Philip Friere Skiba, DO, PhD, FACSM
Associate Professor
Fellowship Director, Primary Care Sports Medicine
Contact
Philip Friere Skiba, DO, PhD, FACSM
Associate Professor
Fellowship Director, Primary Care Sports Medicine
EDUCATION
PhD, University of Exeter, (Human Physiology), Exeter, UK - 2014
DO, Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (Osteopathic Medicine), Kirksville, MO - 2003
MS, University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ (Molecular Genetics). Newark, NJ - 1999
Publications
- “Falling Behind,” “Letting Go,” and Being “Outsprinted” as Distinct Features of Pacing in Distance Running
- Evolution of 1500-m Olympic Running Performance
- Longitudinal analysis of the 800-m performances of the world's best female long-distance pool swimmer: A case study using critical speed and D′
- Competition Between Desired Competitive Result, Tolerable Homeostatic Disturbance, and Psychophysiological Interpretation Determines Pacing Strategy
- Accounting for Dynamic Changes in the Power-Duration Relationship Improves the Accuracy of W′ Balance Modeling
BOARD CERTIFICATIONS
- American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians - Famliy Medicine
- American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians - Sports Medicine
BIO
Dr. Philip Friere Skiba received his undergraduate degree in Biology from Siena College, followed by a Masters in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from Rutgers-Newark. He later attended medical school at ATSU-KCOM in Missouri. Dr. Skiba went on to complete an internship in Internal Medicine at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, in Chicagoland. He did his residency training in Family Medicine and a fellowship in Sports Medicine at NYIT / Union Hospital.
Dr. Skiba’s first teaching post was in the Rutgers / Jersey Shore University Medical Center Sports Medicine Fellowship. He was later recruited as the Director of Sport and Exercise Medicine by the University of Exeter (UK) in advance of the 2012 London Olympic Games. Dr. Skiba developed a novel mathematical system to guide athlete training and performance, his efforts culminating in gold and bronze medals for the UK Men’s Triathlon Squad. Dr. Skiba subsequently finished his PhD training in Human Physiology in Exeter, publishing several journal articles detailing and further refining his algorithms. His W’-Balance model fundamentally changed the analysis of human endurance performance, leading to dozens of publications from laboratories around the world.
Dr. Skiba later returned to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital as Director of the Sports Medicine fellowship program, where he served as Head Primary Care Team Physician for the University of Illinois at Chicago (NCAA Division 1) and Head Team Physician for Oakton College. He also served as Regional Director of Sports Medicine for Advocate Health Care, spearheading the development of three human performance laboratories and a $28M Sports Health Center.
Dr. Skiba is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, and has extensive experience in amateur, elite and professional sports. He serves on the medical boards of both USA Triathlon and USA Cycling and accompanied Team USA to the World Championships in Australia. Unusually for a physician, he has also personally coached dozens of elite endurance athletes, including Olympic medalists, World Champions and World-Record holders. Perhaps most notably, he was recruited by Nike for the Breaking 2 project and helped train Eliud Kipchoge, Zersenay Tadese and Lelisa Desisa in pursuit of the first 2-hour marathon. Dr. Skiba later appeared in and narrated portions of NatGeo’s Cannes Award-Winning Documentary Breaking 2. He remains a familiar presence in print and broadcast journalism. Dr. Skiba is a regular contributor to several lay and scholarly publications, including Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, The International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, and Triathlete. He was the Associate Editor of The European Journal of Sports Science from 2012-2022.