Darryn Atkinson, PT, PhD

Dr. Darryn Atkinson is a physical therapist, researcher and educator focused on improving the lives of individuals with neurological injuries and their families. He began his career in 2005 as a physical therapist specializing in spinal cord injury rehabilitation at TIRR/Memorial Hermann in Houston, TX. In 2010, Dr. Atkinson joined the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center at the University of Louisville in Louisville, KY, earning his Doctor of Philosophy in anatomical sciences and neurobiology in 2016. He subsequently completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Kosair Charities Center for Pediatric Neurorecovery, also at the University of Louisville.

Dr. Atkinson’s clinical and research interests center on promoting neurologic recovery after adult and pediatric spinal cord injury through the development and refinement of neuromodulation strategies that can augment current activity-based therapies. Dr. Atkinson’s teaching experience includes instructing a human biomechanics course at the University of Louisville. He has been a consultant and senior instructor in post-professional courses and on the topics of recovery-based interventions for adult and pediatric neurological populations.

Dr. Atkinson joined the core Doctor of Physical Therapy program faculty at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences at the Austin, TX campus in 2019 and teaches within the neurological course components of the program.