UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
MESSAGE FROM THE DEPAR TMENT HEAD Our 2012-13 academic year has gotten off to a great start. We are pleased to share some of the department’s highlights with you. We believe that the accomplishments showcased in this newsletter are a strong representation of our brand: “Creating Tomorrow’s Practice: Leading the Field in Education, Scholarship, and Practice”. I hope you enjoy this sampling of highlights achieved by our students, faculty and alumni during the past year. Best, Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar, PhD, Professor and Department Head
Progress Notes Creating Tomorrow’s Practice
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Annual MOHO Institute another success
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The UIC delegation of presenters at the 3rd MOHO Institute (from left): Chia-Wei Fan, PhD student; Gail Fisher, OT faculty; Dr. Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar, OT department head; Elaine Kayhan, OT student (OTS); Phoebe KinzieLarson, OTS; Dr. Lindsay Jones, OTD alumna; and Baily Zubel, OTS.
The Third International Institute on the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) took place in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 11-12, 2012. The institute was sponsored by the MOHO Clearinghouse at UIC and the Swedish Association of Occupational Therapists, FSA. Five continents were represented at the institute. Participants looked to assist one another in the development of MOHO research and education. According to participants, the institute was an “inspirational event” and “embodied the very essence of scholarship of practice” for all who participated.
OT students present at ILOTA conference Through the generous donations from OT alumni, the UIC Department of Occupational Therapy was able to assist 27 students in attending the 2012 ILOTA Conference held in Naperville, IL, in November. Six second-year MS students presented at the conference. Student Presentations: “Multimodal Interventions Demonstrate Potential for Treating Fibromyalgia Pain and Fatigue” Nicole Paneque & Annie Nekoliczak “Strategies to Improve Self-Regulation in Children” Becky O’Connell & Maggie Yates “Electrical Stimulation Improves Upper Extremity Function in Children with Neurological Deficits” Mary Pearson & Catherine Ruiz OTD student Emily Frank (left) and PhD student Danbi Lee represent the UIC OT department at our ILOTA exhibitor booth.
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Announcements Professor Joy Hammel, PhD, has been awarded a fiveyear grant by the U.S. Department of Education/ NIDRR on Community and Work Participation Disparities: A Program of the ADA Participation Action Research Consortium. Dr. Hammel will conduct this research in collaboration with faculty in our college’s Department of Disability and Human Development and UIC’s Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement. Professor and Department Head Yolanda SuarezBalcazar was appointed chair of the Diversity Ad Hoc Committee by AOTA President, Dr. Florence Clark. The Department of OT welcomes Anna Norweg, PhD, as a visiting research assistant professor. Danbi Lee, PhD student, was awarded the UIC Chancellor’s Graduate Research Fellowship. OTD student Leah Dunleavy (MS OT ’12) won a Student Research Grant from the Autism Program of Illinois. PROGRESS
UIC OT welcomes new faculty Susan Magasi, PhD Assistant Professor
Dr. Magasi is trained as an occupational therapist (BScOT, McGill University; MS, University of Illinois at Chicago) with clinical expertise in adult neurologic rehabilitation. She earned her PhD in Disability Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago and completed post-doctoral fellowships in outcomes and health services research at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Northwestern University. Dr. Magasi’s research is focused on the identification and elimination of health and healthcare disparities experienced by people with disabilities.
Mansha Mirza, PhD, OTR/L, MSHSOR Assistant Professor
Dr. Mirza received her BScOT from The University of Mumbai, India. She earned her MSOT and PhD in Disability Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research interests broadly focus on people with disabilities and chronic health conditions among underserved immigrant and refugee communities; their access to health, rehabilitation, and social services; their community participation outcomes; and the environmental factors that mediate both their participation outcomes and their access to needed services.
Sandy Magaña, MSW, PhD Professor
Dr. Magaña holds a master’s degree in Social Work from California State University, San Bernardino, and received her PhD from the Heller Graduate School of Social Policy at Brandeis University. Dr. Magaña’s research focus is on the cultural context of families who care for persons with disabilities and mental illness and the experiences of parents who have children with disabilities. Dr. Magaña holds a 25% professor appointment in the Department of Occupational Therapy and a 75% appointment in our college’s Department of Disability and Human Development.
Welcome new post-doc! Dr. Valentina Lukyanova is our department’s new postdoctoral research associate working on a training grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education/NIDRR. Her research will focus on the “Advanced Training in Translational and Transformational Research to Improve Outcomes for People with Disabilities.” NOTES
Illi-SOTA update
The Illinois Student Occupational Therapy Association, better known as IlliSOTA, worked hard to fundraise and support students who attended the Illinois Occupational Therapy Association Conference in Naperville, IL, in November. Their efforts included hosting several successful luncheons and a bake sale in UIC’s student center. Illi-SOTA also supported two OTD students' advanced fieldwork experiences in Peru and their work at the Centro Ann Sullivan del Peru (CASP) through a “Boo-Grams” fundraiser for Halloween. Illi-SOTA members continue to be active in the community. Students participated in the Alliance for Lupus Research’s “Walk for Lupus” in October and helped raise money to support lupus research. Illi-SOTA plans to continue fundraising and to remain active as volunteers and particiStudents at the “Walk for Lupus”: Kim George, Sophia pants in community events. Mendoza, and Cat Ruiz, joined by Zacky Mendoza.
UIC goes to AOTA Capitol Hill Day On Sept. 24, 2012, seven MS students gathered in Washington, DC, with clinical associate professor Gail Fisher to participate in AOTA's Capitol Hill Day. Together, participants sought congressional support for the Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Act, which seeks to permanently repeal the therapy cap. Students also lobbied for the inclusion of occupational therapy as a federally approved health care profession for assessment and intervention in the Occupational Therapy Mental Health Act and Medicare Home Health Flexibility Act. AOTA Capitol Hill Day provided attendees with an exciting The UIC OT team in Washington: Alejandra Villanueva, Becky Nixon, way to understand the scope of occupational therapy and the Sarah Couch, Sara Ellena, and faculty member Gail Fisher impact that social policy and legislation has on clients' lives.
UIC OT alumna inspires hope Occupational therapist Anna Blazevic, MS OT ’04, OTR/L, and several OT students have been working with adolescent inpatients in UIC’s Comprehensive Assessment and Treatment Unit (CATU). Since the summer, they’ve created and painted a wall mural in the unit, the first of its kind. CATU is a ninebed inpatient psychiatric unit that treats adolescent wards of the state. The mural features a shattered brick wall that opens up to a pastoral scene depicting a road leading to the “tree of hope.” The scene is adorned with birds, a rainbow
Welcome new clinicians! The department would like to welcome Matthew Clinger and Carson Mumma to the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System. Both clinicians have joined the inpatient adult physical disabilities team working in the hospital.
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Chicago marathon: Pre-OT club and MS students help out On Oct. 7, 2012, six UIC second-year students in the OT master’s program volunteered with the Wheelchair Division of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Becky Nixon, Kat Daniels, Ryan Durkin, Kim Muir, Mary Pearson, Kelly Krueger and Kim George (pictured at right) helped a group of 40 Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Spinal Cord Injury Association of Illinois volunteers escort wheelchair racers to the start line and from the finish line as they completed the 26.2 miles.
Representatives of the UIC pre-OT club (pictured at left) Shannon Vogel, Cathleen Litz, Evan Lines, Andrezej Waclaw and Ali Ottman also assisted with the event, cheering racers and wheelers at the Charity Mile Block Party and supporting the Spinal Cord Injury Association of Illinois at Mile 14. It was great to have so many UIC occupational therapy students at the event!
College of Applied Health Sciences
Alumni Weekend May 3-5, 2013 The college we call home is planning its first-ever allalumni weekend, slated to include campus tours, a young alumni reception, a gala featuring an alumni awards program, a sneak peak at a new Chicago museum and more! Please save the dates to come back to campus and revisit some of the people and places from your years at UIC. You’ll also get to network with health professionals from diverse disciplines and locations.
Watch your mail and e-mail for details! Visit us online (https://illinois.edu/sb/sec/7824288) to ensure we have your preferred e-mail and mailing addresses
YOUR SUPPORT GOES A LONG WAY The UIC Department of Occupational Therapy’s Annual Fund provides us with current-use funds to put toward immediate program enhancements. Your gift helps us upgrade instructional technology, enrich scholarship awards, and more. To learn more, please call Elise Krikau at 312-996 -1339 or visit us online (www.ahs.uic.edu/alum/support.php). Thank you!
ALUMNI, SEND US YOUR NEWS! We strive to have an ongoing conversation with alumni of our programs. Where are you living? Where are you working? How has your life developed, personally and professionally? How has your UIC degree served you since you left us? Please send us your updates (https://illinois.edu/ sb/sec/7824288).
Editor: Tamira Davis Assistant Editor: Becky Nixon Ideas for stories, questions, or feedback? Please contact Tamira at tdavis17@uic.edu UIC Department of Occupational Therapy • 1919 West Taylor Street • MC 811 • Chicago, IL • 60612-7249 • 312-996-3051