Barbara Jane De Lateur

De Lateur, a director of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Johns Hopkins, was born in Hoquiam, Washington. She received her bachelor’s degree from St. Louis University in Missouri in 1959, and her medical degree and a master’s degree in physiology from the University of Washington in 1963 and 1968, respectively.

After an internship and residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Washington, De Lateur joined the faculty as an instructor of physical medicine and rehabilitation. She moved up the academic ranks to become professor of rehabilitation medicine and physiatrist-in-chief for Harborview Medical Center. She also was director of the Muscular Dystrophy Clinic at Memorial Hospital in Yakima, Washington, from 1979 to 1988.

In 1993, De Lateur joined Johns Hopkins as professor and director of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and also joined Good Samaritan Hospital as the Cardinal Lawrence Shehan Chair in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. In 1997, she established the department’s Biomechanics Laboratory, through which investigators research gait and the biomechanics of movement. The work includes measurement of neuromuscular and musculoskeletal function and dysfunction, with emphasis on the relationships between muscle tone, strength, and gait.

De Lateur has received prizes for scientific writing and excellence in teaching. She also has served as president of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (1988-1989), and of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation/Education and Research Foundation.

De Lateur is a recipient of numerous honors, including The Gold Key award from the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine; and The Krusen Award and the Distinguished Clinician Award from the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She has authored more than 200 publications in the areas of musculoskeletal and neuromuscular disorders, prevention of frailty, deconditioning, and rehabilitation after burns.