Dana McGuire has been appointed clinical associate professor of physical therapy at Clarkson University.
She previously served as public health director of St. Lawrence County, New York, where she led the COVID-19 pandemic response; directed local health department programs, activities, and grants; and led county-wide opioid response efforts.
Prior to that, she was an epidemiologist and epidemic intelligence service (EIS) officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); program director of the Physical Therapy Department at Nazareth College; and director of clinical education in the Physical Therapy Department at Clarkson.
McGuire has worked with a variety of patients in diverse settings, from acute to chronic conditions, premature infants in early intervention to older adults in long-term care, rural to urban, and domestic to international locations in ambulatory and inpatient facilities. She brought these clinical experiences to her work in the physical activity and developmental disability branches when she worked at CDC as an EIS officer.
Her research interests include the operationalization of disability in national health surveys, the prevalence of developmental disabilities, the effects of physical activity and participation in quality of life of children and individuals with disabilities, and relationships between motor skill proficiency and participation in children.
McGuire has co-published in Disability and Health Journal, American Journal of Public Health, New England Journal of Medicine, Preventing Chronic Disease, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, and Journal of Physical Therapy Education, and has delivered many other peer-reviewed professional presentations and invited presentations.
She has received grant funding from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, the Center for Community Health at the University of Rochester, and Policy Research Inc.
McGuire is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association, New York State Public Health Association, and a licensed physical therapist in New York State.
She received her Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Rochester, her doctorate in physical therapy from Drexel University, her master of business administration from Clarkson, and her combined bachelor and master of science in physical therapy from D’Youville College.
McGuire says that she is excited to return to Clarkson University and the opportunity to teach future physical therapists the principles of individual and population health for a complete understanding of the larger health care environment within which they will practice.