Michael La Fountaine, EdD, ATC, FACSM

Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Research, and Professor
Department of Physical Therapy

I joined the Department of Physical Therapy faculty at Seton Hall University in the Fall of 2011 and provide instruction on courses that encompass physiology and pharmacology. In addition to my role in the Department of Physical Therapy, I am also associated with Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. As my formal education becomes an increasingly distant memory, I feel a greater sense of awe and wonderment of the privilege and promise that higher education has brought to my life. I garnered opportunities through intense planning, hard work, luck and being receptive to the wisdom imparted by my many professors and mentors. I learned early, that as an academician, it is imperative that the fundamentals of curiosity and objectivity are co-developed. This mindset is necessary for the pursuit of knowledge as a student of life. Finding joy and satisfaction through the tedium of a rigorous academic or training curriculum, though tricky, enhanced my sense of achievement upon completion and assisted me with obtaining self-actualization in personal and professional life. Being able to share my experiences and help students attain the same level of satisfaction with their academic pursuits and professional interests have fueled my desire to become a professor and mentor.

To best explain my research interests and focus, I offer that I am an autonomic physiologist who is interested in understanding how traumatic neurological injuries affect endocrine function in the cardiovascular system. I am actively involved in research projects to explain the secondary medical consequences of spinal cord injury and identify targeted rehabilitation or pharmaceutical therapy to offset these deleterious changes. Although my primary research cohort is that of individuals with spinal cord injury, I've been intrigued by and continue to investigate the pathophysiology of concussion(s) among athletes who sustained an injury as a result of sport. I also have an interest in the use of research investigation(s) as an education tool in developing skills that are relevant to clinical practice.

Click here for Michael LaFountaine's Bibliography