Orlando Health Archives | University of Central ��ӽ紫ý News

The Next Elite Sports Physical Therapists

Robert Stephens — Wed, 06 May 2026 13:30:23 +0000

Alvaro Zapata and Tsianna Barnwell have never feared the highest level of competition. They crave it. Growing up, soccer, track and football lit internal fires that burn to this day, which helps explain how they made it into an exclusive cohort: the ��ӽ紫ý and Orlando Health sports physical therapy residency. With just two residents accepted each year, Zapata and Barnwell made the cut from a list of 30 high-performing applicants, meaning they’re as elite as the athletes they work with.

“The residency accelerates clinical reasoning by three to five years, making [residents] more competitive candidates for the best jobs.” — Meredith Chaput, research coordinator and liaison for the ��ӽ紫ý and Orlando Health sports physical therapy residency program

“We look for people who thrive on rigor,” says Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy Meredith Chaput, the residency’s research coordinator and liaison. The payoff is priceless. “The residency accelerates clinical reasoning by three to five years, making them more competitive candidates for the best jobs.”

Chaput’s sport-specific expertise, along with that of four of her colleagues in the ��ӽ紫ý Division of Physical Therapy who serve as didactic and clinical mentors, is an instant draw to the program. So, too, are ��ӽ紫ý’s research labs, partnerships and the opportunity to teach students in the ��ӽ紫ý doctor of physical therapy program.

The residents are equally drawn to the opportunity to advance their skills alongside a seasoned clinical team at Orlando Health. They take on a caseload of sports and orthopedic patients, providing specialized care ranging from post-surgical rehabilitation to elite-level performance optimization, tapping into advanced rehabilitation technology to improve athlete recovery. Nearly 2 million people every year suffer sports-related injuries and receive treatment in emergency departments, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

With all of this in place, professionals are being prepared, two at a time, through a specialized 12-month program, to join the select group of 169 board-certified sports clinical specialist physical therapists in ��ӽ紫ý. It’s a coveted residency and one designed to develop healthcare providers to better aid athletes of all levels. Central ��ӽ紫ý is a premier sports destination, featuring a mix of professional franchises, elite collegiate athletics, large high schools and massive amateur complexes.

“When we started this program in 2020, our mission initially aimed to strengthen the rehabilitation services provided to the local sports-based community within Central ��ӽ紫ý by producing highly trained and skilled sports physical therapists,” says Philip Agostinelli, residency program coordinator and rehab clinical operations manager with Orlando Health Sports Medicine and Rehab Center. “Now, currently, in our sixth cohort of residents, that mission evolved to encompass the needs of athletes on a national scale, with multiple past graduates working in professional or semi-professional sports across the country.”

Since entering the ��ӽ紫ý and Orlando Health Sports Physical Therapy program, Alvaro Zapata has accessed the inner circles of Orlando’s two professional soccer teams.

The Tireless Protege: Alvaro Zapata

Long days do not faze Alvaro Zapata, even as they turn into 60-hour weeks. To him, they’re part of the allure of the residency program.

“I ask myself, ‘When would I have this kind of opportunity again?’ and the answer is never,” Zapata says. “The program opens doors that would otherwise not be open.”

“I’m gaining all the knowledge I could possibly need to eventually be at the top of my profession.” — Alvaro Zapata

Since entering the program last August, Zapata has stretched his aptitude alongside clinicians at Orlando Health and Jewett Orthopedic. He’s worked with athletes in high schools and at ��ӽ紫ý and accessed the inner circles of Orlando’s two professional soccer teams.

As Zapata puts it, “I’m gaining all the knowledge I could possibly need to eventually be at the top of my profession.”

Zapata was poised to climb the ladder with his Doctor of Physical Therapy from Boston University when he heard about Chaput heading up the residency program at ��ӽ紫ý. He knew of her published research and presentations to global audiences.

“She’s a big reason I wanted this residency so badly,” Zapata says.

At the 2026 Isokinetic Conference, Alvaro Zapata presented progress on a rehab model he co-developed, examining how ACL surgery can disrupt instinctive movement and coordination.

Here, he has had the opportunity to collaborate with Chaput and progress research on the “visual-cognitive control-to-chaos continuum” in rehab, a model for which Chaput is one of the original creators. After ACL reconstruction surgery, patients often develop inhibitions within the brain that limit the coordination of knee movement. Instead of movement in competition being instinctive, athletes are often consciously aware of deficiencies that were once automatic.

“If you can’t trust your knee, then you can’t get back to the top of your game,” Zapata says. “Rehab is typically done in a controlled setting. The real sports environment is chaotic. We’re finding ways to challenge people the day after surgery, so inhibitions don’t set in.”

This means “visual-cognitive” challenges are added to rehab in the very early stages. For example, the physical therapists might have the patient look for colored lights on a screen. Red means squeeze the right leg. Blue means squeeze the left leg. Yellow means squeeze both.

The visual-cognitive control-to-chaos continuum calls for therapists to gradually make exercises more complex for the patient, from simple, controlled movements to more unpredictable, game-like situations. The goal is to better prepare patients to safely return to sports by training both the body and the brain.

“We want athletes to react instead of thinking first,” Zapata says. “It could be a game changer.”

Tsianna Barnwell is building her skill set through hands-on work with the Orlando Pride.

The Team Player: Tsianna Barnwell

At noon on a Monday, Tsianna Barnwell leaves Jewett Orthopedic Clinic, where she’s been broadening her skills since 7 a.m. She’ll now drive to a local high school to work with athletes across a range of sports. Barnwell thrives in the residency program because no two days are the same. She might work with the Orlando Pride or Orlando City, provide expertise for USA Track or binge on insights at Orlando Health.

Some people call the program challenging. Barnwell calls it “incredible.”

“I’m getting the best of all worlds,” she says. She even immerses herself in the world of Orlando Ballet, calling it “another unique experience to add to my toolbox.”

In the Cognition, Neuroplasticity and Sarcopenia Lab, Tsianna Barnwell (left), assisted by Alvaro Zapata (right), studies differences in hamstring muscles between men and women to inform rehabilitation, recovery and injury prevention.

Barnwell takes her toolbox into the Cognition, Neuroplasticity and Sarcopenia Lab, where she and Chaput are advancing research, which they recently presented in Athens, Greece, at the Isokinetic Conference. It started with a question Barnwell had from her days as a Division I soccer player: Why are female athletes two to six times more likely to suffer knee injuries than men? Through her sports residency, she’s discovered that females are more likely to be weaker in their hamstring muscles. Studying these anatomical and physiological differences can inform impactful changes in rehab, recovery and injury prevention, she notes.

“With this residency under my belt, my opportunities will be almost endless.” — Tsianna Barnwell

Barnwell knows firsthand what it’s like to suffer a torn ACL. She’s also known “the team” as her home away from home since leaving Qatar as an 18-year-old to study and play soccer at St. Bonaventure University. Ultimately, she wants to be part of a team again, perhaps as the director of rehabilitation for a professional women’s soccer team. That’s her preference, but when the residency ends, she’ll be prepared to work with any team — even a ballet company, Cirque du Soleil or the rehab team at Orlando Health.

“I’m fortunate to gain such a breadth of knowledge,” Barnwell says. “With this residency under my belt, my opportunities will be almost endless.”

Jeremy Wydra ’18 ’22DPT was among the presenters at the 2026 Isokinetic Conference in Athens, Greece.

The Empowered Graduate: Jeremy Wydra ’18 ’22DPT

Jeremy Wydra ’18 ’22DPT is where Zapata and Barnwell will soon be: residency complete, now pursuing a path to find more effective ways to help athletes and performers recover and raise the bar.

“That’s the great outcome for me: variety,” says Wydra, who finished the residency program in 2024 and is now practicing clinically, and working toward his doctorate in kinesiology at ��ӽ紫ý, where he is collecting data on the recovery and return to performance after ACL reconstruction.

Wydra worked his way through ��ӽ紫ý, first envisioning a career in mechanical engineering and ultimately earning a bachelor’s in health sciences. Along the way, he decided he wanted a people-facing profession and shadowed at a clinic, where he noticed physical therapists conversing with patients throughout treatment sessions, often for more than an hour. He saw it as personalized healthcare that he could optimize with physics and innovation.

Jeremy Wydra ’18 ’22DPT (right) works with a student-athlete in a training facility.

After finishing his doctorate in physical therapy at ��ӽ紫ý, Wydra landed in a dream situation in Maryland, practicing as both a strength and conditioning coach and a physical therapist within sports performance centers. It begs the question: Why return for the residency?

“I wanted to work with mentors who would push me to be better,” says Wydra.

Unlike Zapata and Barnwell, Wydra had little soccer experience. Gaining it became part of the push he desired.

“… the value of the residency for me: having access to such diversified people and environments.” — Jeremy Wydra ’18 ’22DPT

“During my second week in the residency, I stepped into the Orlando City Academy training room to work with high-level athletes,” he says. “I also helped on the sidelines and talked with the medical staff about team-centered communication with coaches and players. That was the value of the residency for me: having access to such diversified people and environments.”

Wydra sees himself taking full advantage of the variety still in front of him, perhaps as a physical therapist and sports scientist, reforming best practices and helping others be their best.

“That’s what my mentors in the residency have done for me: made me a better person and professional,” he says. “I wouldn’t trade those 12 months for the world.”

��ӽ紫ý, Orlando Health Co-Locate to Accelerate Healthcare Innovation

Robyn Lorfink — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 14:15:27 +0000

Yesterday, Orlando Health celebrated the opening of Orlando Health Strategic Innovations located within SPRK, ��ӽ紫ý’s innovation building, expanding the health system’s presence at the center of ��ӽ紫ý’s main campus.

Designed to accelerate innovation, the Orlando Health Strategic Innovations group connects real clinical and operational challenges with student and academic talent, creating a healthcare environment where ideas are tested, informed by feedback, and continually improved. The space serves as an extension of the system’s downtown headquarters and is jointly funded by Orlando Health Ventures and the Orlando Health Innovation teams.

Orlando Health’s presence within SPRK aligns with ��ӽ紫ý’s broader co-location strategy, which brings industry partners onto campus to catalyze innovation through proximity. The approach emphasizes shared space, shared challenges and shared outcomes to accelerate problem-solving, support experiential learning and speed the translation of ideas into practice.

The co-location marks the latest milestone in Orlando Health’s long-standing partnership with ��ӽ紫ý.

“By working side by side at SPRK, we are accelerating innovation and moving real-world healthcare solutions more quickly into the communities we serve.” — Alexander N. Cartwright, ��ӽ紫ý president

The Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute provides comprehensive, year-round care for ��ӽ紫ý student-athletes, including on-field coverage, primary care sports medicine, and specialized imaging. As a Pegasus Partner, Orlando Health pledged $5 million toward the , which supports nursing internships, scholarships, and hiring, helping to address the state’s nursing shortage. In addition, Orlando Health and ��ӽ紫ý collaborate on advanced technology projects — such as the AI for Medical Surgery system — jointly offer specialized residency programs and collaborate in many additional ways.

“Orlando Health has been an exceptional partner, demonstrating what is possible when industry and academia come together with shared purpose. This next phase of co-location builds on that foundation,” says ��ӽ紫ý President Alexander N. Cartwright. “By working side by side at SPRK, we are accelerating innovation and moving real-world healthcare solutions more quickly into the communities we serve.”

Healthcare Innovation at the Center of Campus

Located in approximately 2,649 square feet within SPRK, the Strategic Innovations group was intentionally placed, here, to foster continuous collaboration with faculty and students across disciplines.

This co-location enables a new operating model. Orlando Health brings real health system challenges directly into the academic environment, and interdisciplinary teams of students, faculty, and Orlando Health innovators rapidly design, test, and refine solutions.

Early collaboration has already begun to generate impact in areas such as cancer research, digital health, creation of AI models and various orthopedic innovations.

“The opening of an Orlando Health Strategic Innovations space at ��ӽ紫ý represents our shared commitment to advancing healthcare delivery through bold new ideas,” says Jamal Hakim, M.D., chief physician officer, Orlando Health. “Through this partnership, we are creating a collaborative environment where clinicians, researchers, students and industry leaders can generate real-world solutions and drive innovations that will shape the future of how we care for patients.”

Built to Go For Launch

The latest milestone in , this co-location represents ��ӽ紫ý’s deep commitment to the ecosystem of support powering our vision for the future.

Through a collective effort — combining philanthropy and transformational giving with corporate partnerships, research commercialization and other revenue-generating endeavors — ��ӽ紫ý is charting a bold new path forward and building a future the world has only begun to imagine.

“This co-location with Orlando Health exemplifies the kind of partnership that powers Go for Launch, bringing industry and academia together to create real-world impact,” says Rod Grabowski, ��ӽ紫ý vice president for Advancement and Partnership, and CEO of the ��ӽ紫ý Foundation. “By aligning visionary partners with ��ӽ紫ý’s innovation ecosystem, we are accelerating discovery, expanding opportunity and advancing solutions that improve lives.”

Sharon Tucker Named Orlando Health Endowed Chair in Nursing

Julie Harper — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 18:48:43 +0000

��ӽ紫ý Pegasus Partner Orlando Health has named , dean of ��ӽ紫ý’s College of Nursing, the Orlando Health Endowed Chair in Nursing.

The prestigious endowed faculty position, which will support Tucker’s nursing research, teaching and scholarly activities, is just the latest example of how ��ӽ紫ý is leveraging industry partnerships to drive real-world impact.

Tucker is a distinguished scholar in both psychiatric mental health nursing and evidence-based practice who has made sustained impacts on the field, for nurses and patients alike. She is nationally board certified as an adult psychiatric-mental health clinical nurse specialist and integrative nurse coach.

Her research, which has been published in more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and presented around the world, focuses on behavior change through mental health and wellness interventions and organizational change through evidence-based practice.

“With its partnership, Orlando Health is elevating excellence in education and research to support future Knight nurses and improve the health of our communities.” — Sharon Tucker

“I am incredibly honored to be named to this esteemed endowed position, and grateful for Orlando Health’s support of the college,” says Tucker. “Partnerships are powerful and with its partnership, Orlando Health is elevating excellence in education and research to support future Knight nurses and improve the health of our communities.”

In addition to the new endowed chair appointment, Tucker holds the prestigious distinctions of fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and fellow of the National Academies of Practice in Nursing.

Orlando Health has been a long-standing partner of ��ӽ紫ý and the College of Nursing. The Orlando Health Endowed Chair in Nursing was established in 2009, and Tucker is the second faculty member to be named to the appointment. It was formerly held by Professor Emerita Mary Lou Sole, the previous dean and a renowned critical care researcher.

Kelly Edmondson, Orlando Health’s senior vice president of nursing and patient care services, says the partnership speaks to the organization’s mission to improve the health and quality of life of the individuals and communities they serve.

“Dr. Tucker’s research supports our efforts to empower nurses and elevate clinical excellence to deliver compassionate, evidence-based care,” Edmondson says. “It is an honor to continue to partner with ��ӽ紫ý to strengthen the nursing workforce and create a healthier future for all.”

In 2023, Orlando Health became one of ��ӽ紫ý’s inaugural Pegasus Partners with a $5 million commitment to support the Dr. Phillips Nursing Pavilion as well as provide tuition assistance and additional paid internships for ��ӽ紫ý nursing students.

to support the College of Nursing

Philanthropic support is critical to the creation of endowed faculty positions, helping ��ӽ紫ý attract and retain nursing experts, and support groundbreaking research that impacts the profession and the health of communities. Help launch more faculty experts to lead nursing into the future by joining ��ӽ紫ý’s Go for Launch campaign.

Progressing the Final Frontier of Medicine: Space

Wendy Sarubbi — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 11:10:28 +0000

��ӽ紫ý’s leading space medicine experts, valued strategic partners and an astronaut who holds NASA’s record for spacewalks will gather April 10 in Lake Nona’s Medical City to discuss how they can work together to keep space travelers healthy and use that research to create groundbreaking clinical innovations on Earth.

The “Star Nona 2026” event is led by the Lake Nona Research Council, which is focused on encouraging interdisciplinary scientific partnerships between industry, academia and healthcare.

The council includes physicians and researchers from ��ӽ紫ý, Orlando Health, AdventHealth, the , the Orlando VA Medical Center, Nemours Children’s Health, business and industry.

Star Nona 2026 Event Details

“Our goal is to bring together space medicine leaders and experts from academia, medicine and the space industry to find more ways we can work together to research the health impacts of space flight and how our discoveries can also improve healthcare on Earth,” says Michal Masternak, ��ӽ紫ý professor of medicine.

An anti-aging and cancer researcher, Masternak leads the Lake Nona Research Council’s space medicine research group. He also leads the College of Medicine’s program that processes astronaut samples so physicians and scientists can analyze the immediate impact of space travel on astronauts’ bodies.

Sessions will include presentations on:

Microgravity and radiation exposure and their impact on human physical and mental health
How space travel affects muscles, bones, cells, vision and the brain
Protecting muscles in space (led by AdventHealth researchers)
Next generation of the space station
New technologies for diagnosing how space travel impacts human cells.

Robert Curbeam holds the record for the most spacewalks (4) during a single spaceflight.

These presentations will feature ��ӽ紫ý researchers from medicine, , and . ��ӽ紫ý graduate students and post-doctoral scientists will also present research posters on space medicine.

The plenary speaker is NASA astronaut Robert Curbeam, a U.S. Navy captain who completed four spacewalks during space shuttle Discovery’s 2006 mission to the International Space Station.

The Space Coast’s College of Medicine

Located 45 miles west of the Space Coast and Kennedy Space Center, ��ӽ紫ý’s College of Medicine is the perfect partner to chart a new frontier in healthcare as humans prepare for longer missions to the moon and Mars, and commercial space flights take more civilians into space.

The goal: explore how factors such as microgravity, radiation and isolation impact the human body in space and how that knowledge can drive innovation into diagnostics, treatment and disease prevention on Earth.

To further those efforts, ��ӽ紫ý has created a new Center for Aerospace and Extreme Environments Medicine (CASEEM), which includes ��ӽ紫ý faculty experts in medicine, engineering, computer science, psychology, arts and educational leadership. This interdisciplinary group will work together to research and develop new technologies for keeping space travelers healthy, as well as soldiers on military missions, deep sea explorers and mountain climbers.

About the Lake Nona Research Council

Edward Ross, the College of Medicine’s chair of medicine and assistant dean for research, leads the Lake Nona Research Council.

Ross says Star Nona and the partnerships it creates will help solidify ��ӽ紫ý and Medical City’s reputation as a premier center for space medicine.

“When people think of keeping space visitors healthy, we want them to immediately think ��ӽ紫ý.” — Edward Ross, College of Medicine’s chair of medicine

“As a university, ��ӽ紫ý was born to create the workforce to send humans to the moon,” he says. “We’re continuing that legacy with space medicine. When people think of keeping space visitors healthy, we want them to immediately think ��ӽ紫ý.”

Event Registration

Star Nona 2026 will be held at the ��ӽ紫ý Lake Nona Cancer Center, with registration beginning at 8:15 a.m. Star Nona is made possible by support and sponsorships from Dr. Jogi Pattisapu and the Hydrocephalus and Neuroscience Institute, Tavistock Development Company and the ��ӽ紫ý Space Institute. To sign up to attend the event, please visit .

Pegasus Partner Orlando Health Boosts ��ӽ紫ý Clinic With New Name and Major Support

Leah Freeman ’22 and Camille Dolan ’98 — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 13:33:39 +0000

Pegasus Partner Orlando Health continues to deepen its longstanding relationship with ��ӽ紫ý through the newly renamed Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute Athletic Training Clinic at the ��ӽ紫ý Recreation and Wellness Center (RWC).

Through this enhanced partnership, clinicians will continue to deliver exceptional care to ��ӽ紫ý students — offering injury evaluation, treatment, rehabilitation and preventive services — now bolstered by direct access to one of Central ��ӽ紫ý’s premier healthcare systems.

“This collaboration ensures our students receive top-tier care from highly qualified athletic trainers.” — Jim Wilkening, ��ӽ紫ý RWC executive director

The agreement also supports expanded staffing, upgraded equipment, enhanced programming and streamlined referral pathways for students requiring additional care. These enhancements further solidify the RWC’s role as a cornerstone of student well-being at ��ӽ紫ý.

All RWC services — including appointments at the athletic training clinic — are free for students who have paid the university’s activity and service fee.

��ӽ紫ý’s Pegasus Partner program provides select organizations with opportunities to engage across the university in ways that foster meaningful, long-term relationships.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Orlando Health for the continued health and safety of our students,” says Jim Wilkening, executive director of the RWC. “This collaboration ensures our students receive top-tier care from highly qualified athletic trainers.”

Inside the Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute Athletic Training Clinic at the ��ӽ紫ý Recreation and Wellness Center. (Photo by Kristin Nurnberg)

“As the official medical provider for ��ӽ紫ý Athletics, expanding our role to provide the same expert care to the entire student body was a logical step for us,” says Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute sports medicine physician Fred Soliman, who also serves as a team physician for ��ӽ紫ý. “Through this partnership, students will have easier access to high-level medical care at the RWC.”

“Through this partnership, students will have easier access to high-level medical care at the RWC.” — Fred Soliman, Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute sports medicine physician

Since becoming one of ��ӽ紫ý’s first Pegasus Partners in 2023, Orlando Health has made significant contributions to the university, including support for the new Dr. Phillips Nursing Pavilion in Lake Nona, which will open this fall; student scholarships; and internships aimed at addressing ��ӽ紫ý’s nursing shortage.

Orlando Health also recently partnered with a ��ӽ紫ý biomedical engineer and several engineering students on a pilot program that uses artificial intelligence and computer vision to track surgical staples in operating rooms. The AI software directs a camera to record each staple’s use, enabling data analysis that improves efficiency and reduces costs. This technology has the potential to be applied to other surgical processes, such as tracking instrument usage during non-robotic procedures.

“From Pilates and rock climbing to open-water SCUBA, the RWC empowers students to stay active — and now, with enhanced support from Orlando Health, they can climb higher, swim deeper and run faster, with even greater confidence in their care,” says Rod Grabowski, ��ӽ紫ý’s senior vice president for Advancement and Partnerships. “We are grateful not only for Orlando Health’s continued trust in our mission and programs, but also for their shared commitment to our students — and their future.”

Orlando Health Archives | University of Central ���ӽ紫ý News