Kimberly Topp, PhD, PT

Dr. Kimberly Topp is Professor and Chair Emeritus of the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science. She held the Sexton Sutherland Endowed Chair in Human Anatomy from the UCSF Academy of Medical Educators for 10 years. Her areas of expertise include anatomy and the application of anatomical knowledge to clinical problems and peripheral neuropathy research. She obtained her BS in Physical Therapy from Northern Arizona University and her PhD in Anatomy and Cell Biology from the University of California, Davis. After completing her post doctoral training in Neurobiology, Dr. Topp joined the UCSF faculty in 1993 and held joint appointments in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science and Anatomy.  She has received the American Association of Anatomists in 2010, and Honorary Fellow of The Anatomical Society (Great Britain and Ireland) in 2015. Dr. Topp has held leadership positions in the American Association of Anatomists and American Association of Clinical Anatomists, and is a Past President of the American Association of Anatomists. Although still actively engaged in research, teaching and service, Dr. Topp retired from UCSF in 2018.

Dr. Topp's areas of research interest are in structure-function relationships of peripheral nerve and in the application of research findings in the physical therapy clinical population. She has investigated chemotherapy induced neuropathy in a rat model and human patients. She and colleagues have evaluated sub-clinical and overt sensorimotor neuropathy in study participants with breast cancer treated with taxanes. They documented the sensory neuropathy and measured the correlation between severity of neuropathy and quality of life, level of pain, and balance impairments. These studies have been funded through a collaboration with Dr. Christine Miaskowski at UCSF. With collaborator Dr. Benjamin Boyd, Dr. Topp investigated structure-function relationships in normal and injured peripheral nerve. Their published findings using human cadavers supported the use of limb positioning sequences in the physical therapy clinic to induce quantifiable nerve strain during evaluation of nerve dysfunction. They also completed an investigation of biomechanics of the sciatic nerve and related symptomatology in study participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Their findings are directly applicable in physical therapy care for this patient population. Dr. Topp's perspectives on nerve biomechanics may be found in the Journal of Hand Therapy, 2012, and Gray's Anatomy, 41st Edition, 2016. Her collaborative work in physical therapist education may be found in Physical Therapy, 2016, and Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 2018.

Interests: Peripheral nerve, neuropathy, chemotherapy, anatomy