Kilmer Memorial Lecture Series
September 11, 2026
Distinguished Guest Speaker: David Morgenroth, M.D.
David Morgenroth grew up in New York City where he was also a sixth-grade teacher prior to his career in academic medicine. He has focused his career as a physician-scientist-educator on clinical care and research aimed at improving the functional quality of life for people with limb loss and other disabling conditions. Morgenroth’s research has been funded by the NIH, VA and Department of Defense. He has mentored numerous PM&R residents, fellows, Ph.D. students and postdocs in Rehabilitation Science, Mechanical Engineering, and related subjects. In his leadership roles, he has led strategic planning in the University of Washington Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and for the Association of Academic Physiatrists. He serves on the Board of Trustees for the Association of Academic Physiatrists, on the Advisory Board for the Rehabilitation Medicine Scientists Training Program, and on the Editorial Boards for the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics.
David Morgenroth is a dedicated educator on the topics of amputation rehabilitation, prosthetics, and gait biomechanics. In addition to teaching at the University of Washington, he has given many invited talks nationally and internationally. His teaching philosophy focuses on active rather than passive learning, understanding rather than memorization, and prioritizing inspiration and curiosity rather than knowledge transfer.
Morgenroth's research program is aimed at improving the mobility and quality of life of people with functional or anatomic limb loss. He has a background in gait biomechanics which he uses to study the underlying etiology, prevention, and treatments for secondary disabling musculoskeletal conditions (e.g., low back pain, intact limb knee osteoarthritis) that are highly prevalent after limb loss. He also leads research focused on personalized prosthetic prescription.
About David D. Kilmer, M.D.
David Kilmer received his bachelor's degree in kinesiology from UCLA, graduating magna cum laude. He received his medical degree from the UC Davis School of Medicine in 1985, graduating with Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor society distinction. Upon completing his PM&R residency at UC Davis in 1989, he joined the faculty of the PM&R department. In 1991, he became the Director of UC Davis Medical Center's Electromyography (EMG) Laboratory and Director of the Adult Prosthetics and Orthotics Clinics. In 1999, he became the Acting Chair of the Department of PM&R and in 2000 was appointed as Chair of the Department, remaining as such until his untimely passing in 2009.
David Kilmer was an internationally renowned clinician, teacher, and researcher. He was known for the state-of-the-art and compassionate rehabilitation care he provided to patients with traumatic neurological conditions, amputations, and neuromuscular diseases. He was a gifted researcher, who published extensively in the medical literature on the effects of exercise in patients with neuromuscular disease, and he made numerous contributions that have influenced the care of these patients worldwide.
He twice won the faculty teaching award and was greatly respected by medical students, residents, and colleagues. In 2005, he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the UC Davis School of Medicine and the Citation for Excellence from the Cal Aggie Alumni Association.
He served on the board of directors for the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and membership on the editorial board for the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. David Kilmer was a founding member of the neuromuscular medicine subspecialty board, jointly under the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.