Debbie Rose

Rose, DJ

Debra (“Debbie”) Rose, PhD, is a chair and professor emerita in the Kinesiology Department and director emerita of the award-winning Center for Successful Aging at California State University, Fullerton. She also served as one of three co-directors of the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence established in 2005 with funding from the Archstone Foundation as well as a member of the national steering committee developed by the National Council on Aging to guide the implementation of the FallsFree initiative aimed at preventing falls among older Americans.
Her primary research focus is in the area of postural control, mobility enhancement, and the prevention of falls in later years. Dr. Rose is nationally and internationally recognized for her research in the assessment and treatment of balance and gait disorders. Her research has been widely published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, monographs, and professional journals. Dr. Rose has been frequently recognized for her contributions to the scientific literature and to the profession. She has been the co-recipient of the outstanding research writing award on two occasions for research articles published in the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport and was recognized by the Erickson Foundation in 2006 for her outstanding contributions to research in the area of fall risk and fracture reduction. The innovative fall risk reduction program she developed called FallProof™ was recognized by the Health Promotion Institute of the National Council on the Aging in 2006 as a “Best Practice” program in health promotion and again in 2008 by the VISN 8 Patient Safety Center of Inquiry at the James A Haley Veterans Affairs Hospital in Tampa, Florida. This program has since been replicated in numerous community-based settings and retirement communities throughout North America. Debra is also the past Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity and a past-president and active fellow of the American Academy of Kinesiology.