Clinical Associate Professor

Karen J. Hutchinson, PT, DPT, Ph.D., CEEAA is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training at Boston University, Boston, MA, and a Certified Exercise Expert for Aging Adults from the APTA. Dr. Hutchinson received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Lowell, Lowell, MA in 1986 and both a Master’s degree in Neurologic Physical Therapy and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, the latter in 2000. Her dissertation work assessed various treatment interventions on sensorimotor outcomes from experimental spinal cord injury.

Dr. Hutchinson completed the Clinical Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Northeastern University, Boston, MA in 2008. Her primary clinical research interests include exercise prescription and functional assessment in chronic spinal cord injury and stroke, working collaboratively through a local YMCA in this area for over 15 years. She has worked to develop clinical assessments of balance and fitness in subjects with neurological conditions and in addition to her full-time academic responsibilities, she currently works in a research lab utilizing metabolic assessments of graded exercise testing post-stroke.