Department of Occupational Therapy 2025 Faculty Highlights

The Department of Occupational Therapy is pleased to share the following faculty highlights from the 2024-2025 academic year. Please join us in celebrating this snapshot of the many accomplishments of our world-class faculty members. You may click the photo of any faculty member to learn more about the important work they are doing in the Occupational Therapy field.

• Co-authored “Safety using public buses in naturally occurring retirement communities: An exploratory study in two North American cities” in The Gerontologist, 65 (5), early online.
• Co-authored “The Stroll Safe randomized controlled trial: Program effects on falls self-efficacy” in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 26 (4), 105478.

• Presented "Integrating CMS Quality Measures into Occupational Therapy Education: A Health Administration Course as an Example" at the 2025 AOTA Inspire Conference
• Presented "Integrating Quality Indicators into Occupational Therapy Education: A Health Administration Course as an Example" at the 2025 NYSOTA Annual Conference

• Co-authored “Enhancing Everyday Memory and Participation in Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study of a Metacognitive Strategy-Based Intervention. Multiple Sclerosis Journal: Experimental, Translational and Clinical” in Multiple Sclerosis Journal–Experimental, Translational and Clinical, 11 (2).
• Co-authored “Functional Cognition: Moving the Field Forward” in Occupational Therapy Journal of Research.

• Presented "Generative AI: Use and Application within the OT classroom" at the 2024 NYSOTA Annual Conference.
• Presented "Incorporation of sexual occupations and intimate rehabilitation education into an OT curriculum” at the 2025 AOTA Inspire Conference.

• Co-authored “Kramer and Hinojosa's Frame of Reference for Pediatric Occupational Therapy", 5th edition, Wolters Kluwer Health.
• Co-authored “Enhancing handwriting performance in autistic children: a randomized crossover study on the effectiveness of a spatial structured handwriting intervention". Autism Research, 18 (10), 203102040

• Authored “An Accessible Solution to Unlock Museums” in Communications of the ACM, 67 (11), 92.
• Awarded a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in collaboration with the Intrepid Museum to create accessible exhibits for the Intrepid's Historic Sick Bay. This work is featured in a Spring 2025 class co-taught by Amy Hurst and Tripta Velamoor where OT, Design, Art, and Engineering students are creating initial prototypes.

• Successfully completed a 3-year term as co-chair of the NYC Occupational Therapy Stroke Study Group in December 2024 culminating in the coordination and completion of a national webinar attended by 156 occupational therapists and occupational therapy students.
• Co-authored “Clinician perspectives on shared decision-making with individuals with stroke during self-directed rehabilitation” in Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, 5.

• Received the 2025 AOTF Mid-Career Research Excellence Award for her contribution to advancing knowledge in the field of occupational therapy. 
• Received the NYU Steinhardt Teaching Excellence Award in recognition of her long history of mentoring traditionally underserved undergraduate students to prepare them for careers in research and health-related professions.

• Presented “Empowering Future Health Practitioners: Culturally Responsive Strategies For Addressing Population Health Disparities through Experiential Learning In Academic Programs” at the 23rd Annual Hawaii International Conference on Education.
• Co-led the Annual Salsa Dance Break activity at the 2025 AOTA Inspire Conference with Renee Ortega, PhD, BC-DMT, LCAT, COTA, on behalf of TODOS Affinity group, part of the AOTA's Multicultural, Diversity, and Inclusion Network.

• Authored “Play’s the thing: How do occupational therapy programs teach about the occupation of play?” in the Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 9 (2).
• Co-authored “The impact and experience of directly teaching about executive functions (EF) to 2nd-grade students on their understanding and performance of EF skills” in the Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 1-13.

• Awarded “Brain Rehabilitation and Advancement through Interactive Neurocognitive Stimulation (BRAINS),” a Mega Grant Initiative Seed Funding to investigate the synergistic effect of two neuroplasticity inducing cognitive remediation techniques: Computerized Cognitive Training and Photobiomodulation Light Therapy, for adults with a traumatic brain Injury.
• Presented “Computerized Cognitive Training, Neuroplasticity, and Cognitive Improvement in Adults with a Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury” at the 2024 Global Neuropsychology Congress. This talk describes published studies on the use of computerized cognitive remediation in adults with brain injuries.