The Center has received a generous donation from the Paris Family Foundation to cover the costs of the Center for five years. Dr. Chad Cook will be the Director of the Center of Excellence and Dr. Derek Clewley will serve as Associate Director. Both Dr. Cook and Clewley are active leaders and fellows in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists. Their goals will be to collaborate with the Duke DPT fellowship program and outside manual therapy thought leaders to disseminate correct and meaningful information to clinicians and patients.
Leadership Team
 | Chad E. Cook is a Professor in Division of Physical Therapy, in the Department of Orthopaedics at Duke University in the United States. He also has a secondary appointment in Population Health Sciences and a Class A affiliation with the Duke Clinical Research Center. Dr. Cook’s research specialties include diagnostic accuracy, outcomes and manual therapy. Dr. Cook is the Director of CEMMT and is an avid researcher, cyclist, and clinician advocate. Chad is married and has three grown boys; ironically, all of whom are University of North Carolina fans, employees, graduates, or students. |
 | Derek Clewley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopaedics, Division of Doctor of Physical Therapy, at Duke University in the United States. Derek’s teaching focuses on instruction in orthopaedic manual therapy from entry level through post graduate fellowship training. His research focuses on neck pain management including guideline development and implementation. He has methodologic expertise in systematic reviews and synthesizing literature. Derek is the Associate Director of CEMMT. When not doing physical therapy stuff, you can find him enjoying time with his wife and two kids, which usually involves a lot of running. |
 | Jennifer C. Reneker is a neurologic/ vestibular physical therapist, epidemiologist, and innovator, serving as an Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of Scholarly Innovation in the School of Population Health at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC). Jennifer’s research specialties include concussion prevention, diagnosis, and management and the innovative use of virtual reality for these tasks. Dr. Reneker is the sole-owner of a spin-off company, Alter VIST, LLC., related to her work. Jennifer is a runner and rescuer of dogs. She is married and has two or more canine companions at all times. |
 | Megan Donaldson is an Associate Professor and the Founding Program Director for the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston MA. She is a Fellow American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists. She has been a physical therapist for 21 years and full-time academic faculty for 14 years. She serves nationally as the Conference Coordinator/Chair and Executive Board member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT), and the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) as an Ohio’s Chief Delegate. Megan’s research specialties include orthopaedic manual therapy topics and clinical outcomes. She is married and has two teenagers that keep her on her toes. |
 | Dr. Sampathis a Senior Academic Staff Member in the Centre for Health and Social Practice at Waikato Institute of Technology in New Zealand. He is also a visiting research fellow at the University of Technology, Sydney. Kesava’s research specialities include neurophysiological outcomes, spinal manipulation, manual therapy practice and education. Apart from research, Kesava thoroughly enjoys his hands-on clinical practice. Kesava enjoys playing cricket and badminton. He is married and has two lovely daughters. |
 | Alessandra N G Trepte (publication name Garcia AN) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy (College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences) at Campbell University in the United States. Ale’s research interests include the effectiveness of interventions used in physical therapy, quality of clinical measures, and patient experiences in physical therapy. Alessandra is a member of the leadership group of CEMMT and is a passionate researcher, clinician, and service advocate. She is married and has two sweet cats. She also enjoys tennis and surfing. |
 | Steven Z. George is the Laszlo Ornamdy Distinguished Professor in the Department of Orthopaedics at Duke University. He is the Director of Musculoskeletal and Surgical Sciences(MASS) in the Duke Clinical Research Institute. Dr. George’s primary interest is research involving biopsychosocial models for the prevention and treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain disorders. He is a multi-award-winning researcher and a sought-after international speaker. Dr. George is married and has three children and three dogs. He has re-discovered the joy of playing Missile Command, Asteroids, Millipede, and Crystal Castles on a stand-up machine. |
 | Mark Shepherd is the program director for Bellin College’s Orthopaedic and Manual Physical Therapy Fellowship Program and an Associate Professor within Bellin College’s DPT program. Mark’s research interests are related to persistent pain, clinical reasoning, sleep and its relationship to pain and well-being, and implementation of manual therapy. His primary teaching responsibilities in the fellowship program are within the clinical reasoning coursework and he teaches pain science, lifestyle medicine and evidence-based practice within the DPT program. He practices clinically within The Johns Hopkins Health System outside of Baltimore, MD. Mark is married and has 2 children. He loves to listen and play music (drums and guitar), spend time outdoors (hiking, running, skateboarding) and is a volunteer fire fighter and EMT. |
 | Jodi Young is the Director of Research for Bellin College's DSc in Physical Therapy program. She has been a full-time physical therapy educator for over 15 years, and has been involved in almost all aspects of physical therapy education, including residency, fellowship, entry-level DPT and the DSc. Jodi's research interests include the dosing of physical therapy in musculoskeletal conditions, specifically manual therapy and exercise. She is also interested in understanding the perceptions that both patients and physical therapists have related to the use of manual therapy. Jodi is married and has an amazing goldendoodle. She enjoys lifting weights, reading mystery novels and traveling. |
