Dr. Laura Zajac-Cox

Laura Zajac-Cox is Clinical Associate Professor of Physical Therapy in the College of Health Professions.  She also serves as Director of Postprofessional Education in the Department of Physical Therapy.  She was awarded a Doctor in Physical Therapy from Arcadia University and Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy from the Medical College of Georgia.

Dr. Zajac-Cox has over 30 years of clinical experience and has held a Specialty Certification in Neurologic Physical Therapy since 2012, which informs her teaching focus of management of individuals with neuromuscular conditions.  Serving as a certified clinical instructor since 1995, she has continued to expand her clinical teaching through local and international service work, including a 10-year partnership with FORU Rehabilitation in Jamaica. Prior to joining faculty at Mercer in 2025, she was the founding director of the neurologic physical therapy residency program at Emory University.

Dr. Zajac-Cox is a member of the Education and Neurology Academies of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). She currently serves on the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education onsite review team for postprofessional program accreditation; as the Chair of the APTA Georgia Neurologic Physical Therapy Focused Interest Network; as the Conference Coordinator for the APTA Residency and Fellowship Education Special Interest Group; and on the Curriculum Committee for the Neurologic Physical Therapy Professional Education Consortium.

In 2021, she completed the Woodruff Health Education Academy Research Fellowship. Her research interests include walking recovery post stroke; the effects of care partners on the rehab and recovery process post stroke; and the impact of postprofessional education in physical therapy. Dr. Zajac-Cox has numerous publications and presentations at the state and national level related to her work. She serves as a manuscript reviewer for the Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation.