Mariana is a physical therapist and a fellow at VA’s Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC). Her long-term research goal is to become a distinguished health service researcher who will address the lack of routine physical activity prescription among physical therapists treating older adults. She started working towards this goal by completing her PhD in Human Functioning and Rehabilitation Sciences and a Masters in Public Health. Her dissertation focused on exploring barriers and solutions related to physical activity prescription among physical therapists treating older adults. Using her findings, she plans to address the barriers of physical activity prescription by developing and implementing a physical activity toolkit. The toolkit includes a physical activity barrier assessment tool, called the Inventory of Physical Activity Barriers (IPAB) that she developed and validated during her PhD.
Dr. Wingood earned her Bachelor’s Degree form the State University of New York College at Oswego, her Doctor of Physical Therapy from the State University of New York Upstate Medical University, and her MPH and PhD in Interprofessional Health Sciences from the University of Vermont.
Mariana is a 2021 AcademyHealth Delivery System Science Fellowship fellow.