F A L L 2 0 1 3

Progress Notes

MESSAGE FROM

THE

DEPAR TMENT

HEAD

U N I V E R S I T Y O F I L L I N O I S A T C H I C A G O

May 2-4

Graduating students will

be invited to the

New Alum Networking

Social on Fri., May 2.

All alumni will be invited

to numerous events all

weekend long.

Please save the date and

plan to attend.

Details to come!

Congratulations to Joy Hammel

This spring, Joy Hammel, professor and OTD director of graduate studies, was named the Wade/

Meyer Endowed Chair in Occupational Therapy. The chair is meant to honor occupational ther-

apy’s stance at the intersection of community health and participation,

social sciences, cultural studies and disability studies. Joy’s contributions

and leadership in the areas of community living and participation dispari-

ties in adults with disabilities—and in community-based participatory

research (CBPR) with disability communities—place her in a unique po-

sition to perform the duties of the endowed professorship.

Joy has also been elected to be a National Fellow in the AOTF Academy

of Research; she will be inducted at the AOTA conference in April 2014.

This is the highest scholarly honor conferred by the AOTF and one of

the highest honors anywhere in the occupational therapy profession.

“This is a wonderful honor and clearly a recognition of Joy’s outstanding scholarly contributions

to the advancement of knowledge in occupational therapy, specifically in community living and

participation among individuals with disability,” said Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar.

Dear Students, Colleagues, and Friends,

Our department is off to a great academic year. We are currently working to-

wards achieving many of our strategic goals set by our faculty during the 2012

retreat. As such, I am very proud of our efforts to increase visibility by being

highly engaged in national and international groups and task forces that promote

occupational therapy research and education. We are also very pleased to have

recruited three wonderful new faculty members: Theresa Carroll, Catherine

Killian, and Heidi Fischer. We anticipate hiring one more clinical faculty and ten-

ured faculty early next year. Looking at our goals around diversity and student

engagement with the profession, we happily report that this academic year we

welcomed our most diverse group of students ever, and we set a record on the

number of students supported by travel awards to attend conferences, including

AOTA. We will continue to work on our strategic goals. I am confident that our many strengths and assets place us in a good position to realize our vision of

“Creating Tomorrow’s Practice.”

- Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar

Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar, PhD

Professor and Head

P A G E 2

P R O G R E S S N O T E S

Illi-SOTA:

UIC hosts

OT Summit of Scholars

UIC’s Department of Occupational Therapy was honored

to host the Second Annual Occupational Therapy Summit

of Scholars in May 2013. Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar and Joy

Hammel led the organizational committee for this event

with the support of co-sponsors at Washington University,

University of Southern California, and Thomas Jefferson

University.

The summit brought together over100 top researchers,

junior scientists, and representatives from key stakeholders

such as AOTA and AOTF. Participants presented new

research, shared the state of the science in occupational

therapy, and discussed future directions for the field. PhD

student Danbi Lee was honored for the Most Outstanding

Poster Presentation for her poster, “Improving Participation

Through Strategies: A Qualitative Study on Strategies Used

by People with Stroke.”

We were honored to have esteemed colleagues from The

Karolinska Institute in Sweden participating at the summit.

UIC OT student volunteers

with AOTA president Ginny Stoffel

UIC faculty (front row: Liz Peterson, Joy Hammel,

Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar) with visitors from Swe-

den’s Karolinska Institute (back row: Anders Kottorp,

Susanne Guidetti, Staffan Josephsson, Lena Borell)

Four MS students and one OTD student accompa-

nied clinical associate professor Gail Fisher to

Washington, DC, for AOTA’s Capitol Hill Day on

September 30, 2013. (Gail attended as chair of the

American Occupational Therapy Political Action

Committee.) The group had successful visits with

staff of Sen. Mark Kirk and three representatives.

Following their visit, Rep. Robin Kelly signed on as

a co-sponsor of AOTA’s therapy cap repeal bill.

According to the students, this was an empower-

ing experience. The OT department uses alumni

donations to support students attending Capitol

Hill Day and other conferences.

UIC OT empowered at

AOTA’s Capitol Hill Day

P A G E 3

Marlen Garcia ’14 and Dallas Castillo ’13 are participating in the LEND training pro-

gram. LEND is an interdisciplinary, graduate-level training program located within

our college in the Institute on Disability and Human Development. The training

focuses on leadership development in the areas of advocacy, research, community

engagement, and clinical skills for graduate students who plan to work with children

with autism.

LEND training program participants

Occupational Therapy Student News

Certified Lymphedema Therapist training

Assembly of Student Delegates representative selected

First-year student Melina Marte was chosen to be this year’s AOTA Assembly of Student Delegates rep-

resentative for UIC. The Assembly of Student Delegates representative serves as the liaison between

AOTA and the occupational therapy students at a given university. Melina was chosen by her peers at

UIC to share their opinions and questions with AOTA and then disseminate any information gained to

UIC’s OT students in order to improve our program and our student organization.

In August 2013, Amanda Schell ’14 (standing far right) completed a 135-hour

training course in Baltimore, MD, in order to become a Certified Lymphedema

Therapist (CLT). In addition to learning specific lymphedema treatment tech-

niques and strategies for patient education, Amanda was able to network with

occupational and physical therapists from around the country. She is excited to

apply her new skills during her Fieldwork II placement.

Poster presented at ILOTA conference

On October 26, 2013, Sara Ellena, Virginia Chu, and Amanda Miller, all stu-

dents in the class of 2014, presented their poster "Use of Nintendo Wii in

Oncology Rehabilitation,” at the Illinois Occupational Therapy Association’s

2013 Annual Conference.

OT representative for Campus Insights presentation

PhD student Danbi Lee was chosen to contribute to a Campus Insights presentation which will be

shown to University of Illinois Board of Trustees, senior university administration, donors, alumni and

elected officials on January 22, 2014. This presentation will showcase the research of faculty and gradu-

ate students creating social impact and transforming communities. Danbi was nominated to represent

our college, the UIC College of Applied Health Sciences, for her work on community participation

among people with disabilities.

P R O G R E S S N O T E S

P A G E 4 Illi-SOTA Happenings

Illi-SOTA has enjoyed a very busy and meaningful fall semester

thus far. Since the beginning of the school year, members have

participated in various volunteer events around the city, includ-

ing the NAMI Walk in Grant Park to raise awareness about

mental illness (pictured at left). They also contributed their

cooking skills toward another successful bake sale, where they

shared delicious sweet treats and engaged with UIC and com-

munity members to increase awareness of the field of OT. The

money raised will provide support to many of the first- and

second-year students to attend the upcoming ILOTA Annual

Conference. Other events included helping organize the El

Valor facilities in the Pilsen neighborhood and volunteering with

the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago at the Willis Tower's

SkyRise Chicago event.

UIC OT alumna proud to

serve her country

Staci Molinar, MS ’12 (second from right), is

currently serving as an active duty occupational

therapist in the United States Army Medical

Department Specialty Corps. For the next two

years she will be stationed at Fort Sam

Houston in San Antonio, TX, completing her

doctorate of science in occupational therapy.

The program pairs clinical rotations with an

independent research project, and prepares

occupational therapists to serve soldiers in

military hospitals, outpatient clinics, and even

on the front lines. Once Staci has completed

this program, she hopes to continue her

service at Landstuhl Regional Army Medical

Center in Germany.

OT 1961 graduates awarded for loyalty

Alumnae Corky Glantz (left) and Nancy Richman, both BS ’61,

received the AHS Loyalty Award at the College of Applied Health

Sciences Alumni and Faculty Awards Dinner, held May 4 during

Alumni Weekend 2013. For more than 30 years, Nancy and

Corky have been providing guest lectures, working with OTD

students, and serving as expert resources for faculty on gerontol-

ogy and private practice. We are grateful for their support and

pleased that their efforts were recognized by our college.

Nominations for the 2014 AHS alumni awards are open now!

Nominate yourself or alumni you admire at www.ahs.uic.edu!

P A G E 5

Faculty News

Chancellor’s Discovery Fund grant received

Cultural sensitivity virtual chat and early childhood transitions webinar On July 9, clinical assistant professor Ashley Stoffel presented on the subject of cultural sensitivity during

AOTA’s monthly Pediatric Virtual Chat. She also facilitated and presented a webinar on the subject of OT

and early childhood transitions that drew the participation of more than 100 people (OT practitioners

and other stakeholders) from across the U.S. and the world. The webinar was co-hosted by the AOTA

Early Intervention Workgroup, of which Ashley is a member, and the IDEA Partnership’s Cradle to Col-

lege and Career Practice Group, which Ashley co-leads. In May 2013, Ashley represented AOTA at the

national meeting of the IDEA Partnership’s Community of Practice on Transition in Charlotte, NC.

Susan Magasi, assistant professor, will join the National Children’s Study. The National Children’s Study is

funded as a part of the Children’s Health Act and will follow a group of 100,000 children from birth to age

21 (a longitudinal cohort study) in order to help identify the impact that environmental factors have on

children’s health and well-being. As a co-investigator and scientific facilitator in the Health Measurement

Network, she will help identify when, what and how to measure motor function in children as they develop

from birth to adulthood. This study provides an exciting opportunity to integrate occupational therapy

expert knowledge into a major longitudinal study. For more information about the National Children’s

Study, go to www.nationalchildrensstudy.gov.

Clinical associate professor Kathy Preissner will participate in the Illinois Multiple Sclerosis Task Force, a

partnership between state government, health professionals, and MS activists. The task force will issue a

report to the governor by December 2015 with recommendations about how best to address the unmet

needs of the approximately 20,000 people living with MS in Illinois.

Multiple Sclerosis Task Force

Assistant professor Mansha Mirza is primary investigator on a study selected to receive a $40,000 pilot grant

from the UIC Chancellor’s Discovery Fund for Multidisciplinary Research. It was one of only five projects to

receive funding from 33 applications submitted in 2013. The project, “Lost in Translation: The Role of Lan-

guage Translators in Cross-Cultural Substance Abuse Communication with Refugee Communities,” will ad-

dresses a topic that is directly related to health care for vulnerable populations.

Clinical assistant professor Robin Newman presented "OT Interventions for Common Problems

in Survivors: Cancer Related Fatigue, Mild Cognitive Impairment and Chemotherapy Induced Pe-

ripheral Neuropathy" on October 26. The presentation was part of Harvard Medical School's

course, "Advances in Cancer Rehabilitation and Survivorship Care.”

National Children’s Study

OT interventions for cancer survivors

Joy Hammel from OT and Robin Jones from The Great Lakes ADA Center, housed in our

college’s Department of Disability and Human Development, were chosen to receive the

2014 AOTA Terry Brittel OTA/OT Partnership Award for their focus on community

living and participation, advocacy and systems change. This award is given to occupational

therapists and occupational therapy assistants who exemplify collaborative partnership.

AOTA Terry Brittel OTA/OT Partnership Award

Editors: Britt Dunn & Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar

University of Illinois at Chicago

Department of Occupational Therapy (MC 811)

1919 W. Taylor St.

Chicago, IL 60612

otdept@uic.edu, www.ahs.uic.edu/ot

This issue of the UIC Department of Occupational Therapy’s Progress Notes can also be viewed online: www.ahs.uic.edu/ot.

Aimee Thompson ’14 won a Laurette Kirstein International Student Scholarship, one of only five given throughout UIC, for

academic excellence.

Marlen Garcia ’14 was awarded one of five graduate-level Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarships. The Martin Luther King, Jr.

Scholarship Program was established at UIC in 1985 to honor African-American, Latino/a, and Native-American UIC students

who have demonstrated high academic achievement and commitment to community and campus service.

UIC Hospital clinician Vanessa Maziero Barbosa taught a two-day workshop on the Test of Infant Motor Performance

(TIMP) to a group of 25 therapists. She presented the 15.5-hour course in Salvador, Brazil.

PhD student Jenna Heffron received an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship for 2013-2014. As part of the fellowship, she is con-

ducting a service-learning project in partnership with the Empowered Fe Fes, a young women's disability advocacy group

housed at Access Living in Chicago.

Virginia Chu ’14 received a competitive Chicago Consular Corps Scholarship, which supports talented international stu-

dents who promote diversity.

UIC Hospital welcomes two new full-time clinicians, Maria Banks George, UIC OTD ’12, and Kate Ciancio.

A Semester in Photos

Announcements

[Above] OT faculty with Kjersti Vik (second from left),

associate professor of occupational therapy at Sør-

Trøndelag University College, Norway. Vik visited UIC

to discuss opportunities for research collaborations

and student exchanges.

[Right] Illi-SOTA members hard at work helping

to organize community agency El Valor.

[Above] UIC OT students share their knowl-

edge and passion for occupational therapy with

interested high school students at UIC’s Open

House In October.

[Right] OT student YeYe Oke ’15 (in blue) with

Aimee Ramirez, legislative assistant to Congress-

woman Robin Kelly, at AOTA Capitol Hill Day.

[Above] UIC OT students enjoying sunny San Diego at

the AOTA annual conference.