TCOM is very pleased to announce the appointment of Rita Patterson, PhD as TCOM’s Associate Dean for Research. Dr. Patterson joined the Health Science Center in 2007 and is a professor in the Department of Family and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine and the Research Division Director of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine.
Dr. Patterson will be responsible for overseeing TCOM’s clinical and academic research along with promoting interdisciplinary collaboration within UNTHSC. Dr. Patterson will work on expanding TCOM’s research portfolio and developing faculty and student research capacity. Dr. Patterson is a tenured professor at the UNTHSC and has over 30 years of experience in leading research teams focused on kinematics and biomechanics of human movement. She is a member of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) Honor Society.
Dr. Patterson was a 2018 ELATE fellow (Executive Leadership in Academic Technology and Engineering). The year-long leadership program is developed for senior women faculty in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and related disciplines who have demonstrated leadership abilities and who are poised to assume greater leadership responsibilities. Since 2015, she has served as a member of the TCOM P&T committee and starting in 2019 she has been a member of the UNTHSC President’s Research Council.