19 October 2026

Geneva Employee Spotlight: Veronica Hershey Brings a Clinical Perspective to Military Musculoskeletal Injury Research

For Veronica Hershey, PT, DPT, PMP, advancing military musculoskeletal injury research brings together professional expertise and personal connection to the military community.

As a Project Manager for the Musculoskeletal Injury Rehabilitation Research for Operational Readiness (MIRROR) program within the Uniformed Services University’s Center for Advanced Research for Military Optimization, Readiness, and Rehabilitation (ARMORR), Dr. Hershey manages more than 20 studies focused on understanding and reducing musculoskeletal injuries among active duty military populations. She also leads a team of research professionals supporting studies that seek to improve how these injuries are prevented, diagnosed, and treated, with the goal of improving Service members’ health, performance, and ability to carry out their missions.

Currently, Dr. Hershey is supporting four initiatives in development with academic, industry, and military collaborators exploring biologics, pharmaceuticals, and medical technologies to address gaps in musculoskeletal injury treatment. Her role brings together research, operations, and project management to help teams turn research ideas and priorities into studies that can be successfully executed.

Her approach is informed by a clinical career in physical therapy. Dr. Hershey earned a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from St. Edward’s University and a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from UT Southwestern Medical Center. She practiced in outpatient orthopedics, inpatient rehabilitation, and acute care at a Level II trauma center before transitioning into research and project management.

Her experience as a military spouse has also shaped her career and her understanding of the impact of musculoskeletal injuries. For more than 16 years, Dr. Hershey has experienced military life with her family, including time around training and operational Air Force flying squadrons. She has seen how an injury that prevents a Service member from performing their duties can affect not only the individual, but also workload across the unit, time away from home, morale, and military families.

That perspective helped Dr. Hershey find a path to bring her physical therapy background into work that supports the military community while continuing to grow professionally. Joining MIRROR at The Geneva Foundation provided that opportunity.

“My experience as a military spouse has shaped how I understand military musculoskeletal injuries and the impact on the Service member, their team, their mission, and their family,” she said. “Being able to connect the work back to the people it is intended to serve is especially helpful when I’m working through the less visible, day-to-day pieces of project management.”

Today, Dr. Hershey works with investigators, military clinicians, industry collaborators, and Geneva’s regulatory and data teams to keep complex studies on track. By coordinating the operational components behind each study, she creates the structure that allows research teams to focus on the scientific questions at the core of their work.

One of the highlights of her time at Geneva has been leading and working alongside a team of research physical therapists while championing their professional development and career growth. She has continued her own development as well, earning her Project Management Professional certification with encouragement from her manager and fellow project managers.

By combining her clinical background, project management expertise, and personal tie to the military community, Dr. Hershey brings the operational leadership needed to advance research addressing musculoskeletal injuries and their impact on Service member health and readiness.

Bring your expertise to Team Geneva. Whether your background is in clinical care, research, project management, or research operations, explore opportunities to apply your experience to research focused on the health and readiness of Service members.

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