Diane D. Allen

Diane D. Allen is a Professor at San Francisco State University (SFSU) with a focus on physical therapy and clinical measurement development. She holds a BS in Physical Therapy from UCSF (1978), an MS in Medical Allied Health Professions from UNC Chapel Hill (1991), a PhD in Education from UC Berkeley (2005), and a postdoc in Measurement in Rehabilitation from Boston University (2007). Her research centers on evaluating physical therapy outcomes, particularly through her development of the Movement Ability Measure (MAM), and collaborations on interventions for Multiple Sclerosis patients. She has led NIH-funded studies on gait and balance in MS, and a PCORI-funded project examining patient-clinician alignment in therapy goals. Dr. Allen’s work emphasizes advancing clinical practice through rigorous measurement and patient-centered care.

Education:

• BS, Physical Therapy, UCSF, 1978
• MS, Medical Allied Health Professions (Neuromuscular Emphasis), UNC Chapel Hill, 1991
• PhD, Education (Quantitative Methods and Evaluation), UC Berkeley, 2005
• Postdoc, Measurement in Rehabilitation, Boston University, 2007

Research interests include clinical measurement validation, rehabilitation outcomes, and optimizing patient-clinician communication in physical therapy. Her projects often involve interdisciplinary teams and student collaborators from SFSU and Samuel Merritt University. Current and future work continues to explore improving therapeutic interventions and patient-reported outcomes.

Grants and Collaborations:

• NIH-funded study on gait/balance in MS patients (co-PI with Samuel Merritt University)
• PCORI-funded 'Mind the Gap' project on patient-clinician alignment

Labs/Teams: Collaborates with Samuel Merritt University and SFSU students on rehabilitation research initiatives.