The Department of Occupational Therapy is recognizing the many faculty members, research scientists, and students whose work has been published in peer-reviewed journals this 2025-2026 academic year. These accomplishments highlight our department’s continued commitment to elevating occupational therapy education, research, and practice to support the occupational performance and wellness of all. Mental Health & Recovery-Oriented […]
The Therapeutic Use of Self course, taught by Clinical Assistant Professor Temor (Tay) Amin-Arsala, OT, OTD, OTR, brings attention to the relational aspects of therapy that can be overlooked in intervention-focused coursework. Proposed by Dr. Emily Rothman and Dr. Jen Kaldenberg in 2024, this course is meant to initiate the focus on the therapeutic relationship […]
Lecturer Jessie Franco, OT, OTD, OTR, began working for the Department of Occupational Therapy at Sargent College in the spring of 2025. With a specialized background in acute care, Dr. Franco makes valuable contributions to the Neuroscience, Anatomy, Functional Movement, and Skills courses in the entry-level OTD program at Sargent. Dr. Franco is an experienced […]
The following is a list of presentations by BU faculty and students at the 2026 AOTA Inspire Conference. We look forward to seeing you there! Wednesday, April 22, 2026 Institute 009: Doctoral Capstone Coordinator Training Speakers: Delbert, T., Kaldenberg, J., Stephenson, S., Domina, A., & Costello, P. Thursday, April 23, 2026 Poster 1-310: Investigation of […]
Dr. Anne A. Escher, OT, OTD, OTR, FAOTA, and the Sargent team have continued to expand the reach and impact of the Older Adult Re-entry (OAR) unit since its launch, creating new opportunities for students, staff, and the incarcerated older adults they serve. Since the project’s launch last year, the OAR unit has hosted OT […]
Trailblazer Award Susan McGurk, PhD, received the prestigious “Trailblazer Award” from the Psychosis and Schizophrenia-Spectrum (PASS) Special Interest Group of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies at the annual conference in New Orleans. This award honors mental health scientist practitioners who have made pioneering contributions to the knowledge and treatment of serious mental illness.
Helping Parents Feel Seen A decade ago, Rita Cameron was undergoing treatment for breast cancer while raising two young children. At the time, her doctors recommended she join a new group led by Robin Newman, a clinical associate professor of occupational therapy at Boston University’s Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences. The group was designed […]
The Travis M. Roy Scholarship, which each year recognizes one occupational therapy doctoral student and one physical therapy doctoral student who are passionate about studying issues related to spinal cord injury and paralysis. It is named for Travis Roy (COM’00, Hon.’16), who became a quadriplegic from a BU hockey game injury and who, before his death in 2020, […]
Professor and Chair Dr. Emily Rothman, ScD, is serving as principal investigator on an innovative interdisciplinary research team funded by the Organization for Autism Research (OAR) to develop the PAUSE Program which will be offered in collaboration with the Association for Autism and Neurodiversity (AANE). The PAUSE Program represents a novel, manualized intervention designed as […]
By Grace AbouAssaly AOTA Hill Day provided me with an invaluable opportunity to network, advocate, and deepen my passion for the profession I will soon be practicing. The experiences and connections I gained will stay with me throughout my career. Having previously advocated on Capitol Hill with the LEND Program, I felt both honored and […]
Platform Presentations AI: Inspiring Change, Innovating Futures — Jacobs, K. WFOT Symposium Artificial Intelligence — Chaired by Jacobs, K. Poster Presentations 4M OT-AgeWELL: A scalable, innovative home modification model for safe aging in place across diverse global communities — Durkin, R. A novel hybrid implementation–efficacy trial of AquOTic: An occupational therapy-based water competency intervention for […]
During June 2025, Clinical Assistant Professor Temor (Tay) Amin-Arsala, OT, OTD, OTR, wrote a policy entitled, Need for Collection of LGBTQ+ Data, for GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTW+ Equality. The policy highlights the importance of multiple sources of reliable data for LGBTQ+ health in the current socio-political climate. GLMA is a national organization dedicated to […]
Scholarly, Research, and/or Practice Interests Dr. Katharine (Katie) Parodi is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Boston University Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences. She completed her doctoral education and postdoctoral training in the Department of Counseling Psychology and Applied Human Development at the Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Dr. […]
Boston University presented at the 2025 AOTA Conference in Philadelphia from April 3-5th, 2025. Below is a list of the presentations, talks, courses, etc. we led over the course of the expo. If you have questions about our work, feel free to reach out to us at ot@bu.edu for more details. We’d love to share […]
Diverse-OT is a graduate student group, led by Entry-Level OTD students and supervised by Clinical Associate Professor Leanne Yinusa-Nyahkoon, ScD, OTR, that provides interprofessional opportunities for discussion and education on issues related to diversity and inclusion at Boston University. During the 2024-25 academic year, Diverse-OT held a number of successful events including: Overcoming Ableism as […]