Mariana Wingood

Dr. Mariana Wingood is an assistant professor at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. She earned her DPT from SUNY Upstate Medical University in 2012 and a graduate certificate in epidemiology, a PhD in human functioning and rehabilitation sciences, and an MPH from the University of Vermont (UVM) in 2021. While at UVM, she studied barriers and solutions to incorporating physical activity promotion and prescription within physical therapy, resulting in multiple publications and two awards: the Outstanding Dissertation Award and the Achievement in Public Health Practice Award. After her PhD, she completed an advanced geriatric fellowship at VA’s Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC) and a delivery system science fellowship at AcademyHealth. Her research focuses on (1) implementing tool kits that physical therapists can use to empower their older adult patients to become more physically active and (2) examining contextual factors that impact the use of the STEADI in outpatient physical therapy practices. Clinically, she became a certified exercise expert of aging adults in 2014 and a geriatric board-certified specialist in 2015. She currently practices in an outpatient neuromuscular clinic. Mariana also has experience working in an orthopedic outpatient clinic, a falls clinic, a skilled nursing facility, and an inpatient rehabilitation facility. Professionally, she currently holds leadership roles through APTA Geriatrics and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). For APTA Geriatrics, she is the current secretary and the GeriEDGE co-chair. For ACSM, she is a member of the Exercise is Medicine Older Adults Committee and the Strategic Health Initiative on Aging. Mariana has presented both nationally and internationally and has taught multiple online, hybrid, and in-person courses related to fall prevention.

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