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Academy of Research in OT

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December 25, 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. Usually, inductions occur at the next AOTA Annual Conference and Exposition.  

Nominations submission deadline was October 30, 2024.

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.

Joy Hammel, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Helene Ross
/ Categories: AOTF Academy of Research

Joy Hammel, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

2014

Dr. Hammel "is Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy and Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois and has been named the Wade/Meyer Endowed Chair in Occupational Therapy. Dr. Hammel is a nationally and internationally recognized leader, scholar and educator in the areas of community living and participation disparities with people with disabilities as well as community-based participatory research."  Retrieved on April 29, 2015 from http://www.ahs.uic.edu/news/title,11430,en.html.)


Q and A

Identify three words that others have used to describe you.
Passionate, Creative, Participatory.

How do you hope to make a difference in the world through research?
I hope to make a difference by doing participatory research with disability communities that can be translated back to and inform communities, rehabilitation professionals and systems, and policy makers about participation disparities people with disabilities face and effective strategies and environmental interventions to respond to and address these disparities and instead create participation opportunities.

What is one piece of advice you have for individuals considering a career in science and research?
Collaborate with a respected mentor(s) and build strong community of learning/scholarship in which you can learn, thrive and be supported and challenged in your scholarship.

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?
Comparative effectiveness studies of interventions related to transitioning across the lifespan (K-12 to post secondary and independent living/work, nursing home to community living and work, transitions to home and community following rehabilitation, and aging in place transitions as an older adult).

Describe the most important role that mentors played in your professional journey.
They have inspired, empowered and critically challenged me at the same time-all of which are critically needed to become a scientist and scholar.  My mentors in the disability community have also grounded me in real life needs and issues from within the community.

Identify a favorite occupation that renews you outside of your work.
Traveling all over the place and meeting lots of different people.

What has been the most surprising or rewarding aspects of a career in science and research?
That research and evidence generated from it (qualitative and quantitative) can really make a difference in people's lives and in changing systems to support participation for many.


Selected References

Hammel, J, Magasi, S, Heinemann, A, Gray, DB, Stark, S, Kisala, P, Carlozzi, NE, Tulsky, D, Garcia, SF & Hahn EA.  (2015). Environmental barriers and supports to everyday participation: a qualitative insider perspective from people with disabilities.  Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 96, 578-588.  

Hammel, J, Southall, K, Jutai, J, Finlayson, M, Kashindi, G & Fok D.  (2013). Evaluating use and outcomes of mobility technology: a multiple stakeholder analysis. Disability and Rehabilitation.  Assistive Technology, 8, 294-304.

Zakrajsek, AG, Hammel, J & Scazzero, JA.  (2014). Supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to participate in their communities through support staff pilot intervention. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities. 27, 154-162.

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