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
[email protected], 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.
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