Early Career Researchers SIG

Early Career Researcher Travel Award - CSM 2025

Executive Board:

Chair: Benjamin Binder-Markey, PT, DPT, PhD
Vice Chair: Jenny LaCross, PT, DPT, PhD, ATC, CLT
Secretary: Kathleen Madara, PT, DPT, PhD  

Treasurer: Jamie Hall, PT, DPT, PhD, PCS  

Our Mission:

Our mission is to provide support, education, and resources for early career investigators and aspiring researchers in both clinical and academic settings related to physical therapy research. The SIG provides opportunities to meet, connect, and promote the interests of early career researchers.

Who we are:

The Early Career Researchers Special Interest Group (SIG) developed following a conversation that two of the founding members had regarding the need for a support mechanism for early career physical therapy researchers. The two recruited other early career researchers with similar interests and developed a course for CSM 2008. The room at CSM was full of early career researchers including faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and clinicians who were interested in getting involved more formally in research. The response to this first course was so amazing that the group was invited back for a similar course in 2009, 2010, and 2011. Through these courses, it became clear that there was a need for a more formal group and ongoing interactions for those early in their research career. To fulfill this need, a formal proposal for the SIG was submitted to the Academy of Physical Therapy Research and accepted during CSM 2010. The Early Career Researchers SIG was born!

The current SIG officers and founding members are researchers who are early in their careers. We envision that this SIG will attract early career researchers in various settings and backgrounds with the common interest of advancing research in our careers and our profession. 

We are students, clinicians, postdocs, teachers, and researchers from diverse institutions driven to improve our research and connect with others in the early stages of their PT research careers. 

Early Career Researcher SIG bylaws

How To Join

To join the ECR SIG, you should be Academy of Physical Therapy Research member.  

Feel free to contact any of our leadership with any questions, ideas or concerns.

You can also follow the Early Career Researcher SIG on Facebook and Twitter

Early Career Researcher Travel Award - CSM 2025

The APTA Academy of Research, Early Career Researcher Special Interest Group (ECR SIG) is offering TWO travel awards ($600 per awardee) for early career physical therapy researchers to attend the 2025 APTA Combined Sections Meeting (CSM). The purpose of these awards is to promote and support the work of early career physical therapy researchers. 

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Be a current member of the APTA ECR SIG at the time of submission. (Not currently a member? Join here!)

  • Be an early career physical therapy researcher, including but not limited to PhD students, post-doc students, academic faculty members starting research lines, and clinician-researchers.

  • Attending CSM 2025 as the presenting author of an accepted research poster or platform.

  • Be able to accept the award at the Early Career Researchers SIG Business Meeting at CSM 2025.

Application Submission Materials:

  • Current curriculum vitae

  • Answers to the following prompts (1500 character limit per response, including spaces):

    • Describe your current research, including your specific role(s) and responsibilities on the project(s).

    • Where do you see yourself as a researcher five years from now?

    • How will receiving this financial support and attending CSM help advance your research career?

  • Letter of nomination from a research mentor or supervisor familiar with your research

  • Copy of accepted 2024 APTA CSM poster or platform abstract(s) and/or educational session(s)

Submission Instructions:

Application materials should be submitted electronically via this Google Form. All materials must be submitted by November 18th, 2024. Awardees will be notified via email in mid December. Please contact the APTA ECR SIG Vice Chair, Jenny LaCross ([email protected]), with any questions.