Podcast 004 – Discussing Research with Dr. Michael D’Agati

Dr. Michael D’Agati was graduated Cum Laude honors from William Paterson University with a Bachelor of Science in 2001 and was the sole recipient of the Exercise Physiology Honors award. In 2005, he was graduated Summa Cum Laude honors from New York University with his clinical doctorate in physical therapy.  As a DPT student, he was awarded the APTA Leadership Conference Scholarship Award (2002), the NYAPTA Student Participation Award (2004) and the distinguished Samuel Eshburn Service Award for superlative and extraordinary service and leadership by the Dean (2005).  He has served as a physical therapy resident mentor in a post-professional orthopedic physical therapy residency program, a Master Clinician and Guest Lecturer in a DPT program since 2007.  In 2022, he was graduated from Rutgers University with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Health Sciences and inducted into the Golden Key International Honour Society.  As a Ph.D. student, he was awarded the W. Paul Stillman Endowed Scholarship Award (2009), a pre-doctoral fellowship (2010) and the Ellen Ross Memorial Scholarship award (2016).

Michael practiced as physical therapist from 2005 to 2018, mostly in an academic medical center, as a Board-certified orthopedic clinical specialist and certified as an orthopedic manual therapist.  His institution awarded him an Advanced Skills award (2013), Research Awards (2014, 2015, 2016) and two internal pilot research grants (2013, 2015).   He continues to work in the rehabilitation department of the academic medical center but as an administrator, managing performance and outcome measurement and data analysis.  He also chairs the quality improvement program and serves on a national quality subcommittee.

Michael has held faculty positions at a university and medical school and has lectured nationally.  In 2013, Dr. D’Agati won the Clinical Educator of the Year from The New England Consortium of Academic Coordinators of Clinical Education.  Since 2020, he has published two peer-reviewed journal articles and his dissertation:  The effect of lumbar thrust joint manipulation on hip and knee muscle strength in patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome:  A randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.