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Academy of Research in OT

About AOTF   >   Awards and Honors   >   Academy of Research in OT
July 16, 2024

 

  

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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. Normally, inductions occur at the next AOTA Annual Conference and Exposition.  

View Nomination Procedures

 

View Presentations from the 2022 Academy of Research Inductees and 2022 Early & Mid-Career Awardees

View Presentations from the 2021 Academy of Research Inductees and 2021 Early & Mid-Career Awardees

2024 Inductees to the Academy

2024

Lindy Clemson, PhD, MAppSc (Research), BAppSc (OT), Dip OT, FOTARA, Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sydney School of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney Sydney, Australia

2024

Professor Emeritus Lindy Clemson is a specialist in public health research on ageing and an occupational therapist with a PhD in epidemiology. She has led research and advocacy internationally for best practice in home evaluation and falls prevention using environmental and enablement strategies. Her research has transformed approaches to fall prevention and provided new approaches and strategies to occupational therapy and medical practitioners and to a lay audience.

This work positively impacts the lives of countless older people around the world. Clemson’s contributions have been recognized by national and international entities, including being elected as an inaugural fellow of the Australian Occupational Therapy Research Academy, reflecting her exemplary, distinguished, and sustained contributions to the science of occupational therapy.

2024

Roberta Gittens Pineda, PhD, OTR/L, CNT, Associate Professor, Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California Los Angeles, Calif.

2024

Dr. Roberta Pineda is a tenured Associate Professor and Director of the NICU Laboratory within the Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of Southern California. She is also a founder and co-chair of the Neonatal Therapy Certification Board. Dr. Pineda’s impactful research program investigates factors that support or impede the function of infants born prematurely with a long-term goal of developing strategies and interventions that can optimize neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Over the past decade, she has received $7 million in grant funding to support the development and implementation of several innovative programs, assessments, and products that have revolutionized key aspects of the NICU environment, including an evidence-based multimodal program that facilitates positive sensory exposures in the NICU, a standardized neonatal feeding outcome measure, a new bottle technology that paces the timing of food intake, and a community-based program that addresses gaps in therapy services associated with the transition from NICU to home, especially among populations with known health disparities.

2024

Ganesh M. Babulal, PhD, OTD, MSCI, MOT, OTR/L, Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri

2024

Dr. Ganesh M. Babulal is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Babulal’s research interests reside in investigating the relationship between cognition and mental health and its impact on instrumental activities of daily living in healthy older adults and those with chronic neurological diseases.

Consistent with these interests, his funded research studies include (1) characterizing functional changes in older adults using biomarkers (structural and functional imaging, cerebrospinal fluid, plasma), (2) predicting a decline in performance and behavior via novel methodologies, (3) identifying reliable noncognitive behavioral markers that predict preclinical disease state, and (4) examining the relationship between mental health and cognitive functioning on brain health.

As his research evolved, its progression grew from structural and social determinants of health (SSDOH) and health disparities while addressing the translational gap. This work has scaled up to now examine how upstream SSDOH factors impact adverse health outcomes in underrepresented, minoritized groups in the United States and vulnerable populations in Low and Middle-Income Countries.

 

 

Members of the Academy of Research

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

Catherine Lysack, PhD, OT(C)
Helene Ross
/ Categories: AOTF Academy of Research

Catherine Lysack, PhD, OT(C)

2007

Dr. Lysack is the Deputy Director of the Institute of Gerontology (IOG) and a Professor in the Department of Health Care Sciences (Occupational Therapy) at the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.  

Dr. Lysack's research focuses on the social, physical and environmental influences on health, and understanding how older adults and people with disability redevelop active and meaningful lives in the community after illness and injury. She has conducted numerous studies including recent studies to evaluate methods to strengthen occupational therapy practice skills in mental health, and identify factors that facilitate community participation after spinal cord injury. She is presently conducted research on two projects: 1) Household Downsizing in Late Life, funded by the National Institute on Aging, and 2) Social Reintegration of Service-members and Veterans with Spinal Cord Injury Returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. (Retrieved on June 9, 2015 from http://www.cphs.wayne.edu/research/occupational_research.php.)

 

Q AND A

Identify three words that others have used to describe you.
Curious. Tenacious. Diplomatic.

How do you hope to make a difference in the world through research?
I hope my work assists future therapists to be bold and creative in their work -- to examine functional problems in new ways so their patients can more easily achieve their goals.

What is one piece of advice you have for individuals considering a career in science and research?
Work on your writing skills now.  Scientists and researchers devote a great deal of time and effort to grant writing and publication of research findings.  Excellent writing skills are absolutely essential.

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?
Science in general and science in the field of OS and OT should devote more resources to studying the root causes and effective treatments for mental health conditions, particularly depression.  Depression alone may be the single greatest cause of disability and lost productivity there is.  We should work harder on these large human problems.

Describe the most important role that mentors played in your professional journey.
Mentors make you believe you can do it, when you are less sure. Mentors open doors to understanding and insight and they inspire.  You will not go far, or anywhere worthwhile without mentors.

Identify a favorite occupation that renews you outside of your work.
Playing competitive squash and working outside planting green things!

What has been the most surprising or rewarding aspects of a career in science and research?
It is a pleasure seeing my work make a difference in practice.  Nothing is more satisfying than seeing a student or a clinician use my research findings to make life better for someone else.  That is the greatest reward.


REFERENCES

Arthanat, S, Vroman, KG & Lysack C.  (2014). A home-based individualized information communication technology training program for older adults: a demonstration of effectiveness and value. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 16, 1-9.  http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/17483107.2014.974219

Ficker, LJ, Lysack, CL, Hanna, M & Lichtenberg PA. (2014). Perceived Cognitive Impairment among African American elders: health and functional impairments in daily life.  Aging and Mental Health, 18, 471-480.

Luborsky, MR, Lysack, CL & Van Nuil, J. (2011). Refashioning One's Place in Time: Stories of Household Downsizing in Later Life.  Journal of Aging Studies, 25, 243-252.

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