Category: Physical Therapy
Physical Therapy Department welcomes new faculty
February 21, 2025 Written by Amy Cherry
Sheri Silfies joins PT Department as associate professor
Returning home to Delaware was always part of Sheri Silfies' plan. Having lived in the First State for nearly two decades, she knew the University of Delaware would be the perfect place to advance her career and research.
“Moving back to the Northeast has been a priority,” said Sheri Silfies. “When I saw the position at UD open, I jumped at the chance.”
Silfies has joined the top-ranked Department of Physical Therapy in the College of Health Sciences. As an associate professor, she’ll focus on research into chronic back pain, its interference with movement, and the lack of recovery, continuing work Silfies began at the University of South Carolina, where she was an associate professor and graduate director of the exercise science PhD program.
“At South Carolina, we used neuroimaging to observe people making small back movements during an MRI, so we could look at what was active in the brain during those movements to understand the role of pain and the pain experience in movement impairment.”
Her goal is to refine treatment strategies by better understanding the role of pain in individuals with low back pain and musculoskeletal injuries. That passion stems from her early work as a physical therapist in a clinical setting.
“Too often, I saw patients return to the clinic not fully recovered, and that inspired me to want to understand the underlying causes of their injuries and help improve interventions,” she said.
UD’s renowned reputation as a tier-one research institution drew Silfies to Newark. She looks forward to collaborating with PT colleagues Professor and Associate Vice President for Clinical and Translational Research Gregory Hicks, Associate Professor Susanne Morton, Associate Professor Megan Sions, and Assistant Professor Katie Butera.
“The draw was a strong group of researchers all working toward similar goals but bringing different skill sets to the table,” she said. “That collaboration will give us an edge in competing for large-scale grants with multiple investigators.”
Silfies also plans to present her research at CHS Research & Innovation Day on March 20.
“I love being around like-minded researchers whose focus is to ask pertinent questions about rehabilitation and interventions for people with chronic pain or musculoskeletal injuries,” said Silfies. “UD’s program is unique. The Physical Therapy Clinic is really enticing to researchers looking to conduct clinical trials—opportunities like that don’t exist at many universities.”
She’s also eager to work with graduate students.
“UDPT has the cream of the crop when it comes to students, and the option for students to go directly from their Doctor of Physical Therapy into the PhD in Biomechanics and Movement Science is great, so we can quickly identify those students who want to dive deeper into research,” she said.
While she won’t teach in the classroom, at least this semester, Silfies will educate students in the lab.
“I hope my students learn to question everything and to dig into the research and be critical about what they’re reading,” she said.
While Silfies is proud of obtaining large federal grants, joining UD’s faculty is one of her proudest accomplishments.
“It’s a stamp on the work that I’ve done. I’ve been in academia for a long time, and UD looked at my record and believed it was a strong fit to help the PT Department and the University move forward.”
