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Academy of Research in OT

About AOTF   >   Awards and Honors   >   Academy of Research in OT
December 23, 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.

Natasha A. Lannin, PhD, BSc(OT), GradDip
Helene Ross
/ Categories: AOTF Academy of Research

Natasha A. Lannin, PhD, BSc(OT), GradDip

2017

Dr. Lannin holds a joint research-only position with Alfred Health (Melbourne) and La Trobe University, and is an honorary Research Fellow at the John Walsh Institute for Rehabilitation Research at The University of Sydney, the George Institute for Global Health and the Florey Institute of Neurosciences and Mental Health. Working within the Alfred Health hospital network, she conducts clinical trials investigating the effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions as well as translation research into improving the long-term outcomes for those living with an acquired brain injury from stroke or traumatic causes. Dr. Lannin is a supervisor of higher research degree students (PhD and Master's). She has published widely in leading journals such as Stroke, Journal of Epidemiology, and Clinical Rehabilitation, and has received competitive research grants from federal government (including NHMRC), state government (including the Transport Accident Commission) and philanthropic organizations (including the National Stroke Foundation).

Read more about Dr. Lannin on her webpage.

 

Q AND A

Identify three words that others have used to describe you.

Dedicated, honest, passionate.

How do you hope to make a difference in the world through research?
At the heart of my research is the goal to increase the efficacy of what occupational therapists do every day with inpatients in rehabilitation, a belief that every patient deserves to receive the most effective services and treatment; the right treatment at the right time. So, I hope to make a difference by defining best practice, by conducting systematic reviews and running clinical trials; as well as conducting mixed methods and epidemiological studies designed to provide greater understanding of the issues as well as the prevalence of the problems, their impact on being able to perform everyday activities and how to best support independence and quality of life after neurological damage. And, most importantly, from seeing these findings translated across into the clinical rehabilitation of adults after brain injury and stroke.

What is one piece of advice you have for individuals considering a career in science and research?
Focus on one area and think carefully about the big issues in that area. You will need to keep coming back to these issues, and try not to sidetracked. Really good ideas translate to good research if they are grounded in real clinical issues, and as a researcher you can make instrumental changes to clinical practice if you remain focused on the issues that you are most passionate about.

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?
Determining the cost-effectiveness of occupational therapy- we have the beginnings of this information in some areas of practice, but our cost-effectiveness is not yet universally known.

Describe the most important role that mentors played in your professional journey.
The role of advocate. My mentors have not only provided advice and support to me directly, they have advocated for me to others which has led to some amazing opportunities for me. In many ways, they have been just as dedicated to my success, as they have their own.

Identify a favorite occupation that renews you outside of your work:
Parenting.

What has been the most surprising or rewarding aspects of a career in science and research?
The most rewarding has been the opportunity to co-design programs and research with consumers, this is what keeps me going. The thought that the work we do is really, really important to the people who I work with.

 

SELECTED REFERENCES

Lannin, N., Carr, B., Allaous, J., Mackenzie, B., Falcon, A., & Tate, R (2014). A randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of handheld computers for improving everyday memory functioning in patients with memory impairments after acquired brain injury. Clinical Rehabilitation, 28(5), 470–481.

Lannin, N. A., Cusick, A., McCluskey, A., & Herbert, R. D (2007).  Effects of Splinting on Wrist Contracture after Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Trial.  Stroke. 38, 111-116.  

Laver, K., Lannin, N. A.,  Bragge, P.,  Hunter, P.,  Holland, A., E., Tavender, E.,  O’Connor, D.,  Khan, F., Teasell, R.,  & Gruen Laver, R  et al (2014). Organising health care services for people with an acquired brain injury: an overview of systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials.  BMC Health Services Research, 14, 397.   

Gonçalves-Bradley, D.C., Lannin, N.A., Clemson, L.M., Cameron, I.D., & Shepperd, S (2016).  Discharge planning from hospital. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 1. Art. No.: CD000313. 

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