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Alison Pruziner

Clinical Program Manager
Department of Veterans Affairs, National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events, United States

INSTITUTION AND LOCATION - DEGREE (if applicable) - Completion Date MM/YYYY - FIELD OF STUDY
University of Delaware - BA - 06/2003 - Biology
Duke University - DPT - 06/2006 - Physical Therapy
University of Maryland - PhD Candidate - - Kinesiology; Biomechanics


A. Personal Statement
I currently serve as the Clinical Program Manager for the National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events, at the Veterans Health Administration. Within this role I have a focus on assessing the impact of adaptive sports and therapeutic arts for Veterans with physical and mental disabilities, to include Veterans with limb loss. I also continue to hold a position as an Assistant Professor within the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the Uniformed Service University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). Through this appointment, I have led, and continue to assist with, multiple efforts investigating the assessment and treatment strategies for the limb loss population. I currently serve as key personnel on Dr. Disla’s Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes Research Program award focused on identifying the unique impact of limb loss on women, and have previously served on teams developing both functional and patient-report outcomes for patients with limb loss. As a part of this multi-site collaborative study, I will serve as a subject matter expert as well as help oversee efforts at WRNMMC/USUHS, to include assisting with regulatory compliance, data quality, and appropriate study management. I will also leverage my positions at USUHS to assist with translation of the knowledge gained through these efforts into patient interactions and the education program for various disciplines of health care providers.

B. Positions and Honors
Positions and Employment

2019 – Pres Clinical Program Manager, National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events (10P4RN)
Rehabilitation and Prosthetics Services, Veterans Health Administration

2016 – Pres Adjunct Faculty, Department of Physical Therapy,
2009 – 2013 George Washington University, Washington DC

2011 – 2019 Research Physical Therapist, Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center of Excellence
Department or Rehab; Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda MD

2006 – 2011 Research Physical Therapist (contract), Amputee Care Service
Department Ortho & Rehab; Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington DC

2011 – 2013 Adjunct Faculty, US Military-Baylor University Masters Program of Nutrition,
Baylor University, Waco, TX
2007 – 2009 In-Patient Physical Therapist
National Rehabilitation Hospital, Washington DC

Licensure and Board Certification
2006 - Pres Maryland Board of Physical Therapy Examiners; MD PT License # 21930
2007 – 2013 District of Columbia Health Professional Licensing Admin; DC PT License # PT870752
2006 American Physical Therapy Association Board
2005 National Athletic Trainers' Association Board of Certification

C. Contributions to Science

1. Individuals with physical disabilities less likely to participate regularly in recreational physical activity and sports. This more sedentary lifestyle can predispose these individuals to multiple co-morbidities. There is growing evidence that physical activity and sports participation can have positive outcomes for individuals with disabilities, to include improved balance and reduced fatigue, improvement in PTSD symptoms and other mental health outcomes, increased community integration, higher quality of life and overall life satisfaction, greater self-esteem/self-efficacy and athletic identity, and improved body image and self-appearance. My colleagues and I are working to provide additional evidence base onto which clinical care practices can be built. These efforts will help provide references/guides for making treatment recommendations for adaptive sports training protocols and equipment referrals:

Lee-Hauser, C. R., Schein, R. M., Schiappa, V. J., Pruziner, A. L., Tostenrude, D., Goedhard, K. E., ... & Schmeler, M. R. (2021). Demographic and functional characteristics of national veterans wheelchair games participants: a cross-sectional study. Military Medicine, 186(7-8), e749-e755.

Sidiropoulos, A. N., Nelson, L. M., Pruziner, A., Glasberg, J., & Maikos, J. (2021). Evaluation of Weight Shift and X-Factor during Golf Swing of Veterans with Lower Limb Loss. American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation.

Lee-Hauser, C. R., Schein, R. M., Schiappa, V. J., Pruziner, A. L., Tostenrude, D., Goedhard, K. E., ... & Schmeler, M. R. (2020). Demographic and Functional Characteristics of National Veterans Wheelchair Games Participants: A Cross-sectional Study. Military Medicine.

2. Physiologic changes that occur in an individual immediately and long-term following limb loss has not been well described, especially in the population with traumatic limb loss. My colleagues and I have worked to characterize metabolic and body composition changes during the initial year after injury, and in those who have completed care and have stabilized in their rehabilitation. These efforts have helped provide references/guides for making treatment recommendations for both phases of rehabilitation, and served as a reference to develop a patient friendly tool for appropriately calculating body mass index:

George, B. G., Pruziner, A. L., & Andrews, A. M. (2021). Circumference method estimates percent body fat in male us service members with lower limb loss. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 121(7), 1327-1334.

Andrews, A. M., Pruziner, A. L., Deehl, C., & Rogers, R. L. (2016). Core Temperature in Service Members With and Without Traumatic Amputations During a Prolonged Endurance Event. Military medicine, 181.

Andrews, A. M., & Pruziner, A. L. (2016). Guidelines for Using Adjusted versus Unadjusted Body Weights When Conducting Clinical Evaluations and Making Clinical Recommendations. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Eckard, C. S., Pruziner, A. L., Sanchez, A. D., & Andrews, A. M. (2014). Metabolic and body composition changes in first year following traumatic amputation. Journal of rehabilitation research and development, 52(5), 553-562.

Howell, A., Pruziner, A. L., & Andrews, A. M. (2015). Use of Predictive Energy Expenditure Equations in Individuals with Lower Limb Loss at Seated Rest. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 115(9), 1479-1485.

3. There is currently a lack of consistency when clinically assessing individuals with limb loss, and the measures available are often not specific for this patient population and/or are not able to measure the high-activity level seen for young individuals with traumatic limb loss, versus their older counterparts with dysvascular disease. I have worked with two research teams to both develop a comprehensive outcome measure that could assess high level mobility and agility (the Comprehensive High-Level activity Mobility Predictor; CHAMP), and a Extremity Trauma Toolbox of outcome measures to use with both low and high functioning patients in the limb loss population. The CHAMP has been assessed for reliability and validity, recommendations for clinical application have been provided, and reference standards have been provided for both the CHAMP and the six-minute walk test for uninjured servicemembers and those with limb loss to provide a guideline for goal setting and expectations. The Extremity Truama Toolbox efforts are wrapping up and beginning the dissemination phase.

Linberg, A. A., Roach, K. E., Campbell, S. M., Stoneman, P. D., Gaunaurd, I. A., Raya, M. A., Gomez-Orozco, C., & Gailey, R. S. (2013). Comparison of 6-minute walk test performance between male Active Duty soldiers and servicemembers with and without traumatic lower-limb loss. Journal of rehabilitation research and development, 50(7), 931-940.

Gailey, R. S., Gaunaurd, I. A., Raya, M. A., Roach, K. E., Linberg, A. A., Campbell, S. M., Jayne, D. M., & Scoville, C. (2013). Development and reliability testing of the Comprehensive High-Level Activity Mobility Predictor (CHAMP) in male servicemembers with traumatic lower-limb loss. Journal of rehabilitation research and development, 50(7), 905-18.

Gailey, R. S., Scoville, C. R., Gaunaurd, I. A., Raya, M. A., Linberg, A. A., Stoneman, P. D., Campbell, S. M., & Roach, K. E. (2013). Construct validity of Comprehensive High-level Activity Mobility Predictor (CHAMP) for male servicemembers with traumatic lower-limb loss. Journal of rehabilitation research and development, 50(7), 919-30.

Gaunaurd, I. A., Roach, K. E., Raya, M. A., Hooper, R., Linberg, A. A., Laferrier, J. Z., Campbell, S. M., Scoville, C. R., & Gailey, R. S. (2013) Factors related to high-level mobility in male servicemembers with traumatic lower-limb loss. Journal of rehabilitation research and development, 50(7), 969-84.

4. Prosthetic technology has made strides over the past 10-15 years, however the clinical benefit of these improvements has not been well documented. I have worked as part of a large team assessing the various clinically relevant components of new/advanced technology to help determine benefits gained and prescription recommendations. These efforts have assesses new prosthetic component and socket technology that has been utilized to treatment young, active individuals with limb loss.

Bell, E. M., Pruziner, A. L., Wilken, J. M., & Wolf, E. J. (2016). Performance of conventional and X2® prosthetic knees during slope descent. Clinical Biomechanics, 33, 26-31.

Wolf, E. J., & Pruziner, A. L. (2014). Use of a Powered Versus a Passive Prosthetic System for a Person with Bilateral Amputations during Level-Ground Walking. JPO: Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics, 26(3), 166-170.

Hobara, H., Baum, B. S., Kwon, H. J., Linberg, A., Wolf, E. J., Miller, R. H., & Shim, J. K. (2014). Amputee locomotion: Lower extremity loading using running-specific prostheses. Gait & posture, 39(1), 386-390.

Wolf, E. J., Everding, V. Q., Linberg, A. A., Czerniecki, J. M., & Gambel, C. J. M. (2013). Comparison of the Power Knee and C-Leg during step-up and sit-to-stand tasks. Gait & posture, 38(3), 397-402.

5. Recent efforts are investigating long-term secondary health effects of living with limb loss. These efforts include investigations focused on development of osteoarthritis and cardiovascular disease. Longitudinal protocols are underway to attempt to determine the predisposing risk factors of these diseases in this population, with the goal to target interventions to mitigate and/or eliminate disease progression where appropriate.

Miller, R. H., Krupenevich, R. L., Pruziner, A. L., Wolf, E. J., & Schnall, B. L. (2017). Medial knee joint contact force in the intact limb during walking in recently ambulatory service members with unilateral limb loss: a cross-sectional study. PeerJ, 5, e2960.

Krupenevich, R. L., Pruziner, A. L., & Miller, R. H. (2017). Knee Joint Loading during Single-Leg Forward Hopping. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 49(2), 327-332.

Pruziner, A. L., Werner, K. M., Copple, T. J., Hendershot, B. D., & Wolf, E. J. (2014). Does intact limb loading differ in servicemembers with traumatic lower limb loss?. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research®, 472(10), 3068-3075.

Thurlow, J. S., Abbott, K. C., Linberg, A., Little, D., Fenderson, J., & Olson, S. W. (2014). SCr and SCysC concentrations before and after traumatic amputation in male soldiers: a case-control study. American Journal of Kidney Diseases, 1(63), 167-170.

Presentation(s):