Deborah S. Larsen, Ph.D.

The School of Allied Medical Professions, with more than 1,500 students, is a nationally recognized leader in the education of allied health providers. Larsen has been a faculty member in the school for more than 15 years.

Larsen has experience and the vision needed to develop further the educational, research and patient care missions of the school to provide a broader, innovative curriculum, according to Sanfilippo.

“Science-based programs, such as the school’s new health sciences major, are helping to prepare students for graduate school or the marketplace and will be building blocks for other programs that will prepare health professionals for roles in research, teaching and advanced professional practice,” said Sanfilippo.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 15 of the 30 jobs expected to grow the fastest in the next 10 years are in the allied health professions.

Larsen has a doctorate in psychobiology from Ohio State and a master’s degree in educational psychology from the University of Toledo.

She joined the physical therapy division in the school of allied medical professions in 1989 as a lecturer and was named the following year an assistant professor. In 1996, she was appointed director of the division.

She has co-authored numerous research articles and abstracts and has been an invited speaker at professional conferences around the country. Recently, she served by appointment of the governor as chair of the Ohio Council on Stroke Prevention and Education.

The School of Allied Medical Professions at The Ohio State University is a nationally recognized leader in the education of allied health providers in the areas of athletic training, circulation technology, health information and management systems, medical dietetics, medical technology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, respiratory therapy and radiologic technology.