Laurel Daniels Abbruzzese, PT, EdD, MS
- Professor of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine (Physical Therapy) at CUMC
Overview
Academic Appointments
- Professor of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine (Physical Therapy) at CUMC
Administrative Titles
- Director, Columbia University Irving Medical Center/Westside Dance Physical Therapy Performing Arts Fellowship, Programs in Physical Therapy
- Director for Equity and Justice in Curricular Affairs
Gender
- Female
Credentials & Experience
Education & Training
- BA, Psychology, Columbia College-Columbia University
- MS, Physical Therapy, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
- EdD, Biobehavioral Sciences, Columbia University, Teachers College
- EdM, Movement Science (Motor Learning & Control), Columbia University, Teachers College
- Fellowship: Higher Education Leadership, American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education
Committees, Societies, Councils
Columbia University Irving Medical Center Columbia Commons Interprofessional Steering Committee
Performing Arts SIG-Fellowship Chair, American Physical Therapy Association
PT Proud LGBTQ Catalyst Group Education Task Force, American Physical Therapy Association
Certified Exercise Expert for Aging Adults (CEEAA®) Faculty
Columbia College Women, Board of Directors
5P-Society Professional Advisory Board
NJ Ross Scholars Board, St. Paul's School
Honors & Awards
2022-2023 Columbia University Provost Senior Faculty Teaching Scholar
2023 American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Fellowship in Higher Education Leadership
2022 National Academies of Practice (NAP) Emerging Interprofessional National Academies of Practice Member of the Year
2022 Columbia University Provost Senior Faculty Teaching Scholar
2021 Columbia College Alumni Association (CCAA) President's Cup
2017 Distinguished Scholar & Fellow, National Academies of Practice (NAP) and the Physical Therapy Academy
2017 Columbia University Community Based Participatory Research Scholar
2001 National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Aging, F31 predoctoral fellowship
2000 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates Millennium Scholar
Research
Research Interests
- Adolescent Dancers
- Cri du Chat Syndrome
- Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice
- Older Adults
Grants
2026-2027. Columbia University Office of the Provost Teaching and Learning Innovation Award: "Fostering Teamwork Excellence: Development and Evaluation of a Pedagogical Toolkit to Strengthen and Assess Inclusive Teamwork Skills in IPE Health Professions Education"
Role: Co-PI | PIs: Graham-Perel, A & Banks T
2025-2026. Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP) Mission Innovation Grant: "A New Lens: Reframing Disability Education in Medical School Through an Arts-Informed Approach"
Role: Co-PI | PI: Eison, K
2024-2025. Columbia University Office of the Provost: Interdisciplinary Teaching Award, "Fostering Inclusive Excellence in Health Professions Education: Developing a Collaborative Teamwork Curriculum for Diverse Teams"
Role: Principal Investigator
2024-2025. AAMC NEGEA Medical Education Scholarship Research and Evaluation. Emerging Innovators Medical Education and Assessment
Role: Principal Investigator
2022-2023. Apgar Academy of Medical Educators Education Research Grant. "Building the Capacity of Healthcare Professionals Toward Anti-Racist and Inclusive Interprofessional Care."
Total direct support: $5,000
Role: Co-Investigator | PI: Cunningham, H
2022-2023. Provost Innovative Course Module Design Award, "Primary Care Clerkship - Fall Prevention Teaching Module."
Role: Co-Investigator | PI: Mehta, N
2020-2022. Columbia University Office of the Provost: Interdisciplinary Teaching Award, "Interprofessional Weight Managment Education to Address Weight Bias Across the Health Professions: Toward Improved Health Care for People with Obesity."
Role: Co-Investigator | PI: Akabas, S
2020-2021. Columbia University Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement. Addressing Racism Seed Grant Initiative, "Fostering Inclusive Excellence - addressing Racism & Culture in PT Education (FIERCE)."
Role: Co-Principal Investigator | Co-PIs: Bassile, C and Rao A
2017-2018. Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research: Community Based Participatory Research Pilot Award; The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), "Facilitators and Barriers to Participation in Evidence-based Programs in Urban Senior Centers Serving LGBT older adults."
Role: Principal Investigator
2017-2018. Irving Institute for Clinical and Translation Research. Collaborative and Multidisciplinary Pilot Research Pilot Award (CaMPR) - Phase II Award; The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), "Use of Narrative Medicine to Reveal Weight Bias Across the Health Professions: Toward Improved Care for the Patient with Obesity."
Role: Co-Investigator | PI: Akabas, S
2014-2017. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: Nurse education, practice, quality, and retention, interprofessional collaborative practice, Grant UD7HP26907, "Elder LGBT Interprofessional Collaborative Care Project (E-LINC)."
Role: Co-Investigator | PI: Kwong, J
2015-2016. Columbia University Office of the Provost: Hybrid Learning Course Redesign and Delivery Grant, "Promoting Interprofessional Collaborative Practice in Geriatric Care through a Technology enhanced Hybrid Course Re-Design."
Role: Principal Investigator
2015-2016. NY State Occupational Therapy Association Grant, "Reliability of the Dartfish Video Analysis System for Evaluating the Kinematics of Reaching and Walking Activities."
Role: Co-Investigator | PI: Nilsen, D
2011-2013. Irving institute for Clinical and Translation Research: Collaborative and Multidisciplinary Pilot Research Pilot Award (CaMPR) - Phase I Award; The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), "Multicomponent Interventions to Maintain Independence Among Homebound Older Adults."
Role: Co-Investigator | PI: Dam, T
Selected Publications
1. Thurston LA, Abbruzzese LD, Bishop KL, Adenusi B, Simon P, Threats T, Maxwell B, Oluwole-Sangoseni O, Adeniran RK. Creating equitable learning spaces: interprofessional perspectives on accommodations for health professions students with disabilities (curricular resource). JIEP. Sept.2026. doi: 10.1016/j.xjep.2026.100820
2. Abbruzzese LD, Adenusi B, Bishop KL, Thurston LA, Adeniran RK, Simon P, Threats T, Oluwole-Sangoseni O, Maxwell B. Disrupting racial microaggressions: Microintervention strategies to improve culture and communication in interprofessional collaborative practice: A curricular short report. JIEP. Oct. 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.xjep.2025.100773.
3. Wu S, Sanyang AM, Denham MW, Abbruzzese LD, Andon A, Ark TK, Banks TM, Graham-Perel A, Lee R, Cunningham H. Feasibility of a Novel Rubric for Building the Capacity of Healthcare Professionals to Engage in Diverse Teams: A Pilot Study. J Allied Health. 2025 Fall;54(3):e423-e428. PMID: 40910835.
4. Abbruzzese LD; Desai U; Kingon A; Skelton M; Churchill J; Vanderselt J; Moss-Salentijn L. An Asynchronous Online Course to Introduce Interprofessional Education to Incoming Health Professions Students. Acad Med. Published online June 4, 2025. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000006121.
5. Adenusi B, Abbruzzese LD, Oluwole-Sangoseni O, Bishop KL, Thurston LA, Maxwell B, Simon PR, Threats T., Adeniran R. A Call to Action for Disrupting Microaggressions, Improving Interprofessional Collaboration, and Optimizing Outcomes: Nurse Leaders Have a Role. Nursing Outlook. 2025. 73(2) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2025.102354.
6. Abbruzzese LD, Matthews, N.D., Lautenberger, D., Adams, T., Campbell, A., Collins, P., Wruble, E., Dickson, T. Systemic discrimination and racism mitigation in U.S. health professions graduate education: a scoping review protocol. 2025. Physical Therapy Reviews, 30(1), 75-82. https://doi.org/10.1080/10833196.2024.2441638
7. Schultz K, Worrall KS, Tawa Z, Binney J, Boyle J, Abbruzzese LD. Development, Reliability, and Feasibility of an Adolescent Dancer Screen. IJSPT. Published online March 2, 2024.
8. Thurston LA, Abbruzzese LD, Maxwell B. Bishop KL, Threats T, Oluwole-Sangoseni O, Simon P, Pfiefle A. The Power of Narrative: Empowering interprofessional teams to promote health equity by reflecting on bias and unpacking stigmatizing language. JIEP. Dec. 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.xjep.2023. 100690
9. Michener LA, Heitzman J, Abbruzzese LD, Bondoc SL, Bowne K, Henning PT, Kosakowski H, Leggin BG, Lucado AM, Seitz AL. Physical Therapist Management of Glenohumeral Joint Osteoarthritis: A Clinical Practice Guideline from the American Physical Therapy Association. Phys Ther. 2023 Jun 5;103(6):pzad041. doi:10.1093/ptj/pzad041. PMID:37115808; PMCID: PMC10256270.
10. *Bisop, KL, Abbruzzese LD, Thurston, L, Maxwell, B, Simon, P, Adeniran, R, Oluwole-Sangose, O, Dunleavy, K, Pfeifle, A, Smith, S. Becoming an anti-racist interprofessional healthcare organization: our journey. JIEP. Epub March 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjep.2022.100509.
11. *Schaeffer, M, Abbruzzese LD, Tawa Z, Schultz K, Binney J, Bronner L. Inter-and-Intra-Rater Reliability of Hand Held Dynamometry for Lower Extremity Strength Testing in Pre-Professional Dancers. Journal of Dance Medicine & Science. 2021; 25(2):86-95. doi:10.12678/1089-313X.061521c. Epub 2021 Mar 29. PMID: 33781377.
12. Abbruzzese LD, Yamane N, Fein D, Naigles L, Goldman S. Assessing Child Postural Variability: Development, Feasibility, and Reliability of a Video Coding System. Physical & Occupational Therapy In Pediatrics. 2021;41(3):314-325. doi: 10.1080/01942638.2020.1833272. Epub 2020 Oct.16. PMID:33063576.
13. Abbruzzese LD, Ruggeri AR, Esquerre JC, Patel P, Raske L. Feasibility and Reliability of Functional Mobility Measures in Children with Cri Du Chat (5P-) Syndrome. Pediatric Phys Ther. 2020;32 (2):161-167. doi: 10.1097/PEP.000000000000681.
14. Goldman S, McCullough AK, Young SD, Mueller C, Stahl A, Zoeller A, Abbruzzese LD, Rao AK, Montes J. Quantitative gait assessment in children with 16p 11.2 syndrome. J Neurodevelop Disord. 2019;11(26):1-5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s11689-019-9286-9. Epub 2019 Oct 27.
15. Abbruzzese, L.D. & Simon, P. Special concerns for the LGBT aging patient: What rehab professionals should know. Curr Geri Rep. 2018; 7: 26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13670-018-0232-6. Epub 2018 Jan 30.
16. Kwong, J., Bockting, W., Gabler, S., Abbruzzese, L., Towe, A., Simon, P., Bonaparte, S., Malark, A., Weber, T., Fialko, J., Hall, P. Development of an Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Model for Older LGBT Adults. LGBT Health. 2017. (Special Issue on LGBT Aging; http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/LGBT.2016.0160)
17. Abbruzzese LD, Salazar R, Abuchon M, Rao A. Temporal and spatial gait parameters in children with Cri Du Chat Syndrome under single and dual task conditions. 2016; 50:47-52. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2016.08.006. Epub 2016 Aug 5.
18. Pivko S, Abbruzzese LD, Duttaroy P, Hansen RL, Ryans K. The Effect of Physical Therapy Students' Clinical Experiences on Clinician Productivity. J Allied Health. 2015; In Press.
19. Abbruzzese LD, Rao AK, Bellows R, Figueroa K, Levy J, Lim E, Puccio L. Effects of manual task complexity on gait parameters in school-aged children and adults. Gait Posture. 2014 Sep;40(4):658-63. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2014.07.017. Epub 2014 Jul 28.
20. Wong, CK and Abbruzzese, LD (2011) Case Report: Collaborative Learning Strategies Using Online Communities. JPTE, 25 (3), 79-84.
21. Abbruzzese LD.The Tinetti Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment Tool. American Journal of Nursing.1998: 98(12):16J-16L.