David Pariser, PT, PhD
David Pariser, PT, PhD, 52, of Crestwood, KY, died unexpectedly on January 14 at Audubon Hospital in Louisville. Pariser, who was 52, is survived by his wife, Gina Pariser, PT, PhD, and their twin daughters Ada and Kayla Pariser.
Pariser was associate professor of physical therapy at Bellarmine University in Louisville, where his wife is also a member of the faculty. Pariser was a coauthor of the March 2010 LER article “Preoperative exercise boosts TKA outcomes.” He was also an active member of the physical therapy community, serving in various capacities within American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and its Kentucky (KPTA) and Louisiana (LPTA) chapters.
A member of APTA since 1981, he worked on its Nominating Committee, as LPTA president, and as chair of the legislative committees for both the LPTA and KPTA. During his time as legislative chair of the KPTA, Kentucky legislators passed bill SB112, or the copay bill, landmark legislation that other states have used as a model. In 2011 Pariser was elected to APTA’s Board of Directors.
“Dave was an outstanding gentleman and professional whose friendship, devoted service, and leadership we will sorely miss,” said APTA President Paul A. Rockar Jr, PT, DPT, MS, who noted that Pariser received numerous awards in recognition of his service, including the Dave Warner Award for Distinguished Service (Physical Therapist of the Year) from the LPTA in 2001 and induction into the LPTA Hall of Fame in 2006 for career achievement. Rockar noted Pariser’s teaching, scholarship, and clinical work focused on orthopedics and musculoskeletal problems, gerontology, and advocacy and public policy.
In a statement released shortly after his death, Bellarmine University President Joseph J. McGowan, EdD, noted, “In addition to his exceptional teaching, generous service and extensive published research, he participated in pro bono physical screening exams for the Bellarmine University Athletic Department from 2006 to 2009, served as a faculty search committee chair in 2008 and received the Presidential Merit Award here at Bellarmine in the same year.”
Pariser received his BS in physical therapy in 1983 from West Virginia University in Morgantown. From 1988 to 2005 he was a full-time faculty member at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center’s Physical Therapy Program in New Orleans. During that time he earned his PhD in education, curriculum, and instruction from the University of New Orleans. In 2005 he joined the faculty at Bellarmine University.
