Catherine E. Lang, a leading researcher in the field of stroke recovery and rehabilitation in the WashU Medicine Program in Physical Therapy, has been installed as the inaugural Barbara J. Norton Professor of Physical Therapy. This is the program's first named professorship, a milestone that signifies WashU Medicine's commitment to groundbreaking research in the physical therapy field.
Lang's research focuses on the development of effective, individualized rehabilitation for people recovering from stroke and other neurological injuries. She has established herself as a leader in the use of wearable movement sensors to quantitatively measure patients' movement in daily life, helping to track their neurobehavioral recovery. Lang was installed by David H. Perlmutter, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor and the George and Carol Bauer Dean of WashU Medicine.
The professorship is named in honor of Barbara J. Norton, a WashU Medicine professor of physical therapy who has served on the faculty for more than 50 years - longer than any other faculty member in the program. Norton was instrumental in integrating research into the physical therapy curriculum.
"This professorship is a testament to Dr. Lang's exceptional achievements in her research, teaching and practice," Chancellor Andrew D. Martin said. "Establishing it in honor of Professor Barbara Norton, who has been instrumental in developing the Program in Physical Therapy into the teaching and research powerhouse it is today, serves as a fitting tribute to the program's culture of excellence."
Lang's research seeks to clearly map the variables that are related to the speed and extent of neurobehavioral recovery after neurological injury. She has led numerous studies of interventions to increase the effectiveness of motor rehabilitation and to improve clinical outcomes, including first-in-human studies and early clinical trials. Lang's research on wearable movement sensors has helped provide tools for practicing clinicians to streamline their assessments and develop informed prognoses.
"Dr. Lang has a tremendous track record of discoveries that have resulted in important advancements in patient care," said Perlmutter. "Her work has improved the assessments that guide clinical decision-making and enriched the training and depth of knowledge available to students and practitioners in our physical and occupational therapy programs. Her commitment to research rigor, student training and improving patient outcomes embodies the best of what we do at WashU Medicine."
Lang's teaching and research have been recognized with several honors and awards, including the Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy's Excellence in Neurologic Physical Therapy Research Award and both the Marian Williams Award for sustained contributions to physical therapy research and the Helen Hislop Award for outstanding contributions to professional literature from the American Physical Therapy Association. She is a recipient of the NIH Merit Award from the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research and a fellow of both the American Society for Neurorehabilitation and the American Physical Therapy Association.
Her work is frequently cited in peer-reviewed research, and she has collaborated broadly both within WashU Medicine and with outside institutions. Her research partnerships span several disciplines, including biomedical engineering, neurosciences and social work, among others.
"I've watched the evolution of Dr. Lang's work firsthand, and what has struck me is her ability to see the big picture and connect the dots in a way that nobody else can," said Gammon Earhart, associate dean of physical therapy and director of the Program in Physical Therapy. "She is masterful at finding important questions to ask and exciting new directions to explore and then transforming them into clinically meaningful information that people can use in their practice."
Lang earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Vermont and her PhD at WashU. She completed a postdoctoral followship at the University of Rochester in New York before returning to WashU Medicine in 2004 as a member of the faculty.
Norton's time at WashU began when she was in high school and volunteered at the Irene Walter Johnson Institute of Rehabilitation, a medical rehabilitation facility that was merged into WashU Medicine in 1987. She earned her bachelor's degree at WashU before joining the physical therapy program as an instructor. She then earned her master's and doctoral degrees at WashU before becoming a professor. Norton was WashU Medicine's first research physical therapist, conducting studies that sought to systematically measure and quantify spasticity.
Originally published on the WashU Medicine website
