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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.

Linda Tickle-Degnen, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Helene Ross

Linda Tickle-Degnen, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

1984

Dr. Tickle-Degnen is Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Occupational Therapy, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts and Director of the Health Quality of Life Lab. Her research is directed toward understanding and promoting positive social functioning and wellness in Parkinson's disease and other chronic conditions. In particular, she studies nonverbal and verbal communication, cross-cultural health care interactions, interpersonal rapport, engagement in meaningful daily activities, and quality of life. She is interested in increasing occupational therapists' participation in inter- and multidisciplinary clinical interventions and research activities that have the goal of improving the health and quality of life of individuals with chronic conditions. (Retrieved on October 6, 2015 from http://ase.tufts.edu/hql/people.asp.)


Q AND A

Identify three words that others have used to describe you.
Big picture person, Mentor, Interdisciplinary.

How do you hope to make a difference in the world through research?
I hope to build the capacity of research in OT by mentoring interdisciplinary researchers and also to provide strong models of programmatic research through my work in Parkinson's disease and caregiving.

What is one piece of advice you have for individuals considering a career in science and research?
Choose an area that will entice you for life! It has to be something very close to the heart.

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?
Research that contributes to developing community health & wellness models of OT.

Describe the most important role that mentors played in your professional journey.
They taught me to not be afraid of the complex problems and to keep going after them, not giving up.

Identify a favorite occupation that renews you outside of your work.
Yoga, biking, kayaking, skiing, drumming, and hiking -- I love it all!

What has been the most surprising or rewarding aspects of a career in science and research?
Seeing occupational therapy science & research come to be recognized (nationally and internationally) as fundamentally important to the entire health endeavor.


REFERENCES

Bogart, K, Tickle-Degnen, L & Ambady N. (2014). Communicating without the face: Holistic perception of emotions of people with facial paralysis. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 36, 309-320.

Foster, ER, Bedekar, M & Tickle-Degnen L. (2014). Systematic review of the effectiveness of occupational therapy-related interventions for people with Parkinson's disease. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68, 39-49.

Gray, H. M., & Tickle-Degnen, L. (2010). A meta-analysis of performance on emotion recognition tasks in Parkinson's disease. Neuropsychology, 24(2), 176.

Tickle-Degnen, L. (2013). Nuts and bolts of conducting feasibility studies. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 67, 171-176.

Tickle-Degnen, L., Ellis, T., Saint-Hilaire, M. H., Thomas, C. A., & Wagenaar, R. C. (2010). Self-management rehabilitation and health-related quality of life in Parkinson's disease: A randomized controlled trial. Movement Disorders, 25(2), 194-204.

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