Research/Areas of Interest:
Dr. Smoliga has a wide variety of research interests, including:
- Improving the evidence-basis for physical therapy, including identifying current limitations of the current literature so they can be addressed in the future
- Concussion epidemiology and the effectiveness of concussion mitigation interventions
- Long-term athlete health and mortality rates
- Endurance athlete medicine, injury prevention, and rehabilitation
- Performance optimization in Olympic sports
- Addressing pseudoscience in the scientific literature, marketing, and mainstream media
Education
- DVM, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States, 2003
- Ph.D. (Sports Medicine and Nutrition), University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States, 2007
Biography
Dr. Smoliga is the Director of Research and Faculty Development for the Tufts DPT-Seattle program. He is recognized for his scholarship across a broad variety of disciplines, including physical therapy, sports medicine, and exercise physiology. Prior to joining Tufts, he was a tenured Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at High Point University and previously served as the Associate Director of the Human Biomechanics and Physiology Laboratory.
As a scholar, Dr. Smoliga has numerous interests and an eclectic publication history. His scholarship falls under two broad themes: 1) prevention and treatment of sports injuries/conditions and enhancement of sports performance through integrating physiologic, neuromuscular, and biomechanical aspects of function; and 2) using critical thinking, proper statistical methodology and analysis, and synthesizing multidisciplinary scientific literature to identify and address misconceptions in healthcare and life sciences. He has published 75+ papers in peer-reviewed journals, and his research has been covered by the New York Times and other major mainstream media outlets. He is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and was awarded the 2022 Guy Simoneau Excellence in Research Award for a paper he coauthored in the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy. He has received $250K+ in research funding.
Dr. Smoliga's earned his Ph.D. in Sports Medicine and Nutrition from the University of Pittsburgh in 2007. While his career has focused on teaching and research within human healthcare and sports science, he also earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from Cornell University in 2003. Additionally, Dr. Smoliga is an avid distance runner and fan of all Olympic sports.
As a scholar, Dr. Smoliga has numerous interests and an eclectic publication history. His scholarship falls under two broad themes: 1) prevention and treatment of sports injuries/conditions and enhancement of sports performance through integrating physiologic, neuromuscular, and biomechanical aspects of function; and 2) using critical thinking, proper statistical methodology and analysis, and synthesizing multidisciplinary scientific literature to identify and address misconceptions in healthcare and life sciences. He has published 75+ papers in peer-reviewed journals, and his research has been covered by the New York Times and other major mainstream media outlets. He is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and was awarded the 2022 Guy Simoneau Excellence in Research Award for a paper he coauthored in the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy. He has received $250K+ in research funding.
Dr. Smoliga's earned his Ph.D. in Sports Medicine and Nutrition from the University of Pittsburgh in 2007. While his career has focused on teaching and research within human healthcare and sports science, he also earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from Cornell University in 2003. Additionally, Dr. Smoliga is an avid distance runner and fan of all Olympic sports.