Beth Moody Jones, PT, DPT, EdD, MS, Professor and Division Chief

Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy

Dr. Beth Moody Jones received her Bachelor’s in Physical Therapy from the University of Vermont in 1982, her Masters in Physical Therapy in orthopedics and biomechanics from Old Dominion University in 1994, her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from AT Still University in 2004,  and her EdD in Educational Leadership from UNM in 2018.

Dr. Moody Jones has held academic appointments at the University of St. Augustine where she was an Assistant Professor and Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education from 1994 – 1997. From 1999 – 2002 she held an appointment at the University of Hawaii School of Medicine where she taught Gross Anatomy to Medical students and graduate Athletic Training students. Throughout her teaching career she has maintained a clinical practice and successfully sat for her Orthopaedic Certification Specialization (OCS) in 2002 and re-certification in 2011. Dr. Moody Jones was appointed Division Chief in 2018.

Dr. Moody Jones currently teaches Gross Anatomy for the Physical Therapy program.  She maintains a clinical practice at a private practice in Albuquerque with a specialization in the treatment of spinal disorders.

Dr. Moody Jones is the anatomy content expert for the Orthpaedic Section of the APTA and reviewed all anatomy content for the 3rd edition of the Current Concepts in Orthopaedics monograph series. She is the author of the chapter “Normal Anatomy of the Upper Extremity” in A.C. Eliasson & P.A. Burtner Theories and principles for intervention of hand function in Children with cerebral palsy(2008). Dr. Jones is also a contributor to Moore & Dalley, Clinical Oriented Anatomy, 7th Edition (2015).? She is also on the Editorial review of Gray's Basic Anatomy (2012).  Her research agenda includes anatomical variation, manual therapy and validation of special tests related to the spine.

 Contact Beth at bmjones@salud.unm.edu 

Deborah Doerfler, PT, DPT, PhD, Associate Professor

Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy

Deborah Doerfler is an assistant professor at the University of New Mexico. She received her bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from UNM in 1989. She received board certification in orthopaedics in 2000 and was recertified in 2010. She completed her transitional-DPT in 2009 from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMUoHP). She received her PhD in Orthopaedics and Sports Science in 2013 from RMUoHP.

Her clinical experience includes inpatient acute and sub-acute care, outpatient orthopaedics, and sports physical therapy. She completed her dissertation in optimizing strength of the lower extremities in older adults following total knee arthroplasty. She has been a physical therapy clinical instructor for over 20 years, and a credentialed instructor since 2009. She served as a member of the clinical teaching faculty for the residents in the UNMH Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship Program from 2009 to 2014.

 Dr. Doerfler teaches gerontology physical therapy, evidence-based practice, and orthopaedic treatment. She continues to practice at the outpatient physical therapy clinic for the University of New Mexico Hospital. Her clinical and research interests include orthopaedics, geriatrics, and athletes at all levels of participation.

Contact Deborah at ddoerfler@salud.unm.edu 

Tiffany Enache, PT, DPT, Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Education

Tiffany Enache, PT, DPT received her Master’s degree in physical therapy in 2005 from the University of New England.  She received her doctorate in physical therapy from A.T. Still University in 2015.

Her career has been in outpatient orthopedics in several states, and has included some travelling PT.  Her orthopedic interests are alignment, stability, and ease of movement.  She pulls from her knowledge of Pilates and Alexander Technique when she works with patients, using these techniques as a form of neuromuscular re-education.  She enjoys the gentle arts of manual therapy, including positional release and myofascial release.

Tiffany is the Director of Clinical Education and an Assistant Professor.  Teaching roles include Documentation and Professional Patient Management, and she is a lab assistant for Musculoskeletal Interventions.  She is the faculty lead at the REACH lab, where she continues to work alongside students as a clinical mentor, and she is the Course Instructor for the full-time and integrated clinical education experiences. 

Contact Tiffany at tpelletier@salud.unm.edu 

Ethan Hill, PhD, Assistant Professor 

Ethan C. Hill, PhD received a bachelors from Texas Tech University in 2012 and a Master of Science in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico in 2016. He completed his Doctorate in Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of New Mexico in 2020. Dr. Hill shares an appointment between the Division of Physical Therapy and the Department of Family and Community Medicine.

Dr. Hill’s research involves examining how the human skeleton responds to habitual physical activity over a person’s lifetime by using CT imaging and biomechanical analyses. This research has primarily focused on using patterns of long bone shape, strength, and density to examine habitual behavior in prehistoric hunter-gatherer and subsistence farming populations. He has secondary research interests examining the relationship between skeletal lesions, bone density, and health in contemporary pediatric populations in New Mexico.

Dr. Hill currently teaches Gross Anatomy and Neuroanatomy for the Division of Physical Therapy; as well as Clinical Morphology for the Physician Assistant program.

Eric Kruger, PT, DPT, MS, Assistant Professor

Eric Kruger is physical therapist and assistant professor in the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Division of Physical Therapy at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Kruger graduated from the University of Montana in 2007 and has practiced in a wide range of outpatient therapy settings and currently finds the most fulfillment working with patients with persistent pain conditions. He holds a bachelor’s in exercise science, Doctor of Physical Therapy and a master’s and PhD in psychology with an emphasis on health psychology and quantitative methods. Currently, his primary roles are as researcher, educator, and mentor. Dr. Kruger’s research interests include chronic pain, substance abuse, acceptance and commitment therapy, motivational interviewing, and quantitative methods. He has presented at several conferences and has numerous research publications that span his areas of expertise.

Sue Leach, PT, PhD, Associate Professor

Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy

Certified Exercise Expert for Aging Adults

Dr. Sue Leach has been a physical therapist for over 25 years and has been teaching in entry-level physical therapy programs for the past 12 years. She obtained a MS in physical therapy from Columbia University and a PhD in kinesiology from Louisiana State University with a concentration in motor learning, the study of the acquisition and/or modification of movement. Included in this is recovery of function which refers to the reacquisition of movement skills lost through illness or injury.

 As a clinician, Dr. Leach specializes in retraining individuals with neurologic disorders such as stroke and traumatic brain injury to regain the ability to perform functional tasks such as walking, climbing stairs and getting in and out of a car. She became a board-certified neurologic clinical specialist in 2000 and was re-certified in 2010.

Dr. Leach teaches Neurologic Evaluation and Treatment I and II. Her research involves developing interventions based on motor learning principles for individuals with neurologic dysfunction and older adults at risk of falling.

Contact Sue at SLeach@salud.unm.edu 

Jodi Schilz, PhD, Assistant Professor and Director of Admissions

Jodi Schilz is a New Mexico native and alumni of UNM.  She received a bachelor’s degree in Foreign Languages in 1999 and a bachelor’s in Microbiology/Chemistry in 2000 from UNM.  She is a AmeriCorps (Colorado conservation Corps 2001) and Peace Corps (Tanzania, 2005-2007) alumni. She has a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences/Neuroscience from Colorado State University in 2005 and recently competed her PhD in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Wyoming.  She has done epilepsy, lung cancer/smokeless tobacco and environmental toxicology research.  She is committed to STEM education and completed a one-year fellowship working with students and teachers around the state of Wyoming to integrate activity-based learning into the curriculum.  She has taught microbiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology.  

Dr. Schilz teaches evidence-based practice, differential diagnosis, and pharmacology.  She is pursuing research interests in gait abnormalities, mitigation of environmental pollutants and therapies for metabolic disorder.

Contact Jodi at jschilz@salud.unm.edu 

Rose Vallejo, PT, DPT, Assistant Professor

Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy

Assistive Technology Professional Certification

Rose Vallejo, PT, DPT, ATP received her Bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from California State University, Long Beach in 1994.  She later received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from A.T. Still University in 2016. She is certified as an Adaptive Technology Professional (ATP) from the Rehabilitation and Engineer Society of North America (RESNA).

 Dr. Vallejo began her clinical career in neurologic rehabilitation at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, where she eventually became the Clinical Supervisor on the Adult Brain Injury and Neurology Units. While at Rancho, she trained in the NDT approach, and developed sub-specialties in complex wheelchair seating and positioning, gait analysis and orthotics for the neurologic patient. In 2003, she moved to Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation, where she was the Therapy Director for 3 years. In 2006, she moved to New Mexico with her family. She began working at Lovelace Rehabilitation Center where she treated patients with a variety of neurologic conditions and created the Lovelace Wheelchair Seating Clinic in 2008. More recently, she has worked for home healthcare agencies in the Albuquerque area. She has presented multiple times at the Combined Sections Meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association and has been a guest lecturer at various universities in southern California. She has also taught continuing education courses in the areas of complex wheelchair seating and lower extremity bracing for the neurologic patient.

 Dr. Vallejo began teaching for the Division of Physical Therapy in 2014, as a member of the adjunct faculty. In 2017, she was brought on as an assistant professor and currently teaches Neurologic Rehabilitation, Administration and Supervision, Cardiopulmonary and Medical Spanish. She also leads and coordinates the annual Physical Therapy Division, service learning trip to Guatemala.

Contact Rose at RMVallejo@salud.unm.edu 

Adam Walsh, PT, DPT, Assistant Professor

Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy

Board-Certified Sports Clinical Specialist

Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists

Adam Walsh, PT, DPT received his bachelors in Exercise Science from Saint Louis University in 2010 and Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Saint Louis University in 2012.  He was a Sports Physical Therapy Resident with St. Francis University from 2012-2013 and became a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist in 2013.  He became a Board-Certified Sports Clinical Specialist in 2014, earned his Manual Therapy Certification through the University of St. Augustine in 2015, became a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists in 2016, and became a Board-Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist in 2017.

Dr. Walsh worked clinically with Elite Therapy in both Pennsylvania and New York from 2012-2018, where he was a full-time clinician, as well as Clinical Instructor for numerous PT and PTA students.  He also mentored both Sports Physical Therapy and Manual Physical Therapy residents/fellows.  He began his teaching career in 2015 with Elmira College as an adjunct professor in the Biology Department.  He then took the opportunity in 2017 to become Part-Time Faculty at The Pennsylvania College of Technology in their newly developed PTA Program.  He has presented at various conferences at the local and national level, including the Combined Sections Meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association and the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists annual meeting.

Dr. Walsh began full-time academia in 2018 at UNM, brought on to teach and assist with the Musculoskeletal portion of the curriculum. He is also part of the Academic Progress Committee.

Contact Adam at AdWalsh@salud.unm.edu 

Yuri Yoshida, PT, PhD, Director of the Fred Rutan Gait and Motion Analysis Laboratory (GMAL)

Yuri Yoshida, PT, PhD, completed her doctoral degree from the University of Delaware in Applied Anatomy and Biomechanics, and continued her postdoctoral training in motion analysis at the University of Utah. She has extensive experience in motion analysis systems, specifically the Vicon system, which is used at UNM. Dr. Yoshida's work has provided the medical and scientific communities with a deeper empirical understanding of biomechanics and muscle physiology regarding functional recovery after total knee arthroplasty (TKA).  Dr. Yoshida biomechanically examined TKA physical therapy paradigms, her hypothesis focused specifically on the role of the quadriceps in functional recovery patterns. Dr. Yoshida found that, within the first year of recovery from the TKA procedure, patients demonstrated compensatory gait patterns by using hip extensor moments. In doing so, the patients decreased their use of the quadriceps muscle, inhibiting its recovery. Furthermore, Dr. Yoshida reported that these compensatory movement patterns might be related to a high risk for secondary osteoarthritis. Delving deeper into the impaired quadriceps function after TKA, Dr. Yoshida investigated how muscle physiology contributed to the abnormal gait patterns. Through the use of electromyography, she found that the abnormal muscle activities for both quadriceps and hamstrings were related to persistent quadriceps weakness.

 Her original contributions to the scientific and clinical literature, in particular her research on TKA, have culminated in various publications in selective journals as well as invitations to speak before national and international audiences of her peers. The pronounced impact of her work is evidenced by citation and discussion of her research by others. For example, her first-authored article "Examining Outcomes from Total Knee Arthroplasty and the Relationship between Quadriceps Strength and Knee Function Over Time," (Clinical Biomechanics, March, 2008) has been cited more than one hundred fifty times by researchers around the world since its publication, and became one of the Top 3 cited biomechanics articles in 2011-2013. Her other publication "Association Between Long-term Quadriceps Weakness and Early Walking Muscle Co-contraction after Total Knee Arthroplasty," (Knee, December, 2013) was also ranked as one of Top 20 cited articles reported by BioMed Lib LLC in 2015.

 Dr. Yoshida is currently working on a new project for "Locomotive Syndrome" that is a new diagnostic concept for early functional deterioration in elderly individuals related to musculoskeletal impairments. She started this project at the University of Delaware since this winter, and will continue to work on it at the University of New Mexico.

Contact Yuri at  yyoshida@salud.unm.edu 

Vinh Tran, PT, DPT, PhD, Assistant Professor
Board-Certified Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Clinical Specialist

Dr. Tran received his bachelors in Health Science in 2012 from Maryville University (Saint Louis, MO), Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2014 from Maryville University (Saint Louis, MO), and Ph.D. in 2021 from Texas Woman’s University (Dallas, TX). He became a Board-Certified Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Clinical Specialist in 2018.

Dr. Tran has worked in several Trauma Level I hospitals across Missouri and Texas with experiences in neurological, orthopedic, surgical, trauma, burn, cardiovascular and pulmonary, and intensive care unit settings. He has previously worked in another Physical Therapy program where he primarily supported the psychomotor components across the curriculum.

Dr. Tran teaches the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and acute care content in the first and second years of the curriculum. His research interests include heart failure as well as how various factors (i.e., social, financial, workflow processes) affect quality and cost of health care services, namely in the hospital systems.

Our new Operations Manger is Crystal Krabbenhoft. Please join us in welcoming her! You can contact Crystal at CKrabbenhoft@salud.unm.edu

Keith Blumenfeld-Black is the Sr. Student Success Specialist for the Division of Physical Therapy, performing a wide variety of administrative duties and support for program students, focusing on the Division's clinical programs. Keith also provides administrative support to our faculty and staff.

Keith moved to New Mexico when he was 5, and has lived here ever since. He has a B.A. from Occidental college in Studio Art, and a B.A. from UNM in Political Science with a Chemistry minor.

Contact Keith at KBlumenfeld@salud.unm.edu