Carolynn Patten

Dr. Carolynn PattenCarolynn Patten, PT, PhD, FAPTA
Professor
University of Florida Department of Physical Therapy
Box 100154, UFHSC
Gainesville, FL  32610 -0154
Phone: (352) 376-1611 x4160
Fax:  (352) 379-2332
Email:patten@phhp.ufl.edu

 

Carolynn Patten, Ph.D., PT is a Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Florida and a member of the Graduate Faculty in the Rehabilitation Science Doctoral Program (College of Public Health and Health Professions). Dr. Patten is a senior investigator with the VA Brain Rehabilitation Research Center where she holds Research Career Scientist status. In 2016, Dr. Patten was named as a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association, the highest honor among APTA’s membership. Dr. Patten’s primary research interests involve neurophysiological and biomechanical approaches to understand the neural control of movement, mechanisms of disordered motor control in neuropathological conditions, and the capacity for motor recovery in adults following central nervous system injury. Her translational neuroscience research program uses a combination of techniques including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), neurophysiological methods (EMG, motor unit recordings, reflex probes), neuroimaging and human performance. As a result, her research crosses disciplines including motor control, physiology, biomechanics, clinical medicine, rehabilitation and bioengineering. Dr. Patten’s research has been supported by awards from the: Department of Veterans Affairs, National Institutes of Health, Whitaker Foundation, Brooks Research Endowment and Foundation for Physical Therapy. Her current projects involve: 1) investigation of novel approaches (i.e., rTMS (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation), TDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation), motor priming, robotics) to reverse central neural inhibition and promote behavioral motor recovery following stroke; 2) identification of neurobehavioral characteristics of therapeutic responders and non-responders; 3) development of customized therapeutic interventions using computational modeling. Dr. Patten is cross-appointed in the Departments of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology (College of Health and Human Performance) and Neurology (College of Medicine). Her teaching responsibilities include Translational Neuroscience Research.