Maggie O’Neil, PT, PhD, MPH

Maggie O’Neil, PT, PhD, MPH, is a Professor at Columbia University, Programs in Physical Therapy in New York City. She is a graduate of Duke University Physical Therapy Program, Durham NC. Maggie has her master’s in public health (MPH) in Maternal and Child Health from The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and her PhD in pediatric physical therapy and rehabilitation from Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. Maggie’s teaching, research and clinical work focuses on combining physical therapy and public health practices to promote fitness, functional mobility and physical activity in children with disabilities (cerebral palsy) and chronic conditions (obesity) in school, clinic and community settings. Maggie practiced in many settings as a pediatric physical therapist for over twelve years before earning her research degree to become a university professor. She now teaches in the pediatric DPT content and conducts funded research with a clinical research team including physical therapists, exercise scientists and public health researchers to establish reliability and validity of objective measures of physical activity. Also, she collaborates with video game designers, computer scientists and biomechanical engineers to develop customized active video games and virtual reality experiences for youth with disabilities to promote health, physical activity and mobility. Maggie presents at multiple conferences on research and clinical strategies in pediatric physical therapy. She has multiple publications and provides consultation to clinicians and researchers.