Christopher Bise

Chris is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Pittsburgh, where he‘s on a mission to make musculoskeletal care smarter, leaner, and just a little less painful for both patients and health systems. A physical therapist for 27 years (and counting), Chris earned his Orthopedic Certified Specialist credential in 2011 and completed his PhD in 2021 with a dissertation titled Choices and Consequences: An Investigation into Patient Choice of Provider and Provider Interventions for Low Back Pain.

When not in the classroom or clinic, Chris serves on the Editorial Board of the Physical Therapy Journal and the Payment and Policy committee of the APTA. On the payer side, he has worked behind the scenes at UPMC Health Plan as a data analyst, policy consultant, and subject matter expert. There, he built spine centers, initiated value-based care solutions, and designed algorithms that operationalized clinical practice guidelines to identify best practices in physical therapy, essentially turning evidence into action. Chris is a nationally recognized spine expert and PT policy advocate, with recent publications in leading peer-reviewed journals on cost-effectiveness, value-based care, and low-value referrals. He has spoken nationally and internationally about low back pain and its impact on the U.S. public health system and consulted with tech companies to develop “digital front doors“ to musculoskeletal care.

Outside the academic grind, Chris calls the South Hills of Pittsburgh home. His wife, Anita, tolerates his late-night hockey games, questionable guitar riffs, and endless outdoor escapades. When not coaching his kids‘ lacrosse teams, he leans into his Irish roots by suiting up for Team Ireland in the Grand Masters lacrosse division. Whether on the field, in the lab, or online, Chris thrives on re-inventing systems, solving puzzles, and proving that even physical therapy policy can have a sense of humor.