DPT/PhD Student Spotlight: Q&A with Rachel McLoughlin

After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Bioengineering, Rachel McLoughlin joined the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) - PhD in Bioengineering (DPT/PhD) Program at the School of Rehabilitation Sciences and the Swanson School of Engineering. Now pursuing her PhD, McLoughlin described her motivations and experiences in this dual-degree program.

Q: Why did you want to pursue both a PhD and a DPT, not one or the other?

Rachel McLoughlin: Sports have always been a cornerstone of my life, from the time I began playing recreational soccer at four years old to high school, where I was a three-sport athlete. Throughout my athletic career, I saw firsthand the debilitating effects that injuries have on athletes. Therefore, I decided that I wanted to center my future career around shortening the time athletes spend on the sidelines due to injury. 

When I visited Pitt as a high school senior and witnessed the deep-rooted collaboration between bioengineering research labs and medical facilities, I knew I had found the school for me. I chose to pursue both a DPT and a PhD because together they equip me to make the greatest impact on injured athletes. The DPT provides me with a deep understanding of the human body and allows me to interact directly with patients through clinical practice. Regularly helping patients rehab back to the activities they love gives me a more immediate sense of fulfillment while also revealing the unmet clinical needs that inspire my research. The PhD allows me to investigate those unmet needs and gives me the technical skills to develop solutions that can make a greater long-term difference in the field. The teaching responsibilities that accompany the PhD present additional opportunities for impact through sharing information with the next generation of clinicians and engineers. 

Q: Where do your specific research / clinical interests lie? What are you working on at the moment?

Rachel McLoughlin: My specific research and clinical interests lie in sports performance. Seeing an athlete get injured is devastating, but being in the trenches with them each day after to support them through rehab and then watching them take the field for the first time post-injury is a feeling unlike any other. I also think the interdisciplinary collaboration that occurs within high-level sports teams is fascinating and presents countless opportunities for learning. Because I’m still in my first year of my PhD, I’m working on a few different projects to explore potential thesis topics. I’m planning a research study in collaboration with the Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition to determine the accuracy of markerless motion capture for analyzing common weightlifting movements. I’ve also helped collect biomechanical pitching data for the baseball team and hope to conduct a similar analysis for the softball team. In addition, I’ve been working on data collection and analysis for a project in collaboration with Dr. Benedict Alter, Director of Translational Pain Research in the School of Medicine's Division of Pain Medicine, to investigate the relationship between pain signals in the brain, joint biomechanics, and physical therapy outcome measure scores in individuals with knee osteoarthritis.

Q: How has your experience been so far? What have you learned that surprised you?

Rachel McLoughlin: My experience has been great so far! One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is how differently people from different disciplines approach the same problem. That may seem relatively obvious, but in interdisciplinary clinical and research settings, it can almost seem like people are speaking different languages. Even though everyone is working toward a common goal, their individual priorities are based on their specific backgrounds and experience. Now that I have both an engineering degree and a clinical degree, I’ve been surprised to see how my problem-solving thought process has evolved. I feel like I can see both sides more clearly, so it’s become much easier to collaborate across disciplines and find common ground.

Q: What would you say are some of your favorite aspects of the program?

Rachel McLoughlin: My favorite aspect of the program so far has been the community. My class in the DPT program was very close-knit. We spent nearly every day together for two and a half years! Everyone was constantly rooting for each other’s success, and we started fun traditions like ice cream Thursdays and run club Saturdays to maintain a good school-life balance. I’ve been excited to start carrying these traditions over to my lab now too! Both the DPT and Bioengineering faculty have also been extremely supportive throughout my time at Pitt. They lift me up when I doubt myself and are always willing to use their expansive networks to help me advance towards my dream career. I feel fortunate to have so many mentors pour into my development.

Q: Any challenges or details that prospective students should know about?

Rachel McLoughlin: At times, the amount of school I committed myself to can seem daunting. My time at Pitt has honestly flown by, though, and I can’t believe that I’m already past the halfway point here. The main thing I would advise prospective students to be aware of is the transition between each phase of the program. Physical therapy and engineering require different ways of thinking and learning, so it can take some time and patience to adjust back and forth and realize that they complement each other. It’s well worth it, though, and that’s where I found it especially beneficial to lean on my classmates and professors. If you’re considering the program, I’d be happy to answer questions or share more about my experience. Please don’t hesitate to reach out ◡̈