Matt Ithurburn

Matt Ithurburn, PT, DPT, PhD is the Director of Clinical Research at the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI). ASMI is an international leader in sports medicine research, focused on studying surgical and rehabilitation outcomes, biomechanics, and injury mechanisms to improve the prevention and treatment of sports-related injuries. In his role at ASMI, Dr. Ithurburn leads a multidisciplinary clinical research team managing multiple externally-funded studies and ongoing outcomes data repositories. Additionally, he further collaborates on several studies seeking to improve rehabilitation and return-to-sport success in individuals recovering from lower extremity injuries, including those with ACL reconstruction, femoroacetabular impingement, and hip dysplasia. In addition to his research involvement, Dr. Ithurburn is an adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), teaching in the DPT program and mentoring PhD students.

Roula Kotsifaki

Dr. Roula Kotsifaki is a physiotherapist from Athens, Greece. She has a MSc in Motion Analysis and a PhD in Computer Modeling with a focus on the biomechanical profile of professional athletes after ACL reconstruction at the time to return to sport. She is working in the Assessment Unit of the Rehabilitation Department at Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital. Roula has a special interest in the pre-season musculoskeletal screening of athletes and the periodical assessment of athletes after a musculoskeletal injury during the rehabilitation period.

Susan Sigward

Dr. Sigward is an associate professor of physical therapy and director of the Human Performance Laboratory at the Competitive Athletic Training Zone, Physical Therapy Institute and Sports Performance Center in Pasadena. Her research focuses on the identification and amelioration of impaired mechanics as they relate to lower-extremity injuries, with a focus on the knee. Her work has contributed to the understanding of how factors such as experience, age, training and sex influence the development of movement strategies that contribute to ACL injuries. Current studies are focused on rehabilitation following ACL reconstruction, with an emphasis on the effects of early rehabilitation interventions on long-term outcomes.

Dan Cobian

Dan Cobian, DPT, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopedics & Rehabilitation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a faculty member in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program and a research scientist with the Badger Athletic Performance Lab. Prior to joining the faculty at UW-Madison, he received a PhD in Rehabilitation Science from The University of Iowa (2015), and completed a postdoc position in the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at UW-Madison (2016). The focus of Dr. Cobian’s thesis work was lower extremity power and rapid force development after knee injury, surgery, and rehabilitation. The objectives of his current research are to better understand the neuromuscular implications of musculoskeletal trauma, characterize the effects of injury on movement biomechanics, sports performance and function, and determine how to best prescribe and dose rehabilitation interventions to facilitate improved outcomes and long term quality of life. He has authored peer-reviewed articles published in numerous sports medicine journals and has presented research and delivered educational content at a variety of state and national meetings. Dr. Cobian maintains a clinical practice in Sports Rehabilitation for UW Health at The American Center, and specializes in treating patients with lower extremity musculoskeletal trauma, with an emphasis on knee joint injury and surgery. He also provides consultation services to the University of Wisconsin Athletics Department. Dr. Cobian is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (Sports, Orthopaedic, and Research sections), the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and the American College of Sports Medicine. He currently serves on the Research Committee of the AASPT, and is the Research Coordinator for and a Planning Committee member of the Annual Meeting & Scientific Conference.

Laura Opstedal

Laura Opstedal, PT, DPT began her physical therapy career in 2001 after graduating from University of Puget Sound in her hometown of Tacoma, WA. She is dual board certified in Orthopedics & Sports and has a level 2 coaching certification from USA Weightlifting. Laura lives in Bozeman, MT and owns a private practice which specializes in sports injuries and performance. She has a special interest in ACL rehabilitation and return to sports testing, including isokinetic testing and force plate analytics.