International Scientific Advisory Board
(ISAB)
Industry-leading clinical expertise.
MedRisk’s International Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB) comprises leading researchers, academicians and practicing clinicians specializing in the management of musculoskeletal injuries from around the world. Headed by Dr. Phil McClure, PT, PhD, FAPTA, an internationally recognized educator and expert in physical medicine, the ISAB collectively directed the development of evidence-based guidelines for physical medicine and continues to oversee the maintenance of these guidelines.
Philip W. McClure, PT, PhD, FAPTA
Phil McClure is an internationally recognized educator and expert in physical medicine and leads MedRisk’s International Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB). With more than 30 years’ experience in the physical therapy profession, Dr. McClure has received several prestigious awards for his research in shoulder biomechanics, as well as the effects of exercise on shoulder impingement.
Dr. McClure has more than 50 peer-reviewed publications in several notable medical journals and presented at many prominent physical medicine conferences including the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Annual Conference, Combined Sections Meeting of the APTA, and the National Athletic Trainers Association Annual Conference. He has also served as the Chair for the Research Committee, Orthopedic Section, APTA. He is currently professor and director of the Transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Arcadia University in Pennsylvania.
Paul F. Beattie, PT, PhD, OCS, FAPTA, NREMT
A practicing physical therapist for over 45 years and a Clinical Professor in the Doctoral Program in Physical Therapy at the University of South Carolina, Paul Beattie was among the first group of physical therapists to be Board Certified in Orthopedic Physical Therapy. Dr. Beatties’s wide array of musculoskeletal research encompasses spine imaging, back pain and measuring patient satisfaction. Current studies include a DoD-funded clinical trial investigating the treatment of tibial stress factors in military trainees and an NIH R01 grant on the effect of back pain on brain activity that occurs during exercise.
With more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Beattie is a recipient of the Jules M. Rothstein Golden Pen Award for scientific writing and the Orthopedic Advisory Member to the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy. A Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the APTA, he serves on the Advisory Panel for Clinical Guideline Development for the Orthopedic Academy of the American Physical Therapy. Dr. Beattie holds a PhD in Exercise Science from the University of New Mexico and has belonged to ISAB since its inception.
Paul F. Beattie, PT, PhD, OCS, FAPTA, NREMT
A practicing physical therapist for over 45 years and a Clinical Professor in the Doctoral Program in Physical Therapy at the University of South Carolina, Paul Beattie was among the first group of physical therapists to be Board Certified in Orthopedic Physical Therapy. Dr. Beatties’s wide array of musculoskeletal research encompasses spine imaging, back pain and measuring patient satisfaction. Current studies include a DoD-funded clinical trial investigating the treatment of tibial stress factors in military trainees and an NIH R01 grant on the effect of back pain on brain activity that occurs during exercise.
With more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Beattie is a recipient of the Jules M. Rothstein Golden Pen Award for scientific writing and the Orthopedic Advisory Member to the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy. A Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the APTA, he serves on the Advisory Panel for Clinical Guideline Development for the Orthopedic Academy of the American Physical Therapy. Dr. Beattie holds a PhD in Exercise Science from the University of New Mexico and has belonged to ISAB since its inception.
Rob de Bie, PT, PhD
Rob de Bie is a professor of Physiotherapy Research at Maastricht University. His positions include director of Education for Health, director of the Rehabilitation and Related Therapies Field of the Cochrane Collaboration, and director of the Centre for Evidence Based Physiotherapy.
His expertise is in systematic review methodologies and professional guidelines and is known for his contributions to the Cochrane Back Review Group, which coordinates international literature reviews of primary and secondary prevention and treatment of neck and back pain and other spinal disorders. He has also provided support to the OTseeker and PEDro projects – databases that contain abstracts of systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials relevant to occupational and physical therapy.
David Deitz, MD, PhD
David Deitz has 25 years’ experience in managed medical care, healthcare outcomes evaluations and reporting, and utilization management systems in workers’ compensation and group health. He is the former medical director of a large workers comp insurer, where his responsibilities encompassed medical review operations, medical networks and medical policy. Previously he oversaw content development of managed care software and reporting systems that were successfully deployed at insurers nationwide.
Board certified in internal medicine, Dr. Deitz completed post graduate training at the University of Miami and Harvard Medical School. He has worked with employers, labor, state regulators and lawmakers in more than 20 states on reform efforts and has served on numerous task forces and committees nationwide to promote the best medical practices and high quality care for injured workers.
David Deitz, MD, PhD
David Deitz has 25 years’ experience in managed medical care, healthcare outcomes evaluations and reporting, and utilization management systems in workers’ compensation and group health. He is the former medical director of a large workers comp insurer, where his responsibilities encompassed medical review operations, medical networks and medical policy. Previously he oversaw content development of managed care software and reporting systems that were successfully deployed at insurers nationwide.
Board certified in internal medicine, Dr. Deitz completed post graduate training at the University of Miami and Harvard Medical School. He has worked with employers, labor, state regulators and lawmakers in more than 20 states on reform efforts and has served on numerous task forces and committees nationwide to promote the best medical practices and high quality care for injured workers.
All MedRisk products and services are built on the clinical grounding provided by the ISAB to deliver balanced and informed decision-making and expert medical insights.
Jane Fedorczyk, PT, PhD, CHT, ATC
Jane Fedorczyk is a clinical professor of physical therapy and rehabilitation services for Drexel University, Philadelphia, where she also directs post-professional clinical programs. A certified hand therapist with considerable clinical expertise in pain management and hand and upper quarter rehabilitation, she is the Immediate Past President of American Society of Hand Therapists, and active in the the American Hand Therapy Foundation and the American Physical Therapy Association.
Dr. Fedorczyk holds a PhD in Physical Therapy from Temple University, Philadelphia. A frequent presenter at industry conferences, she has published numerous professional papers and book chapters on various aspects of elbow, wrist and hand conditions; physical therapy; and pain management. Dr. Fedorczyk also served as co-editor of Rehabilitation of the Hand and Upper Extremity, 6th ed., a premier medical reference text in this specialty practice. She has received several professional honors, including the R. L. Petzoldt Award for Innovation in Hand Therapy.
William G. Gaines, Jr., MD, MPH
Dr. William Gaines has more than 30 years of experience in directing medical management programs. Board certified in Preventive Medicine-Occupational Medicine and Internal Medicine, he maintains a practice with Baylor Scott & White Health in College Station, Texas and is MedRisk’s Medical Director, overseeing the quality of provider clinical performance and helping MedRisk develops innovative medical management strategies.
Dr. Gaines previously served as Medical Director for a number of organizations, including a large property and casualty insurance carrier, Procter & Gamble and Conoco Phillips. He also held several academic appointments with Texas A&M University, including as Associate Director of its National Science Foundation, Industry University Cooperative Ergonomics Research Center and Assistant Professor of its University Health Science Center. In addition, Dr. Gaines has coauthored numerous scientific papers and delivered presentations on a variety of topics, including musculoskeletal disorders, back pain, occupational health, and delayed recovery from work injuries.
He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, Texas. Dr. Gaines conducted post-graduate work in internal medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and received his Master’s in Public Health from Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. In addition to serving on the ISAB, he is MedRisk’s medical director.
William G. Gaines, Jr., MD, MPH
Dr. William Gaines has more than 30 years of experience in directing medical management programs. Board certified in Preventive Medicine-Occupational Medicine and Internal Medicine, he maintains a practice with Baylor Scott & White Health in College Station, Texas and is MedRisk’s Medical Director, overseeing the quality of provider clinical performance and helping MedRisk develops innovative medical management strategies.
Dr. Gaines previously served as Medical Director for a number of organizations, including a large property and casualty insurance carrier, Procter & Gamble and Conoco Phillips. He also held several academic appointments with Texas A&M University, including as Associate Director of its National Science Foundation, Industry University Cooperative Ergonomics Research Center and Assistant Professor of its University Health Science Center. In addition, Dr. Gaines has coauthored numerous scientific papers and delivered presentations on a variety of topics, including musculoskeletal disorders, back pain, occupational health, and delayed recovery from work injuries.
He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, Texas. Dr. Gaines conducted post-graduate work in internal medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and received his Master’s in Public Health from Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. In addition to serving on the ISAB, he is MedRisk’s medical director.
Steven Z. George, PT, PhD, FAPTA
Steven George is Director of Musculoskeletal Research for the Duke Clinical Research Institute and Vice Chair of Research, Orthopaedic Surgery, at Duke University School of Medicine.
Dr. George’s work focuses on biopsychosocial models for preventing and treating chronic musculoskeletal pain disorders, and he has co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications in leading physical therapy, rehabilitation and pain research journals. Expertscape identified Dr. George as the among the top ten international expert on low back pain based on his peer review publication record. Dr. George has received numerous awards from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), American Pain Society, and the International Association for the Study of Pain.
Lori Michener, PT, PhD, ATC, SCS, FAPTA
Lori Michener is a professor at the University of Southern California. She also serves as the director of Clinical Outcomes and Research, and the director of the COOR (Clinical biomechanics and Orthopedic Outcomes Research) Laboratory. Her expertise is in the area of outcome measures, mechanisms and treatment of patients with shoulder and spinal disorders.
Dr. Michener serves on several guidelines panels including guidelines for treatment of shoulder disorders for the Orthopedic Section of the APTA, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Dr. Michener has been instrumental in developing, reviewing, and updating ISAB treatment guidelines and patient survey instruments.
Lori Michener, PT, PhD, ATC, SCS, FAPTA
Lori Michener is a professor at the University of Southern California. She also serves as the director of Clinical Outcomes and Research, and the director of the COOR (Clinical biomechanics and Orthopedic Outcomes Research) Laboratory. Her expertise is in the area of outcome measures, mechanisms and treatment of patients with shoulder and spinal disorders.
Dr. Michener serves on several guidelines panels including guidelines for treatment of shoulder disorders for the Orthopedic Section of the APTA, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Dr. Michener has been instrumental in developing, reviewing, and updating ISAB treatment guidelines and patient survey instruments.
Marilyn Moffat, PT, DPT, PhD, FAPTA, CSCS, CEEAA
Marilyn Moffat is a full professor of Physical Therapy at New York University and Past President of World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT).
Dr. Moffat lends her expertise in the areas of cardiopulmonary physical therapy, geriatric physical therapy, orthopedic physical therapy, and professional and practice issues to the ISAB advisory panel. A former two-term president of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), she has given more than 800 presentations and has written more than 25 professional publications.
Kathryn Mueller, MD, MPH, FACOEM
Kathryn Mueller is the medical director for the Colorado Division of Workers’ Compensation and past president of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM). She also serves as professor in the Department of Physiatry and the School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
An expert in disability management, Dr. Mueller has worked extensively with the ACOEM Practice Guidelines, helped develop the original course on impairment for ACOEM and has served two terms on the organization’s board of directors. She is also a member of the Rocky Mountain Academy of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (RMAOEM) and has served that organization as president. Dr. Mueller is certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine in occupational medicine and by the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners.
Kathryn Mueller, MD, MPH, FACOEM
Kathryn Mueller is the medical director for the Colorado Division of Workers’ Compensation and past president of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM). She also serves as professor in the Department of Physiatry and the School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
An expert in disability management, Dr. Mueller has worked extensively with the ACOEM Practice Guidelines, helped develop the original course on impairment for ACOEM and has served two terms on the organization’s board of directors. She is also a member of the Rocky Mountain Academy of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (RMAOEM) and has served that organization as president. Dr. Mueller is certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine in occupational medicine and by the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners.
Donald Murphy, DC, FRCC
Donald Murphy is the Medical Director of the Spine Care Program for Care New England, a large hospital system in Rhode Island. He is Clinical Assistant Professor at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He is also Adjust Professor, Southern California University of Health Sciences and Associate Professor, Department of Research, New York Chiropractic College.
He has been on the Expert Panel for several spine care guidelines, including those of the American College of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society. Dr. Murphy has published dozens of papers in the peer-reviewed spine literature as well as three books on back and neck pain.
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