Dr. Timothy Faw is a Medical Instructor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Division within the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Duke University. He received his Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from Pfeiffer University in 2005 and his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Duke University in 2009. He completed a clinical residency in Neurologic Physical Therapy through The University of Southern California and Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in 2010. He was certified by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties as a Neurologic Clinical Specialist in 2011.
Dr. Faw’s clinical practice focused on rehabilitating individuals with neurologic dysfunction, particularly those with spinal cord injury (SCI). Frustration with recovery levels and the lack of responsiveness of some individuals to otherwise effective interventions led him to pursue a greater understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying SCI and recovery through graduate training in Neuroscience at The Ohio State University, where he received his PhD in 2019.
During his PhD training, his research garnered awards, including the Florence P. Kendall Post-professional Doctoral Scholarship and four Promotion of Doctoral Studies (PODS) scholarships from the Foundation for Physical Therapy Research, including the Patricia Leahy and Mary Lou Barnes Awards. He also received an F31 National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health for his translational research, focused on both experimental rodent models of SCI and human SCI interventional studies.
Dr. Faw joined the Duke University Doctor of Physical Therapy Division faculty in 2020. His translational research lab focuses on developing and translating novel therapeutics and interventions for individuals with neurologic dysfunction.