entry-level) DPT program are not eligible.

Awardees must present their accepted abstract at CSM 2027, as a poster or platform, as the presenting author, and must attend the Biomechanics SIG Business Meeting to receive their award.

Priority is given to applicants who have not previously received a Biomechanics SIG travel award. Selections are coordinated with the Academy of Physical Therapy Research, which checks for duplicate CSM travel awards across the Academy and its SIGs before awardees are notified.

Application Materials

a. Letter of nomination from research advisor (1 pg. max.)

b. Copy of the APTA CSM 2027 abstract acceptance email notification.

c. Copy of the accepted abstract, with the applicant as presenting author.

d. One-page document listing relevant publications, abstracts, presentations & awards.

e. APTA membership number.

A cover letter is no longer required. Applications are checked for page limits before review, and applications that exceed them will not be scored.

Abstract decision still pending? If you have not received your CSM 2027 abstract decision by the due date, submit your application with the abstract as submitted and forward the acceptance email as soon as you receive it. Acceptance must be confirmed before awardees are selected.

Submission Instructions

Submit your application as a single PDF by email to the Biomechanics SIG Awards Committee Chair, Dr. Oscar Vila-Dieguez ([email protected]), by October 18, 2026. Name the file, and use as the email subject line, “LAST NAME_FIRST NAME_BIOMECHANICS TRAVEL AWARD”.

Awardees will be notified by email by early December 2026.

2026 Biomechanics SIG Student & Post-Doc Travel Award Winners

Thank you to the sponsors who funded each 2026 award.

Hayley Powell Smitheman, PT, DPT, ATC, PhD (top-ranked award, sponsored by AMTI): Hayley Powell Smitheman is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill whose research examines recovery of knee joint health after ACL reconstruction, including calf muscle volume and quality, gait and jumping biomechanics, and muscle activation.

Chiwhan Choi, PT, MPH, PhD (sponsored by Novel): Chiwhan Choi completed a PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences, with a concentration in Movement Science, at Boston University. Chiwhan's research examines postural control and gait biomechanics, including walking while texting, obstacle negotiation across body mass index levels, and simulations of how body mass distribution affects gait.

Madison Franek, PT, DPT, CSOMT (sponsored by Delsys): Madison Franek is a PhD student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who studies recovery of quadriceps strength after ACL reconstruction and how strength, physical activity, and gait biomechanics relate to cartilage health.

Amit Gohil, PT, DPT (sponsored by Bertec): Amit Gohil is a PhD student at the University of Kentucky whose research focuses on recovery of lower-extremity biomechanics, neuromuscular function, and return-to-sport decision making after ACL reconstruction.

Claudia Kacmarcik, PT, DPT (sponsored by Novel): Claudia Kacmarcik is a PhD student in Biomechanics and Movement Science at the University of Delaware who studies tendon recovery and function, including patellar tendon recovery after ACL reconstruction and gait in Achilles tendinopathy.

Daniel McPherson, PT, DPT (sponsored by TheMotionMonitor): Daniel McPherson is a PhD student in Biokinesiology at the University of Southern California who studies the biomechanical mechanisms of rotator cuff tendinopathy, including tendon structure, scapular and humeral movement variability, and muscle activation.

Andrew K. Smith, PT, DPT, MS (sponsored by VALD): Andrew Smith is a PhD candidate in Biomechanics and Movement Science at the University of Delaware whose research focuses on Achilles tendinopathy, tendon injury mechanisms, and how metabolic conditions influence tendon health and lower-limb biomechanics.

Previous Travel Award Winners

2025: Mitchell Adam (Marquette University), Andrew Babcanec (Arcadia University), Hyo-Jung Jeong (Washington University in St. Louis), Jeffrey Paskewitz (Arcadia University), Daniel Syrett (Central Virginia VA Medical Center), Oscar Vila-Dieguez (University of California San Diego)

Thank you to our CSM 2026 Sponsors

Silver Sponsor

AMTI: AMTI Force & Motion is a leading manufacturer of force measurement systems for biomechanics research, clinical gait analysis, rehabilitation, and sports performance. With 50 years of experience, AMTI force plates are trusted worldwide for their accuracy, durability, and seamless integration with motion capture and other 3^rd party data acquisition systems.

Bronze Sponsors

Novel: Novel is the gold-standard in force distribution measurement.  Novel provides the emed barefoot pressure platform, the pedar in-shoe pressure system, and the pliance system for any application with a flexible pressure sensor. The loadsol is a force-measuring in-shoe wearable sensor for real-time and long-term measurements.  The loadpads are flexible force measuring sensors including the loadglove, texsens, buttonsens, manual therapy loadpad and more.  novel utilizes fully calibrated capacitive sensors. Real-time display of data makes the systems perfect for feedback.

Delsys: Delsys has been at the forefront of innovation in wearable sensor technology for understanding and augmenting human movement. We continue to redefine the boundaries of EMG, providing solutions for world-leading research, and enabling breakthroughs with pioneering technology.

VALD Performance Technology: VALD technology is used and trusted in high performance organizations around the world to measure, manage and improve teams’ and athletes’ strength, power, movement, balance, asymmetry and more.

TheMotionMonitor (Innovative Sports Training): a Real-time 3D motion capture system designed for use in medical research; physical therapy clinics; sports medicine labs; motor control & neurological labs; etc.

Bertec: Bertec partners with clinicians and physical therapists worldwide, delivering gold-standard technologies — including our Computerized Dynamic Posturography (CDP) system — to advance balance assessment, rehabilitation, and patient outcomes.