Physical Therapy: Melissa Eden

Melissa Eden (BS Psychology 2001, DPT 2004) finished her doctorate and immediately began her career at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Her primary interest has been in outpatient orthopedics, and in 2007 she became an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist after completing a rigorous process of patient care, self study, and comprehensive examination. Eden has completed nearly 300 hours in continuing education courses emphasizing management of the orthopedic patient. She became an APTA Certified Clinical Instructor in 2007 and has since mentored multiple students from NAU in their DPT curriculum.
 
Eden also contributes to the profession through program development and research. She is a primary investigator in an Institutional Review Board-approved research collaboration with the departments of Ear, Nose, and Throat; Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; and Oncology to investigate novel research and treatments of patients diagnosed with cancer of the head and neck. She is frequently consulted to advise Mayo Clinic’s Head and Neck specialists on physical therapy’s role in providing a more holistic approach to this population’s cancer treatments. Her aspirations include obtaining a PhD, continuing research in the Head and Neck patient population, and teaching at the graduate level.

"I loved my time at NAU and hold each of the professors there at a very high level of respect," Eden says. "NAU has an exceptional staff, and any PT student would be lucky to study at NAU. The program’s emphasis on professional responsibility, self-directed learning, and evidence-based medicine gave me the skills to move forward in my career."