New Department Chair Applies Expertise in Public Health and Physical Therapy to Improve Quality of Life
01/13/2025
By Karen Angelo
In her freshman year of high school, Julie Keysor tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) while playing basketball. A tear or sprain of the ACL is a common knee injury when playing sports that demand sudden stops and changes in direction; it can cause knee instability, pain and swelling.
After ACL reconstruction surgery on her knee, Keysor spent four months immobilized in a full leg cast and underwent two years of physical therapy. By the time she was a senior in high school, she knew she wanted to pursue a career as a physical therapist.
Her decades-long passion for physical therapy has led her to a leadership role in the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences. As the new chair of the Physical Therapy and Kinesiology (PTK) Department, Keysor brings her personal experiences, research expertise and leadership capabilities to the students and faculty of the department.
Keysor says that the strengths of the exercise science and physical therapy programs, their dedicated faculty, staff and students, and research opportunities all drew her to the position.
“I couldn’t be happier to serve as chair at UMass Lowell and am honored to lead PTK toward continued growth in our academic initiatives and scholarly activities,” says Keysor. “I’m also excited about the potential for research collaborations with organizations and researchers in the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor (LINC), including Mass General Brigham’s Center for Sports Performance and Research.”
Before joining UMass Lowell, Keysor held various positions at the MGH Institute of Health Professions, including professor, researcher and chair. Prior to that, she spent 16 years as a faculty member at Boston University in the Department of Physical Therapy and at the medical school.
A Second Injury Prompts a Move to Research
Back when Keysor was earning a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from the University of Vermont, she damaged her other knee. She pursued an M.S. in human movement science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and worked as a physical therapist.
By the time Keysor was 26 years old, she had undergone several knee surgeries and was diagnosed with bilateral knee osteoarthritis, a condition that is typically diagnosed in older adults. The degenerative joint disease caused pain, stiffness, swelling and decreased mobility, making it difficult for her to do her job as a physical therapist.
“I decided to pursue my Ph.D. so that I could conduct research that blends rehabilitation and public health principles to improve the lives of people with chronic disabling conditions,” says Keysor, who graduated with a doctorate in health behavior and health education in public health from the School of Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Evidence-Based Strategies Help People Improve Mobility
Keysor knew how to treat injuries, but she also wanted to help people adopt strategies that motivate them to keep exercising and incorporate rehabilitation into everyday living.
“Public health helped me understand social and behavioral determinants of health such as income, education, health care access, neighborhood environment and health psychology,” says Keysor, an expert in researching and applying strategies that help people improve mobility. “It’s important to understand these non-medical factors that impact health so that clinicians can implement rehabilitation solutions with social and behavioral needs to optimize performance.”
The research that Keysor leads is at the intersection of activity, behavior and the environment to promote activity for people with disabling conditions. Much of her research encourages movement among older adults, people with chronic conditions such as arthritis and stroke, and children with chronic pain or muscular dystrophies. She is researching new technologies to augment home-based physical therapy and rehabilitation.
“It’s very difficult for any of us to get moving, but for people with chronic conditions, it’s even harder,” says Keysor. “By understanding what behaviors can be modified and how to support behavior change, I use evidence-based strategies and technologies to help clients improve their mobility.”
Those strategies may include phone calls to patients to offer support, real-time feedback and encouragement, help with setting goals, and suggestions for engaging in fun activities.
In one study that she is leading, Keysor is developing and testing a new virtual reality system that allows a physical therapist to interact with a child with chronic pain as they complete a yoga treatment program. In another study, Keysor is using a remote monitoring platform to improve upper extremity function among stroke survivors.
"By using innovative technologies to provide evidence-based rehabilitation and strategies to change behavior, we can help individuals develop healthy habits at home that promote optimal well-being,” says Keysor. “In addition, the technologies can provide meaningful data to patients and clinicians to personalize their treatment plans.”
As Keysor begins her second semester at the university, she sees a bright future for the department.
“PTK is poised for great opportunities over the next decade,” she says. “Without a doubt, UML’s research in physical therapy, exercise science, engineering, population health, microbiology and basic science will lead to advances in human performance and rehabilitation for high-performing soldiers, first responders and elite athletes as well as adults and children with chronic disabling conditions.”