IOA StaffTiffany E. Shubert, Ph.D.Scientist Dr. Shubert received a BA in Communication at the University of California at San Diego, a Master’s of Physical Therapy from the University of California at San Francisco, and her Ph.D. in May 2007 from the Curriculum in Human Movement Science at UNC Chapel Hill. Dr. Shubert’s research is focused on identifying factors that contribute to healthy aging and implementation of effective falls prevention interventions. She is recognized nationally as a leader in falls prevention and developing bridges between research and clinical practice. She has been asked to speak at national meetings on this subject. She developed a community based intervention to promote physical activity and prevent falls for older adults. She has successfully disseminated that intervention to three senior centers in North Carolina. She was the lead author on the North Carolina Roadmap for Healthy Aging, a web-based “wiki” designed to catalog all evidence-based programs in North Carolina and to quantify health conditions for older adults at the county level. As the leader of the UNC Geriatric Education Consortium's "Falls Practice Improvement Network", Dr. Shubert is responsible for collaborating with Area Health Education Centers to develop and deliver falls prevention best practices across disciplines and the continum of care. In it's first year, the FPIN delivered 8 training sessions in the following settings: continuing care retirement communities, wellness facilities, assisted living facilities, adult day health facilities, senior centers, and physician practices. Over the next four years these programs will be disseminated across the state in order to improve evidence-based practice around falls risk screening, assessment, and intervention. Dr. Shubert currently teaches advanced geriatric courses to masters and doctorate students in the division of Physical Therapy. As part of the Donald W. Reynolds grant through the Division of Geriatrics, she developed and currently teaches a course for third year medical students titled “The Stealth Geriatrician”. This course takes place monthly at local retirement communities, and provides medical students the knowledge and the skills necessary to perform geriatric functional assessments. She contributed to the development and assessment of a falls risk assessment clinical exam that all medical students must past with proficiency before completing their medical education. Dr. Shubert is a practicing physical therapist at the UNC Geriatric Evaluation Clinic and is responsible for implementing the satellite clinic of the Division of Physical Therapy Faculty Practice at the Orange County Senior Center. She is an active member of the American Physical Therapy Association, the Gerontological Society of America, and the International Society for Aging and Physical Activity. Email: tshubert@med.unc.edu |
Dr. Tiffany E. Shubert has a joint appointment as a Scientist at the Institute on Aging and the Center for Aging and Health, and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the UNC Division of Physical Therapy.