USC professor receives his profession’s top honor
Rob Landel MS ’84, DPT ’96, professor of clinical physical therapy in the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy at the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC, was selected as a Catherine Worthingham fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) – the highest honor bestowed in the physical therapy profession. The award will be presented at the APTA annual meeting in Tampa, Fla.
Six active USC faculty members are Worthingham fellows, more than in any other physical therapy program in the nation.
Landel has been teaching at USC since 1988. A decade later, he co-founded the USC Orthopedic Physical Therapy Residency – the nation’s first such program based at a university – and now directs all physical therapy residency programs at the university. In 2010, he became director of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program.
In support of Landel’s nomination as a fellow, four members of the physical therapy profession and a former faculty member at the Keck School of Medicine of USC praised his contributions as an educator, clinician, researcher and leader.
Associate professor Kornelia Kulig wrote that Landel “teaches from a sound, comprehensive and current knowledge base, integrating basic science with the principles of orthopedic physical therapy.”
As a clinician, Landel maintains an active patient load at USC Physical Therapy Associates, the faculty practice he founded in 1989 and ran for seven years. As a researcher, he has 13 peer-reviewed publications, six published book chapters and two forthcoming publications to his credit, primarily in the field of orthopedic physical therapy.
Landel, a sought-after speaker at national and international professional conferences, has taught more than 100 continuing education courses nationwide.
Among other honors, he has received the James A. Gould Excellence in Teaching Orthopedic Physical Therapy Award from the APTA and the Excellence in Research Award from the California Physical Therapy Association.
Rob Landel