Dr. Lysack is the Deputy Director of the Institute of Gerontology (IOG) and a Professor in the Department of Health Care Sciences (Occupational Therapy) at the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.  

Dr. Lysack's research focuses on the social, physical and environmental influences on health, and understanding how older adults and people with disability redevelop active and meaningful lives in the community after illness and injury. She has conducted numerous studies including recent studies to evaluate methods to strengthen occupational therapy practice skills in mental health, and identify factors that facilitate community participation after spinal cord injury. She is presently conducted research on two projects: 1) Household Downsizing in Late Life, funded by the National Institute on Aging, and 2) Social Reintegration of Service-members and Veterans with Spinal Cord Injury Returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. (Retrieved on June 9, 2015 from http://www.cphs.wayne.edu/research/occupational_research.php.)

Q AND A

Identify three words that others have used to describe you.
Curious. Tenacious. Diplomatic.

How do you hope to make a difference in the world through research?
I hope my work assists future therapists to be bold and creative in their work -- to examine functional problems in new ways so their patients can more easily achieve their goals.

What is one piece of advice you have for individuals considering a career in science and research?
Work on your writing skills now.  Scientists and researchers devote a great deal of time and effort to grant writing and publication of research findings.  Excellent writing skills are absolutely essential.

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?
Science in general and science in the field of OS and OT should devote more resources to studying the root causes and effective treatments for mental health conditions, particularly depression.  Depression alone may be the single greatest cause of disability and lost productivity there is.  We should work harder on these large human problems.

Describe the most important role that mentors played in your professional journey.
Mentors make you believe you can do it, when you are less sure. Mentors open doors to understanding and insight and they inspire.  You will not go far, or anywhere worthwhile without mentors.

Identify a favorite occupation that renews you outside of your work.
Playing competitive squash and working outside planting green things!

What has been the most surprising or rewarding aspects of a career in science and research?
It is a pleasure seeing my work make a difference in practice.  Nothing is more satisfying than seeing a student or a clinician use my research findings to make life better for someone else.  That is the greatest reward.

REFERENCES

Arthanat, S, Vroman, KG & Lysack C.  (2014). A home-based individualized information communication technology training program for older adults: a demonstration of effectiveness and value. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 16, 1-9.  http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/17483107.2014.974219

Ficker, LJ, Lysack, CL, Hanna, M & Lichtenberg PA. (2014). Perceived Cognitive Impairment among African American elders: health and functional impairments in daily life.  Aging and Mental Health, 18, 471-480.

Luborsky, MR, Lysack, CL & Van Nuil, J. (2011). Refashioning One's Place in Time: Stories of Household Downsizing in Later Life.  Journal of Aging Studies, 25, 243-252.

Dr. Bourbonnais is Vice-dean for Research and Innovation in Science and Professor, University of Montreal and Researcher, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Metropolitan Montreal.  His areas of research interest include the assessment and treatment of the upper limb; motor control of the hand; bilateral coordination; and posture and movement coordination in persons with stroke.  (Retrieved on December 21, 2014 from http://www.crir.ca/?A1E61E1F-3E97-456C-B6D9-6041A59AADDD&extendedview=1&extendedres=EC844717-CD62-448E-8B5B-C04A71426E31¶meters=ID:12.)  

Selected References

Forget, N, Piotte, F, Arsenault, J, Harris, P & Bourbonnais, D. (2008). Bilateral thumb's active range of motion and strength in de Quervain's disease: comparison with a normal sample. Journal of Hand Therapy, 21, (3), 276-284, Quiz, 285.

Knaut, L A, Subramanian, SK, McFadyen, BJ, Bourbonnais, D & Levin, MF. (2009). Kinematics of pointing movements made in a virtual versus a physical 3-dimensional environment in healthy and stroke subjects. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 90, 793-802.

Messier, S, Bourbonnais, D, Desrosiers, J & Roy, Y. (2006). Kinematic analysis of upper limbs and trunk movement during bilateral movement after stroke. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 87, (11), 1463-1470.

Dr. Lin is professor of occupational therapy at National Taiwan University and currently serves as Director of the General Affairs division of the College of Medicine at the University. Dr. Lin and his collaborators study whether, and to what extent, new rehabilitation interventions, such as robotic therapy, restore purposeful movement and the ability to do daily activities in patients who have suffered a stroke. To understand how improvement happens, Dr. Lin studies the changes that occur in the brain while the person is engaged in those interventions or how the brain has changed as a result of those interventions. Then, to ensure that the patient and others can have confidence in the progress reported to them, Dr. Lin studies the reliability and responsiveness of tests that are used to measure improvement in voluntary movement and basic and extended activities of daily living in persons who have had a stroke.

SELECTED RESOURCES

Wu, C. Y., Chuang, I. C., Ma, H. I., Lin, K. C., & Chen, L (2016). Validity and responsiveness of the Revised Nottingham Sensation Assessment for outcome evaluation in stroke rehabilitation. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 70, (2), 1-8.  

Fan, Y.T., Wu, C.Y., Liu, H.L., Lin, K.C., Wai, Y.Y., & Chen, Y.L (2015).  Neuroplastic changes in resting-state functional connectivity after stroke rehabilitation.  Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9, Article 546.  

Chen, H.L., Lin, K.C., Liing, R.J., Wu, C.Y., & Chen. C.L et al. (2015). Kinematic measures of Arm-trunk movements during unilateral and bilateral reaching predict clinically important change in perceived arm use in daily activities after intensive stroke rehabilitation. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, 12, 84.  

Lin, K.C., Huang, P.C., Chen, Y.T., Wu, C.Y., & Huang, W.L (2014). Combining Afferent Stimulation and Mirror Therapy for Rehabilitating Motor Function, Motor Control, Ambulation, and Daily Functions after Stroke.   Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, 28(2), 153– 162.

Hsieh, Y.W., Wu, C.Y., Lin, K.C., Yao, G., Wu, & Chang, Y.J (2012). Dose–Response Relationship of Robot-Assisted Stroke Motor Rehabilitation the Impact of Initial Motor Status. Stroke, 43 (10), 2729-2734.

Dr. Bedell is associate professor and chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy at Tufts University. His research and scholarship involves development of measures and interventions focused on participation of children and youth with disabilities. He consults, writes and presents on conceptual and methodological considerations for measuring participation and the physical and social environment. His measures are used nationally and internationally.

He is author of the Child and Adolescent Scale of Participation (CASP) and Child and Adolescent Scale of Environment (CASE) and co-author of the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth (PEM-CY) and Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM). Dr. Bedell was Measurement Core Co-director for the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Interventions for Children and Youth with Traumatic Brain Injury and is Collaborating Researcher for the CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research, McMaster University. His currently funded research involves development and testing of an app-based coaching intervention for teenagers with traumatic brain injury: Social Participation And Navigation (SPAN).McCauley, S.R, Wilde, E.A., Anderson, V., Bedell, G., Beers, S., ... & Yeates, K.O. (2012).

Q and A

Identify three words that others have used to describe you.
Pragmatic, collaborative, and interdisciplinary.

How do you hope to make a difference in the world through research?
My plan is to continue to collaborate with multiple stakeholders locally and globally to ensure best practices to measure and promote participation of individuals with disabilities across the lifespan in home, school and community life. My hope is that my work and the work of many of my esteemed colleagues will ensure that stakeholders are able to select measures that can address their information goals and select intervention approaches that acknowledge and leverage the expertise of clients and their loved ones.

What is one piece of advice you have for individuals considering a career in science and research?
I would first say that there are many pathways to embark or re-embark on a career in science and research depending on your life situation, opportunities and level of commitment. These pathways could be in the form of post-doctoral fellowships, mentored research award, or developing your own self-directed collaborations with more experienced research mentors that are doing work in areas that resonate with you. Also, a committed work ethic, openness to feedback and development of a thick skin particularly in response to grant proposals that may not be funded or manuscripts that might be rejected or require extensive revisions will serve you well (I'm still working on the thicker skin).

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?
An important future priority is research that examines effective, efficient and safe uses of technology and tele- health to deliver occupational therapy or occupational therapy-informed interdisciplinary interventions to help individuals with disabilities or at risk of disability and their loved ones to manage or co-manage daily life activities. I also believe continued study into the health and societal benefits of meaningful occupation are critical for the future of occupational therapy and science.

Describe the most important role that mentors played in your professional journey.
My mentors provided me with numerous opportunities that challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and provided me with constructive feedback along the way. This started in my doctoral program at NYU with Dr. Jim Hinojosa and continued during my post-doctoral fellowship at BU with Drs. Stephen Haley, Wendy Coster and Alan Jette. Key advice that has served me well was to collaborate and share resources with colleagues across disciplines and to seek out multiple funding sources especially when starting out whether this be through private foundations, professional associations, federal funding or internal funding.

Identify a favorite occupation that renews you outside of your work.
Kayaking with my dogs in Provincetown, Massachusetts where I also dabble a little bit in painting (so hard to choose one occupation :) .

What has been the most surprising or rewarding aspects of a career in science and research?
The most rewarding aspect of my work is the acknowledgement that many interdisciplinary colleagues around the world are using my measures and citing my prior studies to inform their research. This would not have been possible without the strong collaborations and sharing of knowledge and expertise I have had along the way.

Selected References

McCauley, S.R, Wilde, E.A., Anderson, V., Bedell, G., Beers, S., ... & Yeates, K.O. (2012). Recommendations for the use of common outcome measures on pediatric traumatic brain injury research. Journal of Neurotrauma, 29, 678-705. doi: 10.1089/neu.2011.1838. PMID 21644810.

Bedell, G., Coster, W., Law, M., Liljenquist, K., Kao, YC, Teplicky, R., Anaby, D, & Khetani, MA (2013). Community participation, supports and barriers of school-age children with and without disabilities. Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 94, 315-323. doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2012.09.024. PMID 23044364.

Bedell, G., Khetani, M. Cousins, M., Coster, W., & Law, M. (2011). Parent perspectives to inform development of measures of children's participation and environment. Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 9, 765- 773. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2010.12.029. PMID 21530724.

Bedell, G., & McDougall, J. (2013). The Child and Adolescent Scale of Environment (CASE): Further validation with youth who have chronic health conditions. Developmental Neurorehabilitation. Early online publication. doi: 10.3109/17518423.2103.855273. PMID 24304145.

McDougall, J., Bedell, G., & Wright, V. (2013). The youth report version of the Child and Adolescent Scale of Participation (CASP): Assessment of psychometric properties and comparison with parent report. Child: Care, Health and Development, 39, 512-522. doi: 10.1111/cch.12050. PMID 23763252.

Dr. Baum is Elias Michael Director and Professor of Occupational Therapy, Neurology, and Social Work, School of Medicine and Brown School, Washington University, St, Louis, Missouri. Her clinical interests are in the areas of aging, occupational performance assessment, and program development using a Person-Environment-Occupational Performance Model. Dr. Baum's research focuses on the role of cognition in everyday life and the enabling of everyday performance in people with chronic health conditions and disability. (Retrieved on Dec 19, 2014 from http://www.ot.wustl.edu/about/our-people/faculty/carolyn-m-baum-254.)

From 2001 to 2003, Dr. Baum was editor of the AOTF research journal, OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health.  Dr. Baum is one of the 100 Influential People in Occupational Therapy named by AOTA.

Q and A

Identify three words that others have used to describe you.  
Doer, Enabler, Futurist.

How do you hope to make a difference in the world through research?
By building collaborations to address questions that improve the human condition.

What is one piece of advice you have for individuals considering a career in science and research?
Choose an environment where you work with successful scientists in your entry level training.

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?
Understanding how social supports (emotional, informational and instrumental) support daily life.

Describe the most important role that mentors played in your professional journey.
Challenging my ideas.

Identify a favorite occupation that renews you outside of your work.
Cooking for guests.

What has been the most surprising or rewarding aspects of a career in science and research?
The relationships that develop from shared ideas to friendships.

Selected References

Baum, C. M. (1980). Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship - 1980: Occupational therapists put care in the health system. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 34, 505-516.

Baum, CM & Edwards, D. (2008). Activity Sort Card: ACS. Bethesda, MD: AOTA Press.

Morrison, MT, Giles, GM, Ryan, JD, Baum, CM, Dromerick, AW, Polatajko, HJ & Edwards, DF. (2013). Multiple Errands Test - Revised (MET - R): A performance-based measure of executive function in people with mild cerebrovascular accident. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 67, 460-468.

Polatajko, HJ, McEwen, SE, Ryan, JD & Baum, CM. (2012). Pilot randomized controlled trial investigating cognitive strategy use to improve goal performance after stroke. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 66, 104-109.