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Academy of Research in OT

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January 23, 2026

 

  

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Academy of Research In Occupational Therapy

AOREstablished in 1983, the AOTF Academy of Research in Occupational Therapy recognizes individuals who have made exemplary, distinguished, and sustained contributions toward the science of occupational therapy. Every year, the Academy of Research invites nominations for membership. After consideration of the nominations and supporting materials, the Academy selects individuals to be inducted into this distinguished body of researchers. Usually, inductions occur at the next AOTA Annual Conference and Exposition.  

Nominations closed for 2026 cycle

View Nomination Procedures

2026 Inductee to the Academy

Kristie K. Patten, PhD, OT/L, FAOTA

2026

Kristie K. Patten, PhD, OT/L, FAOTA

Dr. Kristie Patten is Counselor to the President at NYU, overseeing the strategic priorities of the president and university-wide initiatives. She is a professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, having previously served as Department Chair and Vice Dean of Academic Affairs at NYU Steinhardt. Her research has focused on shifting the paradigm from a deficit-based to a strength-based or neurodiversity-affirming perspective in the field of autism. She is the principal investigator of the NEST project, funded by New York City Public Schools, the largest inclusion program in the country. The research of her lab has been funded by the National Science Foundation continuously for the last 9 years, which has focused on prioritizing autistic interests in maker clubs. She founded the NYU Connections Program, which supports autistic students, and her most recent NSF work, "Making Mentors," teaches autistic college students how to mentor autistic high school students in STEAM fields. She was awarded and delivered the Eleanor Clark Slagle Lecture in 2022. 

Members of the Academy of Research

View Full List of Academy of Research Members At-A-Glance. * indicates a deceased member.

Betty R. Hasselkus, PhD, OTR, FAOTA
Helene Ross
/ Categories: AOTF Academy of Research

Betty R. Hasselkus, PhD, OTR, FAOTA

2000

Dr. Hasselkus "is an Emeritus Professor of Kinesiology/Occupational Therapy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she served as Program Director for ten years. . . . Dr. Hasselkus has focused her research, teaching and practice on the everyday occupational experience of people in the community, with a special emphasis on family care giving for older family members, physician-family caregiver relationships, meanings of everyday occupation to dementia day care staff, and the meaning of doing occupational therapy. . . .

In 2005, she was awarded the AOTA Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship and was editor of The American Journal of Occupational Therapy from 1998-2003.  Dr. Hasselkus was named one of the 100 Influential People in Occupational Therapy by AOTA.


Q Aand A

Identify three words that others have used to describe you.   
Well Organized; Smart; Down to Earth

How do you hope to make a difference in the world through research?   
To expand therapists' understandings about the experience of working together with people within their social contexts, and to increase our appreciation of the everyday lives of our clients.

What is one piece of advice you have for individuals considering a career in science and research?  
Have a love of learning.

Beside your own areas of inquiry, what is one research priority that you believe is important for the future of occupational science and occupational therapy?   
Link our areas of research to research in other professions; strengthen our place in the therapeutic research world.

Describe the most important role that mentors played in your professional journey.  
Most important early on (Master's level);  mentors kept me from feeling separated from the profession when I had little kids, brought part-time opportunities to my attention.  Later I was much more on my own and I guess more or less "mentored" myself.  

Identify a favorite occupation that renews you outside of your work.   
Piano, piano, piano -- I love it.  

What has been the most surprising or rewarding aspects of a career in science and research?   
For me, I think the fact that being a published researcher in a world-class university opened up doors for me around the world.  I had never thought in those terms as I was working on the doctorate, but it happened for me and definitely changed my life.  


Selected References

Hasselkus, BR.  (2006). The 2006 Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture: The world of everyday occupation: real people, real lives. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 60, 627-640.

Hasselkus, BR. (2011). (2nd Ed.) The meaning of everyday occupation. Thorofare, NJ : SLACK.

Hasselkus, BR & Murray, BJ.  (2007). Everyday occupation, well-being, and identity: the experience of caregivers in families with dementia. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 61, 9-20.  

Rosa, SA & Hasselkus, BR.  (2005).  Finding common ground with patients: the centrality of compatibility.  The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 59, 198-208.

 

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