Karen Friel, PT, DHS

Chair and Associate Professor

• E-mail: kfriel@nyit.edu
• Phone: 516.686.7651
• Office Location: 500 Building, room 501, Old Westbury
• Office Hours: By appointment

Education

Dr. Karen Friel, PT, DHSc, has undergraduate degrees in both psychology and physical therapy from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She obtained her Master of Health Science in Physical Therapy from Krannert School of Physical Therapy at the University of Indianapolis in December 1994, and her Doctor of Health Sciences from Krannert in May 2004. Her area of specialty is rehabilitation of the individual with lower limb amputation, and her research agenda is focused on low back pain as it relates to lower limb amputation and other biomechanical considerations.

Clinical Experience

Dr. Friel's clinical experience includes acute care, orthopedics, neurological rehabilitation, and pediatrics. She has had numerous presentations at both the state and national level, and she is an active member in the American Physical Therapy Association, both in the Long Island district and the Academic Administrators Special Interest Group. In 2004, Dr. Friel received the "Outstanding Teaching Award" for the School of Health Professions, Behavioral, and Life Sciences. In 2005, she received the Outstanding Leadership Award for the School of Health Professions and in 2009 received the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the School of Health Technology and Management of Stony Brook University. Dr. Friel was the recipient of NYIT's Presidential Technology Award in 2012 for her work integrating iPads into the physical therapy curriculum.

Teaching Experience

Dr. Friel has experience teaching at the physical therapist assistant level and was a founding member of the NYIT Department of Physical Therapy. She became Chairperson of the department in 2004.

Recent Publications

• Hewson K., Friel K., A Unique Preclinical Experience: Concurrent Mock and Pro Bono Clinics to Enhance Student Readiness. Journal of Physical Therapy Education, Spring 2004.
• Friel K., The Effects and Interactions of Vitamin D Deficiency, Calcium and Parathyroid Hormone on Physical Concerns in the Elderly: A Review. Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy, 2004.
• Friel K., Prosthetic Componentry for Lower Extremity Amputations: A Review. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, 2005;13(5):3276-335. 
• Friel K., Domholdt E., Smith D.G., Physical and Functional Measures related to Low Back Pain in Individuals with Lower Limb Amputation. Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, March/April 2005.
• Friel K., McLean N., Myers C., Caceres M. Ipsilateral Hip Abductor Weakness After Inversion Ankle Sprain. J Athletic Training, 2006;41(1):74-78.
• Handrakis J, Friel K, Hoeffner F, Vitulli F, Matthews J, Genova V, Akinkunle O, Isakov E Factors related to low back pain in the college-aged population . Arch Phys Med Rehab. 93(7):1217-1224, 2012.
• Hall C, Friel K, , Pasquarella A, Engle L, O’Boyle L, Stoebe L, Dong M, Smith K, Valle D, Serkes D. Epidemiology of injuries in the elite level female high school lacrosse player. Manuscript accepted for publication in Research in Sports Medicine.