
Todd Davenport
Todd E. Davenport, PT, DPT, PhD, MPH, FAPTA is Professor and Chair of the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Program on the Stockton campus. Dr. Davenport graduated from the University of Southern California’s DPT and Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Residency programs. He is a past clinical research fellow at the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where he was among the first DPT students to complete a research rotation there as part of his training. Dr. Davenport earned his Master of Public Health program at the Berkeley campus of the University of California, and Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Portsmouth (United Kingdom) in Sport, Health, and Exercise Science.
Dr. Davenport takes pride in cultivating cross-functional teams of students, educators, administrators, clinicians, and lived experience experts to co-navigate ever-changing higher education, health care, and advocacy environments with humility, honesty, perseverance, and courage. Dr. Davenport has led the development of clinical programs in large health care settings, groups focused on international advocacy and research, community health programs, innovation of undergraduate and graduate health care curricula to include interdisciplinary skills and competencies, and strategic planning for interprofessional education. His leadership approach has yielded a productive record of positive real-world results. Dr. Davenport is recognized as a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association (FAPTA), which is that organization’s highest membership honor. It acknowledges his long history of transformative leadership within the physical therapy profession.
Dr. Davenport's clinical and research interests as a physical therapist and exercise scientist involve the clinical presentation and systems-level pathophysiology of complex chronic conditions commonly preceded by an illness (myalgic encephalomyelitis; ME and ME-like conditions), focusing on the key hallmark of these conditions called post-exertional malaise/post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion. Some of his work is also situated at the intersection between physical therapy and population health with the goal of preventing injury and disease. Dr. Davenport has editorial leadership roles with the Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy Journal, Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy, and Pacific Journal of Health.
Dr. Davenport is a native Oregonian. He takes pleasure in Stockton's weather, its diversity, friendliness, and central location. He appreciates University of the Pacific for its close student-teacher interactions and for the fact that the University has many of the advantages of a big school despite being a small campus. Dr. Davenport is married with three children. He enjoys any activities involving his family, and he is an avid gardener.
BS in Exercise Science (Sports Medicine emphasis) and Psychology, Willamette University, 1998
DPT, University of Southern California, 2002
Residency in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, 2003
MPH, University of California, Berkeley, 2016
PhD in Sport, Health, and Exercise Science, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom, 2024
Shiren Assaly '11, Physical Therapy, had her article entitled, "Effectiveness of neuromuscular conditioning to prevent anterior cruciate ligament injuries in female athletes: a critical synthesis of the literature," published in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Practice. Co-authors were Todd Davenport and Katrin Mattern-Baxter.
Todd Davenport published the article "Reliability and validity of Short Form 36Version 2 to measure health perceptions in a sub-group of individuals with fatigue" in Disability & Rehabilitation. Co-authors on the article were Staci Stevens '91, '97, Pacific Fatigue Laboratory, Katie Baroni '11, Physical Therapy, and Mark Van Ness and Chris Snell, Sport Sciences.Peg Ciccolella, Sport Sciences, Todd Davenport, and Tommy Boone of The College of St. Scholastica had their article "Legal Aspects of Aerobic Capacity: Objective Evidence of the Ability to Work. Part II: Disability" published in the Journal of Professional Exercise Physiology.
Research Interests
- Physical and psychological determinants of health and disablement
- Clinical and neurological effects of manual therapy
- Clinical reasoning by physical therapists
- Role of physical therapists in prevention of injuries and disease