About the speaker
Dr. Christopher M. Powers, PhD, PT, FACSM, FAPTA
Movement Performance Institute
Professor
Co-Director Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Laboratory
Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy University of Southern California
powers@usc.edu
Christopher M. Powers is a Professor and Associate Chair in the Division of Biokinesiology & Physical Therapy at USC. He also has joint appointments in the Departments of Radiology and Orthopaedic Surgery within the Keck School of Medicine. Dr. Powers is currently Co-Director of the Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Research Laboratory and the Director of the Program in Biokinesiology at USC. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1984, his Masters degree in Physical Therapy from Columbia University in 1987, and a Ph.D. in Biokinesiology in 1996 from USC. Dr. Powers did his post-doctoral training at the Orthopaedic Biomechanics Laboratory, University of California, Irvine.
Dr. Powers' research and teaching interests relate to the biomechanical aspects of human movement. More specifically, his research focuses on how altered kinematics, kinetics, and muscular actions contribute to lower extremity injury. He is particularly interested in the pathomechanics underlying knee and patellofemoral joint dysfunction. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and has received several research awards from the American Physical Therapy Association, including the Rose Excellence in Research Award from the Orthopaedic Section, the Eugene Michels New Investigator Award, the Dorothy Briggs Scientific Inquiry Award and the Helen J Hislop Award for contributions to the professional literature.
Dr. Powers is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association. He also is a member of the American Society for Biomechanics, American Society for Testing and Measures, and the North American Society for Gait and Clinical Movement Analysis.