Shape the future of rehabilitation

We train and mentor professionals - scientists - to conduct research in health and rehabilitation-related fields and who want to develop their clinical research skills. In our PhD program, join outstanding clinicians, engineers and other masters prepared individuals working to find new ways to improve the lives of patients and make a contribution to rehabilitation science.

Our Program

Become an outstanding rehabilitation scientist working to find new ways to improve the lives of patients. Our PhD program prepares you to conduct high-quality rehabilitation research in academic, research, and/or healthcare settings.

Degree Programs

 Drs. Jordan Green and Tiffany Hogan arrived at the MGH Institute in 2013 to help start the school’s research initiative.

Unique

One of fewer than 20 such programs in the country, the MGH Institute program provides students the opportunity to work with internationally renowned experts in the heart of the U.S. medical community.

    a man points at a spot off camera for a woman sitting - a researcher looks at equipment in the background

    Interdisciplinary Composition

    A hallmark of the program is the interdisciplinary composition of its faculty, curriculum, and student body. Students come from a mix of rehabilitation-related disciplines, including but not limited to physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, rehabilitation nursing, and/or physiatry/rehabilitation medicine.

    Two women facing and working on a whiteboard wall

    Careers & Outcomes

    Graduates from the program are well prepared to pursue a research-oriented career in academic, research, and/or healthcare settings. Advanced research training can result in greater long-term earnings according to a study of Physical Therapists.

    Our Executive Committee

    Our interdisciplinary faculty includes leaders in rehabilitation from the MGH Institute’s academic disciplines, as well as those at Harvard Medical School, MIT, Mass General Brigham (Brigham and Women's, Massachusetts General, and Spaulding Rehabilitation hospitals), and other prestigious Boston-area institutions.

    View All Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty
    Elise Townsend, DPT, PhD, PCS

    Associate Professor Associate Director, PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences Physical Therapy

    jordan wears a blue collared shirt and a tie with red squares

    Chief Scientific Advisor Matina Souretis Horner Professor in Rehabilitation Sciences Director of the Speech and Feeding Disorders Lab Office of Provost Communication Sciences and Disorders

    kathy wears a dark teal jacket and has strawberry blonde shoulder length hair

    Professor, Occupational Therapy Director, Cancer Rehabilitation (CaRe) Lab

    Marjorie Nicholas

    Chair, Professor Communication Sciences and Disorders School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

    Prue Plummer, PhD, PT, BPhysio(Hons)

    Professor Physical Therapy Cognitive-Motor Behavior Lab

    Ruth Palan Lopez in blue turtleneck

    Professor and Associate Dean of Research Jacques Mohr Chair Nursing

    Teresa Jacobson Kimberley, PhD, PT, FAPTA

    Professor, Physical Therapy Director of the Brain Recovery Lab

    Tiffany wears black top and purple glasses

    Director of the SAiL Literacy Lab Professor Communication Sciences and Disorders Research: SAiL Literacy Lab

    profile photo of yael

    Professor, Co-Director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Group Communication Sciences and Disorders Director of the PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences Program

    A medical professional and a patient looking at each other

    Research Opportunities

    Prospective students should identify a potential Research Mentor who is willing to work with them as part of the pre-application process.

    Explore Research Opportunities