Katherine Dimitropoulou (MA ’00, PhD ’06) Named 2025 Steinhardt Disruptor of the Year

Currently an assistant professor at Columbia University Medical Center and director of the Action Development and Function research lab, Dimitropoulou is a double alum of Steinhardt’s Occupational Therapy program.

Katherine Dimitropoulou (MA ’00, Advanced Occupational Therapy; PhD ’06, Occupational Therapy) has been named 2025’s Disruptor of the Year as part of this year’s cohort of Spirit of Steinhardt Alumni Award winners.

Dr. Dimitropoulou is an assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, as well as the director of the EdD Program in Movement Sciences (Occupational Therapy concentration). She directs the Action Development and Function research lab.

After finishing her undergraduate degree at the University of Athens, Dr. Dimitropoulou practiced clinical occupational therapy in Greece, working with individuals with disabilities and mental health challenges. Dr. Dimitropoulou grew up in a culture where the pursuit of knowledge (γνώση) is a lifelong endeavor. Looking into graduate studies to build her expertise was the next natural step.

“What drew me to NYU Steinhardt was the entire school of thought conceptualized by Dr. Jim Hinojosa and Dr. Anne Mosey about understanding human occupations and what it takes for a person to participate in everyday life to their maximum capacity,” says Dr. Dimitropoulou. “This was the best fit for what I wanted to do, which was to help people become aware of their abilities, recognize how to train, practice, and learn, so they can fully participate in everyday tasks in meaningful and rewarding ways.”

Katherine shows an iPad to two boys in soccer uniforms. — Dr. Dimitropoulou shows young soccer players with cerebral palsy how to monitor their physical activity intensity.

Dr. Dimitropoulou pursued an “unusual degree” that combined occupational therapy with experimental psychology and focused on understanding and measuring functional motor skills and mother-child interactions to support cognitive skills in young children. She worked at the NYU Infant Action Lab with NYU Arts & Science Julius Silver Professor of Psychology and Neural Science Karen Adolph as her primary mentor, and she had Catherine Tamis LeMonda, director of what is now NYU Steinhardt’s Play and Language Lab and professor of applied psychology, as a co-mentor. They focused on understanding how infants and young children make functional (action) decisions while they participate in naturalistic motor and cognitive playful activities, and how mothers’ and caregivers’ social messages (speech and gestures) influence these decisions.

After completing her studies in occupational therapy at NYU Steinhardt, Dr. Dimitropoulou was appointed as a tenure-track faculty member at Long Island University (LIU). Two years later, she became the chairperson of the Department of Occupational Therapy. Under her leadership, the department received its first 10-year accreditation and became the largest department in the School of Health Professions at LIU.

Since 2014, Dr. Dimitropoulou has been immersed fully in her research at Columbia University, where her work focuses on understanding and quantifying person-task interaction (fit) within the context of functional motor tasks (i.e., activities of daily living, sports) for individuals who experience physical limitations in their daily lives. In 2020, she also obtained her MS in Biostatistics from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, focusing on data science and patient-oriented research. Studies in her lab gather detailed, longitudinal multimodal data (i.e., behavioral, physiological, kinematic) on factors influencing how individuals decide to use their abilities to perform daily tasks. Her work informs the design of physical activity programs that promote healthy lifestyles and human-centric robotic systems that support independence for individuals with different physical abilities.

A group of people poses for the photo in front of a research poster. — Dr. Dimitropoulou with a cohort of Columbia graduate student mentees.

“I feel very honored to have been named this year’s ‘Disruptor’,” says Dr. Dimitropoulou. “I love that word, because my entire life has been about defying perceived boundaries and knocking down barriers. I truly enjoy pushing myself out of my comfort zone, thinking outside the box, and combining neuroscience with cutting-edge technologies towards a better understanding of brain-behavior connections to support fulfilling lifestyles. Disrupting what was—and is—expected of me has not only transformed my projected trajectory but has helped expand my thinking process, my contributions to science and the field of occupational therapy, and my capacity to improve the quality of life for individuals with different abilities.”

Dr. Dimitropoulou has also been awarded the Leadership/Mentorship Fellowship from the American Occupational Therapy Association and the American Occupational Therapy Foundation, as well as the APGAR Academy Excellence in Medical Education Award from Columbia University Irving Medical Center.