Scientific geniuses have contributed to society’s progress and advancements from ancient times. From creating the foundations of current society like the wheel to the discovery and understanding of fire, all things that have made society’s current realities possible are derived from scientific research and advancement. One of the main pillars of science is medical science, which can be considered society’s backbone. Humankind has had to endure several pandemics and outbreaks that, if left unaddressed, could have easily meant the extinction of mankind. It was the efforts of medical professionals and researchers in medical science that resulted in countermeasures that became the salvation of humanity. People in the medical profession are often known as individuals doing God’s work. One prominent name in the medical science field that has and continues to make revolutionizing discoveries is Dr. Richard Bohannon.
It is commonly heard that luck and talent are necessary to succeed in any field, but another factor overshadows them both in the long run. Although natural God-given talents provide a rather streamlined path to success, talents from constant perseverance and hard work provide a better foundation for a person to build on. The aspect where hard work prevails on luck and talent is encountering and dealing with hurdles. A person only running on luck and talent will be dumbfounded when encountered with a difficult problem. However, a person who has thrived on personal efforts and matured by dealing with hardships will take this as an opportunity to learn and face it head-on. Only a person that has persevered while facing adversities and gearing all efforts towards their goals can prevail against all. Embodying this trait of hard work and perseverance, Bohannon is a person that has always been a goal-driven individual whose only goal was the betterment of society.
Born on 29th December 1953, Bohannon is an American scholar and physical therapy clinician that is well recognized in the field of medical science. From a very young age, he had a keen observatory mindset. Seeing medical issues, especially one of the physical nature in his environment and the people suffering from them, influenced his mind to take steps to solve them. Driven by his drive to help cure the ailing population, he decided to enroll in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and pursued his BS in Physical Therapy. After completing his BS, he went on to secure his MS from there as well. While studying there, his professors influenced him with their will to go well beyond what was required to teach their students. Through their efforts in educating, he understood the great value of evidence-informed instruction. Being driven to become more well-versed in the field of physical therapy and pass on that knowledge to others, he entered North Carolina State University to secure his Doctorate of Education and Boston University to secure his Doctorate of Physical Therapy.
Driven by only his will to reach his goals and guided by the knowledge imparted by his teachers, Bohannon persevered through the complex field of physical therapy science. His initial research was developed with a focus on the activity measurement issues of the human body. His findings were so profound that his research regarding the expected activity values amongst adults under 65 was mentioned in the research book of Roy J. Shepherd called “Objective of monitoring physical activity.” His brilliance is proven that he has been cited more than 40,000 times. He also has more than 500 peer-reviewed publications and an H-index of 91 in Google Scholar.
His drive to teach others and groom the future of medical science can be witnessed by his participation in educational endeavors. Bohannon has served as a faculty member of the University of Illinois (Chicago) and Campbell University. He has also served as a full-tenured professor of Physical Therapy at the University of Connecticut for more than 20 years, where he twice served as Acting Director. He also served as a full tenured professor at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington. He was later a full Professor at Campbell University in North Carolina. In addition to this, Bohannon has served as Editor in Chief of the Journal of Human Muscle Performance, the Journal of the Geriatric Physical Therapy, and the Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics.
Currently, Bohannon is serving as the Professor Emeritus at the University of Connecticut(Storrs, CT) and principal of Physical Therapy Consultants (Fuquay-Varina, NC). Bohannon has achieved enough glamour in the field of Physical therapy that he is ranked in the top 1% of the global experts in the field by Expertscape in 2020 and 2021. This includes his contributions in the topics of muscle strength and walking specific topics.
In 2010 he was named a Fellow of the American Society of Neurorehabilitation. He is also a Fellow of the Stroke Council of the American Heart Association and the American Physical Therapy Association. In 2018 he became a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America.
Dr. Bohannon is an inspiration to all that hard work does pay off. He has reached the epitome of success in his field due to his spirit and drive to help and cure others.
