Meet the Team
Rebecca Lavaway
MSPT, OCS, COMT
Rebecca is the founder/owner of The Performance Lab. She is a graduate of the University of Connecticut, where she obtained her Masters of Science in Physical Therapy in 2006. Since graduating from UConn, she has had extensive training in the rehabilitation of orthopedic and sports injuries.
Rebecca has a passion for utilizing a direct, hands-on treatment approach to obtain maximum therapeutic benefits. She became a Certified Orthopedic Manual Therapist (COMT) in 2010 through the prestigious Ola Grimsby Institute, where she was trained by world-renowned experts in the application of myofascial release, joint manipulation and mobilization, and soft tissue recovery techniques.
In addition to her COMT, Rebecca achieved her Orthopedic Clinical Specialty Board Certification (OCS) in 2011 — accomplished by less than 1% of physical therapists nationwide. With her advanced clinical knowledge, Rebecca became a certified clinical instructor, training numerous students and lectured on sports injuries, rehab, and prevention.
Rebecca is certified in cupping and dry needling, and is trained in Mulligan Concept, McKenzie Method®, Graston Technique®. More recently, she has begun to focus on the treatment of golf injuries and obtained her certification from the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) in January 2020. Though she is skilled in treating all various musculoskeletal injuries, Rebecca specializes in wellness, mobility, and injury prevention and muscle recovery techniques.
Melissa Peet
DPT, TPI Certified
Melissa is the Head of Operations at our Prospect Location. She graduated from LIU Post as the Valedictorian of her class in 2017 with a BS in Health Sciences and then went on to obtain her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in 2020 at Sacred Heart University, where she graduated third in her class with Honors and was inducted into the ACAPT National Physical Therapy Student Honor Society.
While at LIU Post, Melissa was in the honors college and a NFCA All-America Scholar athlete all four years as a member of the softball team. During her undergraduate studies, she combined her passion for sports with her extensive knowledge in human movement performance, forming the foundation of her thesis: “Analyzing Men’s and Women’s Sports Injuries with Regard to Anatomy/Physiology and Care and Prevention.”
As she transitioned into her doctoral studies at SHU, Melissa was given the distinguished honor to participate in numerous research projects, including “The Immediate and Short-Term Effects of Dry Needling Latent Trigger Points in the Gastrocnemius Muscle on Vertical Jump Height in an Asymptomatic Population” and “Reliability of the Beighton Score and Impact of Generalized Joint Mobility and Resting Scapular Position on Median Neurodynamic Test 1.” For her work on the latter of the two studies, Melissa became a published author in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies.
Since graduating from the DPT program at SHU, she has obtained her dry needling certification and completed additional manual therapy training, which she utilizes during treatments, in combination with therapeutic exercise, to help patients achieve their maximal level of function. She believes in the utilization of a personalized, hands-on treatment approach to treat a variety of orthopedic and sports-related injuries, in addition to promoting prevention and wellness.
Jordan Nihoul
DPT, ATC, TPI Certified
Jordan is the Head of Operations at our West Hartford location. She graduated with the distinction of Highest Honors from New Mexico State University in 2015 with her BS in Athletic Training, and then went on to obtain her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in 2019 from Emory University – a top 5 physical therapy school in the nation.
Following the completion of her undergraduate studies, Jordan worked as an Athletic Trainer for the Auburn University Women’s Soccer and Gymnastics teams, with whom she was responsible for the injury prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of the athletes. After working at Auburn, she began her doctoral studies at Emory University, where she became a published author for her research on the Effects of Early Open Kinetic Chain Strengthening Post ACL Reconstruction.
Since graduating from Emory, she has obtained her Dry Needling Certification, TPI certification, and is currently pursuing her sports specialist (SCS) certification. She enjoys treating orthopaedic injuries, post-operative rehabilitation, and pediatric rehabilitation, but her passions lie in injury prevention and rehabilitation of athletes at all levels. Jordan has a special interest in treating the gymnastics population due to her experience as a former competitor, level 6 through 9 coach, and as an athletic trainer. Jordan is dedicated to helping patients improve their functional capacity in order to help enhance quality of life.
Jennifer Dugan
MD, Medical Director
