David E Krebs D.P.T. Ph.D.

David E. Krebs, D.P.T., Ph.D., 59, formerly of Henrietta and of Cambridge, MA, died Friday, February 7, 2014 at Regina Health Center, Richfield, Ohio. Dave was a graduate of Firelands High School with degrees from Columbia University (BS in Physical Therapy and MA in Applied Physiology), New York University (Ph.D. In Pathokinesiology), and Massachusetts General Hospital's Institute of Health Professionals (D.P.T.) During his almost 30 years in the rehab field, he was a professor of physical therapy and clinical investigation at the MGH IHP in Boston, held academic appointments in orthopaedics at Harvard Medical School and in mechanical engineering at MIT, and was the Director of the MGH Biomotion Laboratory. This lab focused on two distinct research areas: balance (inner ear and cerebellum problems) and arthritis (degenerative). He also supervised almost 60 graduate PT students from 1983 - 2004. Besides more than 200 publications, he was awarded more than $5 million as the principal investigator on federal and foundation research grants, primarily to study the neural and biomechanical constraints of human locomotor control. He was the 12th annual featured speaker at the Eugene Michels Researcher's Forum and received numerous awards for his research and writing. The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) awarded him the APTA of MA Research Award (1989), Golden Pen Award for Distinguished Scientific Writing (1994), Marian Williams Award for Research in Physical Therapy (1998), Chattanooga Research Award (2001), and the Helen Hislop Award for Outstanding Contributions to Professional Literature (2003). Most recently, a paper he co-authored in 2008 received the 2012 IEEEEMBS Outstanding Paper Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS), the world's largest international society of biomedical engineers. Dave was a member of several professional and scientific societies, on the editorial boards of several scientific journals, and served on numerous scientific review panels for the National Institute of Health, the Veteran's Administration and other granting agencies. Dave enjoyed traveling and speaking all over the world; cooking; eating international foods; playing handball; attending the symphony and opera; and being with family and friends. Survivors include his mother, Laura Krebs, of Henrietta; sister, Kathy (Dave) Bruns of Angola, Indiana; sister, Lois (Harry Anderson) Krebs of Brecksville; son, George Krebs, of San Francisco; son, Adam Krebs, of New York City; niece, Naomi Anderson of Columbus; niece, Liz (Matt) Shirey, a grandniece, Alexis Shirey, and grandnephew, Ethan Shirey, of Maryland; aunt, Barbara (Brown) Stevens; and numerous cousins and close friends, including Cathleen Buckon of Portland, Oregon. He was preceded in death by his father, Donald C. Krebs; his paternal grandparents, William and Marcella (Simon) Krebs; and his maternal grandparents, Ray and Dora (Latteman) Brown. Friends may call on Monday February 10 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Morman Funeral Home, 16 Cooper Street, Wakeman. A Masonic service will be held at 8:00 pm Monday evening. Services will be held on Tuesday February 11 at 11:00 am at the funeral home. There will be visitation from 10:00 to 11:00 at the funeral home. Pastor Paul Eaton will be officiating. Burial will follow in Birmingham Cemetery. A Celebration of Life will be held in Boston, MA in the Spring. The family has established a memorial fund to be used to recognize future leaders in the physical therapy field. In lieu of flowers and in Dave's memory, memorial gifts may be made to the "Dr. Dave Krebs PT Awards Fund." Online condolences can be expressed at mormanfuneralhome.com