Our Passion Makes the Difference

Our passion makes the difference.

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our passion makes the difference

Passion: It’s the driving force that inspires excellence. And while we come from many backgrounds and work across a range of specialties, it is our shared passion to improve human health that unites us. At the USC Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, we are transforming this passion into action every day. Through our federal research grants, global partnerships, rigorous academic programs and clinical care enterprise, we are improving the health and wellbeing of individuals and societies here in Los Angeles and around the world. The result brings us ever closer to our fundamental mission: to continue serving the great profession of occupational therapy in order to optimize all people’s engagement in the ordinary and extraordinary activities of life.

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Making a Global Impact A $20 million endowment gift helps USC Chan expand occupational therapy outreach into even more countries around the world.

A recent landmark naming gift from USC Trustee Ronnie C. Chan gives us the opportunity to continue building the profession’s knowledge base and therapeutic intervention strategies in ever more impactful ways. It also helps us foster and expand partnerships with colleagues in China, the Pacific Rim and additional points around the globe.

And it dramatically impacts the way we prepare our future occupational therapy professionals, which not only benefits the health of the thousands of patients and families we serve annually but also the profession at large.

our global footprint USC Chan students and alumni hail from 48 countries; our faculty members have presented or lectured in 41 countries.

PHOTO BY HEATHER DINGESS

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Advancing the Science

our top five current grants $3,139,788 | Sensory Adapted Dental Environments to Enhance Oral Care for Children (NIDCR; PI: S. Cermak)

Federal grant funding allows USC Chan researchers to propel innovations and applications for a dynamic world.

$2,156,234 | The Neurobiological Basis of Heterogeneous Social and Motor Deficits in ASD (NICHD; PI: L. Aziz-Zadeh)

Understanding “real” people within their “real” lives requires conceptual and methodological expertise that has always been — and continues to be — a hallmark of USC scholarship. Yet it also requires substantial, sustained funding. Since 1994, USC Chan faculty have secured more than $25 million of research funding from federal agencies and authored hundreds of peer-reviewed publications to disseminate findings to practitioners and the public and to promote approaches to integrating theory and practice.

$1,068,942 | TREET: Training in Rehabilitation Efficacy and Effectiveness Trials (NRSA/NCMRR; Project Director: F. Clark) $697,576 | Vertical Integration and Care Coordination in Post-Acute Care Markets (NIA; Co-I: N. Leland) $456,312 | Diabetes Self-Management Lifestyle Intervention for Urban Minority Young Adults (NIDDK; PI: E. Pyatak)

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Professor Sharon Cermak is studying ways to improve the dental office experience for children with autism, thanks to a $3.1 million NIH grant.

faculty spotlight: sharon cermak

What does your new grant aim to discover?

Whether adapting the sensory environment in the dental clinic reduces children’s anxiety and negative behaviors during teeth cleaning, especially for children with autism spectrum disorder who have known sensory issues.

What do you like most about being an occupational scientist?

Knowing that our work has significance, it has consequences, for improving people’s lives all over the world. That’s pretty powerful.

Where do you see the profession heading in its second century?

Without a doubt, it’s the intersection of OT and technology and our expanding roles in new settings such as dental clinics.

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Converging the Clinic and the Classroom As active practitioners themselves, USC Chan clinical faculty members bring their contemporary real-world expertise to the classroom every day.

USC Chan is unique among higher learning institutions because of its comprehensive design.

Thanks to our “end-to-end” nature, our occupational therapy faculty clinicians at the USC hospitals and our Faculty Practice fully interface with our academic programs. This synergy helps us assimilate new knowledge into clinical practice and conversely develop future health care leaders who understand and can effectively navigate interdisciplinary, complex organizations for the benefit of the entire occupational therapy profession. 

incoming masters class of 2017

3.63

Average undergraduate GPA

39

34,864

311.7

Number of clinical faculty members providing direct patient care

Total number of clinical encounters by USC occupational therapy faculty in the past year ďœˇ

Average total GRE score: (1,260 if converted to prior scale)

18.4

Admissions yield percentage

Leading the Profession Forward USC Chan’s occupational therapy doctorate program graduates are helping lead our profession into its next century.

USC Chan prepares its graduates to lead the care systems of today and tomorrow — as clinicians in specialty practice areas, as contributors to clinical research teams, as administrative leaders within complex organizations and as non-tenure track faculty in higher education. At residency sites such as Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation and the corporate headquarters of Autism Speaks, our graduates gain the professional insights and practical skills necessary to drive forward transformative improvements that ultimately benefit society.

PHOTO BY USC NEWS / STEPHEN BLAHA

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“I love being an occupational therapist because I get to facilitate and witness the power of learning, healing and growth on a daily basis.”

—Camille Dieterle OTD ’08, left, onstage discussing health-promoting lifestyle changes at a women’s leadership conference. 

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Making a Difference USC Trojans can be found in volunteer leadership positions across the country working to make a difference for the profession at large.

A spirit of service to our profession is a longstanding tradition shared among USC faculty, students and alumni. It demonstrates a sense of gratitude and selflessness as well as a commitment to serving the wider profession that has been a proud USC heritage for nearly 75 years. We truly believe that occupational therapy is one interconnected community, and, as our profession looks to its centennial anniversary in 2017, USC is honored to continue answering the call to serve this great and noble profession of occupational therapy.

where are they now?

1. Heather Kitching MA ’02, OTD ’10 President-Elect, Occupational Therapy Association of California (Kitching pictured on right.)

2. Joseph Ungco MA ’16 Chairperson, AOTA Assembly of Student Delegates (Ungco pictured on front row, far left.)

3. Shawn Phipps ’97 Vice President, American Occupational Therapy Association 

On behalf of all of us at USC Chan, thank you for your continued support of occupational science and occupational therapy.

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USC Chan faculty and alumni have elevated the visibility of our profession through major media mentions since 2013, including:

JEWISH JOURNAL

For more information about USC Chan, visit chan.usc.edu or email info@chan.usc.edu. ďœąďœł

USC Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy 1540 Alcazar Street, CHP 133, Los Angeles, CA 90089-9003