Dr. Miller is founder and Clinical Director, STAR (Sensory Therapies and Research) Center, Greenwood Village, Colorado, an Associate Clinical Professor, Departments of Rehabilitation Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Colorado, Denver, Colorado, Professor, Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, Doctoral Programs in Pediatrics, Provo, Utah, and founder and Research Director, Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) Foundation, Greenwood Village, Colorado. (Retrieved on July 13, 2015 from http://spdstar.org/files/2011/12/MillerAbbreviatedCV15.pdf.)  As an occupational therapist and research scientist, Dr. Miller's mission is  studying the validity of Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and evaluating the effectiveness of occupational therapy in changing  occupational outcomes in children with SPD and other neurodevelopmental and behavioral conditions.

AOTF awarded Dr. Miller the A. Jean Ayres Research Award In 1992.  Dr. Miller was the recipient of the American Occupational Therapy Association's highest award, the Award of Merit, in 2004 and named her one of the 100 Influential People in Occupational Therapy.

Q AND A

Identify three words that others have used to describe you.
Persistent, Focused, Committed.

How do you hope to make a difference in the world through research?
I hope to improve the quality of care for the clients that we serve by improving the quality of OT assessments and interventions.

What is one piece of advice you have for individuals considering a career in science and research?
Find a strong mentor.

Beside your own areas of inquiry, what is one research priority that you believe is important for the future of occupational science and occupational therapy?
PCORI emphasis on comparative effectiveness studies.

Describe the most important role that mentors played in your professional journey.  
Mentors have both challenged and supported me in exploring research ideas and methodologies.

Identify a favorite occupation that renews you outside of your work.
I enjoy racquetball as an enjoyable aerobic exercise and an opportunity to be competitive with persons much younger than me!

What has been the most surprising or rewarding aspects of a career in science and research?
The most surprising aspect has been the fact that so many people have cited my early research on the measurement of grip and pinch strength. The most rewarding aspect has been the fact that my research has helped change OT assessments and interventions for the better! I believe that it has improved the quality of care that we provide to our clients. In addition, the opportunity to mentor future researchers and academicians has been very rewarding.

REFERENCES

Miller, LJ, Nielsen, DM & Schoen SA.  (2012). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and sensory modulation disorder: a comparison of behavior and physiology. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 33, 804-818.

Schoen, SA, Miller, LJ & Sullivan JC.  (2014). Measurement in sensory modulation: the sensory processing scale assessment. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68, 522-530.

Sullivan, JC, Miller, LJ, Nielsen, DM & Schoen SA.  (2014). The presence of migraines and its association with sensory hyperreactivity and anxiety symptomatology in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 18, 743-747. 

Dr. Clark is Professor at the Mrs. T. H.  Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles. She is a past president of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). In 1992, Dr. Clark was the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecturer, AOTA's highest academic honor, and in 1999 she received AOTA's Award of Merit. Dr. Clark received the AOTA-AOTF Presidents' Award in Honor of Wilma L. West in 2017 and was named one of the 100 Influential People in Occupational Therapy by AOTA.

Since 1985, Florence Clark has attracted more than $10 million in extramural funding from NIH, NIDRR, and other federal agencies for research and training in the areas of healthy aging and the secondary conditions that impede the flourishing of people with disabilities in their real life circumstances. Dr. Clark's research programs in healthy aging and in the prevention of pressure ulcers in persons with spinal cord injury have followed a blueprint for translational research which she first developed with colleagues in connection with the USC Well Elderly Study. Initiated in 1993, the Well Elderly Study (RO1 AG11810) was a randomized controlled trial which demonstrated that preventive occupational therapy forestalls the declines associated with typical aging and improves the health of independently living elders.   (Retrieved on January 29, 2015 from http://chan.usc.edu/faculty/directory/Florence_Clark/.)

Q and A

Identify three words that others have used to describe you.
Tenacious, creative, hardworking.

How do you hope to make a difference in the world through research?
By developing cost-effective interventions that prevent chronic disease and disability.

What is one piece of advice you have for individuals considering a career in science and research?
Stay focused and be open to learning from mentors.

Beside your own areas of inquiry, what is one research priority that you believe is important for the future of occupational science and occupational therapy?
Demonstrating the efficacy of occupational therapy intervention approaches in improving quality of life of individuals on the autism spectrum.

Describe the most important role that mentors played in your professional journey.
They were extremely encouraging, believed in my potential, and trusted that I was highly motivated to serve the public good.

Identify a favorite occupation that renews you outside of your work.
Reading.

What has been the most surprising or rewarding aspects of a career in science and research?
I have been surprised to discover that components of interventions I assumed were accounting for certain beneficial effects were irrelevant.  What has been most rewarding is providing evidence that interventions we develop actively produce positive health outcomes cost-effectively in underserved, ethnically diverse populations.

Selected References

Blanche, EI, Fogelberg, D, Diaz, J, Carlson, M, & Clark, F. (2011). Manualization of occupational therapy interventions: Illustrations from the Pressure Ulcer Prevention Research Program. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 65, (6), 711-719.

Clark, F. (1993). Occupation Embedded in a Real Life: Interweaving Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy: 1993 Eleanor Clark Slagle Lecture. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 47, (12), 1067-1078.

Clark, F, Azen, SP, Zemke, R, Jackson, J, Carlson, M, Mandel, D, Hay, J, Josephson, K, Cherry, B, Hessel, C, Palmer, J & Lipson, L.  (1997 Oct 22-29).  Occupational therapy for independent-living older adults. A randomized controlled trial. JAMA, 278, 321-1326.

Clark, F, Jackson, J, Carlson, M, Chou, CP, Cherry, BJ, Jordan-Marsh, M, Knight, BG, Mandel, D, Blanchard, J, Granger, DA, Wilcox, RR, Lai, MY, White, B, Hay, J, Lam, C, Marterella, A & Azen, S. P.   (2012). Effectiveness of a lifestyle intervention in promoting the well-being of independently living older people: results of the Well Elderly 2 Randomised Controlled Trial. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 66, 782-790.  

Ghaisas, S, Pyatak, EA, Blanche, E, Blanchard, J, Clark, F; PUPS II Study Group.  (2015 Jan-Feb). Lifestyle changes and pressure ulcer prevention in adults with spinal cord injury in the pressure ulcer prevention study lifestyle intervention. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 69(1):6901290020p1-6901290020p10. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2015.012021.

Dr. Mattingly is a professor jointly appointed to the University of Southern California (USC)  Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and the Department of Anthropology at the USC  Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. She is currently a Dale T. Mortensen Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Aarhus University (Denmark).   Her primary research and theoretical interests include narrative, moral reasoning and experience, phenomenology, the culture of biomedicine, chronic illness and disability, the ethics of care and health disparities in the United States.  (Retrieved on July 13, 2015 from http://chan.usc.edu/faculty/directory/Cheryl_Mattingly)

REFERENCES

Jacobs, L, Lawlor, M & Mattingly C.  (2011), I/We narratives among African Americanfamilies raising children with special needs. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 35, 3-25.

Mattingly, C.  (2013). Moral selves and moral scenes: Narrative experiments in everyday life.  Ethnos. 78, 301-327.

Mattingly, C, Grøn, L & Meinert L. (2011). Chronic homework in emerging borderlands of healthcare. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 35, 347-375.

Dr. Cermak is Professor, Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles and has a joint appointment with the Keck School of Medicine of USC, Department of Pediatrics.  Dr. Cermak is renowned for her expertise in Dyspraxia/Developmental Coordination Disorder, a long-standing interest of hers. . . [Her] current research focuses on health promotion in children with disabilities, which is a critical area of national health concern for children.  (Retrieved on January 29, 2015 from http://chan.usc.edu/faculty/directory/Sharon_Cermak.)

In 1991, Dr. Cermak received the AOTF A. Jean Ayres Award.  Dr. Cermak is one of the 100 Influential People in Occupational Therapy named by AOTA.

Selected References

Foran, AC, Cermak, SA & Spruijt-Metz, D.  (2013). Psychosocial determinants of participation in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity among Hispanic and Latinamiddle school-aged girls. Hispanic Health Care International, 11, 142-148.

Lifshitz, N, Raz-Silbiger, S, Weintraub, N, Steinhart, S, Cermak, SA & Katz N.  (2014).

Physical fitness and overweight in Israeli children with and without developmental coordination disorder: gender differences.  Research in Developmental Disabilities, 35, 2773-2780.

Raz-Silbiger, S, Lifshitz, N, Katz, N, Steinhart, S, Cermak, SA & Weintraub N.  (2015). Relationship between motor skills, participation in leisure activities and quality of life of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder: Temporal aspects. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 38, 171-180. 

Dr. Mathiowetz  is Associate Professor and Assistant Director Program in Occupational Therapy, Center for Allied Health Programs, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Retrieved on July13, 2015 from http://cahp.umn.edu)  His research interests include fatigue management in chronic conditions, multiple sclerosis, task-oriented approach to CNS dysfunction, stroke, functional outcomes, motor control  and motor learning, assessment of hand strength, dexterity, and hand function (Retrieved on July 13, 2015 from http://cahp.umn.edu faculty page)

Q AND A

Identify three words that others have used to describe you.
Persistent, Focused, Committed.

How do you hope to make a difference in the world through research?
I hope to improve the quality of care for the clients that we serve by improving the quality of OT assessments and interventions.

What is one piece of advice you have for individuals considering a career in science and research?
Find a strong mentor.

Beside your own areas of inquiry, what is one research priority that you believe is important for the future of occupational science and occupational therapy?
PCORI emphasis on comparative effectiveness studies.

Describe the most important role that mentors played in your professional journey.  
Mentors have both challenged and supported me in exploring research ideas and methodologies.

Identify a favorite occupation that renews you outside of your work.
I enjoy racquetball as an enjoyable aerobic exercise and an opportunity to be competitive with persons much younger than me!

What has been the most surprising or rewarding aspects of a career in science and research?
The most surprising aspect has been the fact that so many people have cited my early research on the measurement of grip and pinch strength. The most rewarding aspect has been the fact that my research has helped change OT assessments and interventions for the better! I believe that it has improved the quality of care that we provide to our clients. In addition, the opportunity to mentor future researchers and academicians has been very rewarding.

REFERENCES

Mathiowetz, V, Yu CH & Quake-Rapp, C.  (2015 Apr 22). Comparison of a gross anatomy laboratory to online anatomy software for teaching anatomy. Anatomical sciences education, doi: 10.1002/ase.1528. [Epub ahead of print].

Yu CH & Mathiowetz V.  (2014). Systematic review of occupational therapy-related interventions for people with multiple sclerosis: part 1. Activity and participation. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68, 27-32.  

Yu, CH &  Mathiowetz, V.  (2014). Systematic review of occupational therapy-relatedinterventions for people with multiple sclerosis: part 2. Impairment. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68, 33-38.