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Kevin Conley has over 30 years of clinical and academic experience in the field of athletic training. He started his career in 1993 as an athletic trainer for the Pitt football team; over the years he also worked with the baseball, swimming and diving teams. In 1998 he was named director of the Athletic Training program and helped prepare and execute the move of the academic programs in Athletic Training and Sports Medicine to the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences in 2000, where they merged with the program of Clinical Dietetics and Nutrition to create the Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition. Conley was named the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in 2013, where his responsibilities include providing support and oversight related to common policies and procedures for the seven undergraduate programs in SHRS.  In 2015, he was named chair of the Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition, providing leadership for six academic programs.  He was the recipient of the Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences in 2007.

Dr. Conley's scholarly interests include neuromuscular control and dynamic stabilization of the ankle as well as wellness and fitness performance standards for individuals with intellectual disabilities. 

Conley's service includes work with Special Olympics where he was a member of the management team for Special Olympics Pennsylvania/Allegheny County and maintains his role in coordinating first responder coverage for Special Olympics events in Allegheny County. He has also served as a member of the medical staff for Team USA at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece in 2011 and as Medical Director for Team USA at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in PyeongChang, Republic of Korea in 2013.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Special Olympics Pennsylvania where he is a member of the Health and Fitness Advisory Committee.

Dr. Conley earned his PhD in Rehabilitation Science as well as his Master’s degree in Sports Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.  He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Health Education from the State University of New York at Cortland.

 

Departments

Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition

Programs

Athletic Training
Nutrition Science

Education & Training

  • PhD, University of Pittsburgh
  • MS, University of Pittsburgh
  • BSE, Health Education, Cortland College

Awards

  • Volunteer Excellence Award, University of Pittsburgh Alumni Association, 2013
  • Dean's Distinguished Teaching Award, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 2007

Representative Publications

  • Conley KM , Bolin DJ, Carek PJ, Konin JG, Neal TL, Violette D. (2014) "National Athletic Trainers' Association position statement: pre-participation physical examinations and disqualifying conditions." Journal of Athletic Training, 49(1):102-120.
  • Wassinger CA, Myers JB, Gatti JM, Conley KM , Lephart SM. (2007) "Proprioception and throwing accuracy in the dominant shoulder after cryotherapy." Journal of Athletic Training, 42(1):84-89.
  • Conley KM , Pasquale MR, Ju YY, Abt JP, Jolly JT, Lephart SM. (2006) "Prophylactically enhanced muscle reflex characteristics during dynamic ankle perturbation." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 38(5): S-118.
  • Myers JB, Oyama S, Wassinger CA, Ricci RD, Abt JP, Conley KM , Lephart SM. (2007)  "Reliability, precision, accuracy and validity of posterior shoulder tightness assessment in overhead athletes." American Journal of Sports Medicine, 35(11): 1922-1930.

Research Interests

  • Neuromuscular control
  • Ankle instability and injury prevention