Joan
Elliott, MPT, DPT, CLT
Staff Physical Therapist
301-451-7563
Dr. Joan Elliott is a staff physical therapist with the Physical Therapy Section in the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the NIH Clinical Center. Her research interests focus on the rehabilitation of children undergoing stem cell transplant and pediatric metabolism, oncology and pain management.
BS, University of Maryland
MS, Shenandoah University
DPT, Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions
Dr. Joan Elliott is a staff physical therapist with the Physical Therapy Section in the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the NIH Clinical Center. She earned her BS in kinesiology from the University of Maryland, her master's of science in physical therapy from Shenandoah University, and a doctorate in physical therapy (pediatric science track) from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. In 2022, Dr. Elliot became a certified lymphedema therapist.
Prior to joining the NIH staff in 2020, Dr. Elliot worked with pediatric patients in early intervention, school and outpatient settings, as well as with adults in acute care, rehabilitation and home-care settings. She also spent four years as an adjunct professor at Marymount University's Malek School of Health Professions, teaching a course on evidence-based practice and critical assessment of literature and serving as a clinical instructor for doctoral students working overseas in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
Dr. Elliot's research interests focus on the rehabilitation of children undergoing stem cell transplant and pediatric metabolism, oncology and pain management. She is passionate about bridging the gap between research and clinical practice and enhancing the quality and effectiveness of physical therapy services in collaboration with all of Rehabilitation Medicine Department services.
In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors, traveling and spending time with her husband and adult children and is an avid swimmer, biker and runner. She previously served as the head swim coach for a Division I team in the Northern Virginia Swim League and as a volunteer Army Wounded Warriors swim coach at Walter Reed National Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., for the Warrior Games of 2012.
- Award for Best Seminar Presentation on Gait Analysis of a Patient with Stroke 1994
- Commencement Speaker for Physical Therapy Class of 1994, Shenandoah University
- Teacher of the Year, Arlington Public Schools Stratford Program 2011-2012
- Connect with Kids Champion, Arlington Partnership for Children, Youth and Families, December 2013