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Academy of Research in OT

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November 17, 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.

Susan Garber, MA, OTR, FAOTA
Helene Ross
/ Categories: AOTF Academy of Research

Susan Garber, MA, OTR, FAOTA

2006

Ms. Garber is a Professor in the Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She has dedicated her career to researching prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers in people with spinal cord injuries and has made significant contributions to this field. She joined the faculty at Baylor after working as a full-time clinical occupational therapist. She spent 19 years conducting research at The Institute of Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) as assistant director for research and education in the department of occupational therapy and then 10 years conducting research through the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Her research interests are in the areas of spinal cord injury, prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers, rehabilitation outcomes, technology and rehabilitation, and patient and family education. (Retrieved on April 28, 2015 from https://www.bcm.edu/people/view/b2559e16-ffed-11e2-be68-080027880ca6)

She received her bachelor of science in occupational therapy from Columbia University and her master of arts in occupational therapy at Texas Women’s University.

Ms. Garber is a recipient of the AOTA Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship Award, and is a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association as well as the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Ms. Garber was named one of the 100 Influential People of Occupational Therapy by AOTA.

Ms. Garber is a member of the AOTF Board of Trustees and was named one of the 100 Influential People of Occupational Therapy by AOTA.


Q and A

Identify three words that others have used to describe you.  
Conscientious, focused, precise.

How do you hope to make a difference in the world through research?
Research Improves the health and recovery of patients/clients by questioning and testing existing approaches and exploring opportunities for their enhancement or effectiveness. I hope to teach health professionals how to evaluate and treat pain, especially in vulnerable populations like youths with physical disabilities.

What is one piece of advice you have for individuals considering a career in science and research?
Actually, there are two: first: have enough clinical experience to determine area(s) of interest in order to ask the right questions; second, initially, identify a mentor whose work you admire and whose work interests you. Do not try to "plug yourself into" a research project that is of no interest to you.  

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?
Again, there are two: development of research skills through structured academic courses as well as during clinical fieldwork where all students should be required to develop a research project; identify a mentor with a track record in research design and implementation.

Describe the most important role that mentors played in your professional journey.
Initially, mentors outside the field of occupational therapy (engineers) included me, supported my growth and development as a researcher and challenged me to adapt traditional occupational therapy interventions to solve the clinical problems at the core of the Rehabilitation Engineering Center (effect of pressure on tissue), problems not usually part of the occupational therapy purview.

Identify a favorite occupation that renews you outside of your work.   
Travel; reading; spending time with my 5 grandchildren.

What has been the most surprising or rewarding aspects of a career in science and research?
In part, through my efforts, I have managed to bring a focus on the creation of new knowledge to the profession of occupational therapy. It is most rewarding that I have contributed to a body of knowledge that now is included in the armamentarium of innovative solutions to the clinical problems which our patients face daily.


Selected References

Clark, F, Pyatak, EA, Carlson, M, Blanche, EI, Vigen, C, Hay, J, Mallinson, T, Blanchard, J, Unger, JB, Garber, SL, Diaz, J, Florindez, LI, Atkins, M, Rubayi, S & Azen, SP; PUPS Study Group.  (2014). Implementing trials of complex interventions in community settings: the USC-Rancho Los Amigos pressure ulcer prevention study (PUPS). Clinical Trials. 11, 218-229.  

Pyatak, EA, Blanche, EI, Garber, SL, Diaz, J, Blanchard, J, Florindez, L & Clark FA.  (2013), Conducting intervention research among underserved populations: lessons learned and recommendations for researchers. Archives in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 94, 1190-1198.

Wu, GA, Garber, SL & Bogie, KM.  (2015), Utilization and user satisfaction with alternating pressure air cushions: a pilot study of at-risk individuals with spinal cord injury. Disability and Rehabilitation Assistive Technology, 2015 Mar 24:1-5. [Epub ahead of print]  

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