Faculty
Mary Anne Riopel, PT, DPT, PhD
Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy
Program Director & Associate Professor
Dr. Riopel is the founding Program Director and an Associate Professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program. She has 12 years of full-time experience in academia and has served as both a core faculty and Director of Clinical Education in prior institutions. Dr. Riopel has expertise in teaching orthopaedic physical therapy management, biomechanics and kinesiology, modalities, evidence-based practice, ethics, and professional development courses in both entry-level and post-professional DPT programs. Her clinical expertise is in the area of orthopaedics and she has been an ABPTS Board Certified Specialist in Orthopaedics since 2002. She is also an APTA credentialed clinical instructor with experience mentoring numerous PT students in the clinic.
Dr. Riopel completed her PhD in Physical Therapy in 2015 from Nova Southeastern University. While there, she received the prestigious Adopt-A-Doc Award for her dissertation research on promotion of professional behavior development in physical therapy students using standardized patient feedback. Dr. Riopel has an active scholarly agenda which focuses on interprofessionalism and the use of clinical simulation to facilitate learning in physical therapy and health professions students. She was recently appointed to the Ethics Committee of the Pennsylvania Physical Therapy Association.
Jennifer Elinich, PT, DPT
Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy
Assistant Professor
Dr. Elinich is an Assistant Professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program and is the primary academic faculty for the neurologic coursework. She received her Bachelor of Science from the Pennsylvania State University with a major in Kinesiology, focusing her studies in the Movement Science option, and her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Drexel University. Dr. Elinich is a clinical expert in neurologic rehabilitation, certified as a Neurologic Clinical Specialist by the ABPTS since 2015.
Prior to moving to academia, Dr. Elinich worked in the inpatient acute rehabilitation setting at Moss Rehab for nine years, treating patients of all neurologic diagnoses, though specializing in the treatment of patients following cerebrovascular accidents. She is a credentialed clinical instructor and served as a key member of the clinical teaching and mentoring team at Moss Rehab. Dr. Elinich has served as a lecturer at continuing education courses related to stroke rehab as well as at several DPT programs in the Philadelphia area. Her research interest includes the maximization of walking potential in persons post-stroke with complex functional presentations.
Kathleen Madara, PT, DPT, PhD
Assistant Professor
Dr. Madara is an Assistant Professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, focusing on content surrounding Biomechanics and Kinesiology and Exercise Physiology within Moravian’s program. In 2011, she received her Bachelors of Science from the University of Scranton with a major in Exercise Science, followed by her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Arcadia University in 2014, and her PhD in Biomechanics and Movement Science from the University of Delaware in 2018. In April of 2020, Dr. Madara completed her Post-Doctoral training at Arcadia University where she investigated the effects of shoulder pain on voluntary muscle activation. Dr. Madara’s research focuses primarily on neuromuscular changes associated with lower extremity osteoarthritis, as well as total joint arthroplasty and the impacts of pain processing.
In practice, she specializes in outpatient orthopedics and industrial rehabilitation. She is a member of the American College of Rheumatology, National Strength and Conditioning Association, and an active member of the American Physical Therapy Association, specifically within the areas of Orthopedics, Research, and Neurology.
Alison Roll, PT, DPT
Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy
Director of Clinical Education & Assistant Professor
Dr. Roll is an Assistant Professor and Director of Clinical Education in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program. She earned her BA in psychology from Wilkes University in 2010 and Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Drexel University in 2013. She then completed an orthopaedic residency program, where she served as chief resident, through St. Luke’s University Health Network.
Dr. Roll has clinical experience in orthopaedics, and is a board-certified orthopaedic clinical specialist. Her teaching responsibilities include foundations in physical therapist practice, orthopaedic coursework, and modalities. Her primary responsibility is working closely with students and clinical sites in order to provide an optimal learning experience during clinical education experiences. Her areas of research involve interprofessional education, professional behaviors and chronic pain.
Krista Rompolski, PhD
Associate Professor
Dr. Rompolski is an Associate Professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program. She teaches the foundational anatomy and neuroscience courses as well as exercise physiology and pathophysiology for the program. Her previous experiences include serving as the Curriculum Director for Anatomy and Physiology at Drexel University, where she taught Anatomy and Physiology, Pathophysiology, Gross Anatomy, Exercise Physiology and Clinical Research courses within the Health Sciences program for seven years. She was awarded the Drexel College of Nursing and Health Professions Teaching Excellence award in 2019. In 2016, Dr. Rompolski was awarded a scholarship by the American Association of Anatomy and the Anatomical Society to participate in the Anatomy Training Program, a post-degree program intended to train motivated educators and biomedical researchers to teach Gross Anatomy.
Throughout her teaching career, Dr. Rompolski has been active in scholarship and service to both her institutions and professional societies. She was chosen to be the first contributing author and lead Digital Author of Human Physiology, McGraw Hill education, in 2016. She is an active member of the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society and the American Association of Anatomy, and routinely presents research and professional development workshops at their conferences. Her current research interests include anatomy education for physical therapists and the scholarship of teaching and learning in anatomy and physiology.
Michael Steimling, PT, DPT
Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy
Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy
Assistant Professor
Dr. Steimling is an Assistant Professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program and is the primary academic faculty for the musculoskeletal series. He received his Bachelors of Science from the University of Pittsburgh with a major in Exercise Science in 2010, and his Doctor of Physical Therapy from Drexel University in 2013. Dr. Steimling has distinguished himself as a clinical expert in sports and orthopaedic rehabilitation. He has been an ABPTS board-certified clinical specialist in orthopaedics since 2015 and a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists since completing the Fellowship in Orthopaedic Manual Therapy from Regis University in 2018.
Dr. Steimling has served as a primary faculty for several post-professional physical therapy residency programs in orthopaedic and women’s health physical therapy in the Philadelphia area. Dr. Steimling’s research interests include: the effects of manual therapy; regional interdependence of the lumbopelvic-hip complex; and the use of gait retraining in the management of injured distance runners.
Kimberly D. Wynarczuk, PT, DPT, PhD, MPH, CHES
Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Pediatric Physical Therapy
Associate Professor
Dr. Wynarczuk is an Assistant Professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program. She has been teaching in Doctor of Physical Therapy programs since 2011, first at the University of the Sciences and then at Kean University. Prior to teaching, Dr. Wynarczuk worked as a school-based physical therapist with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit for 11 years. She is a Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Pediatric Physical Therapy and is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES).
Dr. Wynarczuk completed her PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences at Drexel University, with a concentration in pediatric physical therapy in 2018. Her research interests include collaboration and related services in educational environments, the lived experiences of individuals with disabilities and their families, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. She has published her research in multiple peer-reviewed journals; presented at many local, state, and national conferences; and has contributed chapters for two pediatric physical therapy textbooks. She has also received research grant funding from the Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy of the American Physical Therapy Association. Dr. Wynarczuk is also an active member of the American Physical Therapy Association, serving as the School-Based Physical Therapy Special Interest Group's liaison to the Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy Research Committee.