Foundation Friday, April 24, 2026
Breakfast with a Scholar
7:00 – 9:00 am PT
Hilton Anaheim (HQ Hotel)
Augmented Care: Reimagining Occupational Therapy in the AI Age
Kevin B. Johnson, MD, MS
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how we document, communicate, learn, and make decisions in healthcare—but its impact on occupational therapy is still being defined. In this session, Dr. Kevin B. Johnson, a pediatrician, informatician, and national leader in digital innovation, will explore how AI can strengthen the core mission of OT: supporting people as they navigate the real routines, roles, and environments of daily life.
Drawing on examples from his work building multimodal, real-world applications, Dr. Johnson will demystify what AI is and is not. Participants will gain a practical understanding of how AI might enhance assessment, support clinical reasoning, reduce documentation burden, personalize interventions, and expand access to care across diverse communities. At the same time, he will highlight key cautions around bias, privacy, inequity, and the delicate balance between technological efficiency and human connection.
In-person: $75- Add to your full AOTA conference registration
By attending AOTF Breakfast with a Scholar, you will:*
- Gain a better understanding of the latest AI
- Learn practical strategies to implement into your practice
- Network with like-minded colleagues
Bonus reference material will be available to attendees.
Speaker Bio:
As the David L. Cohen University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Johnson has led groundbreaking work in electronic health records and e-prescribing. His recent work explores how artificial intelligence can reinvent clinical documentation to reduce clinician burnout and provide better patient care. Through his lab at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, he leads the OBSERVER Project, which uses video and audio recordings of clinical visits to gain necessary insights to improve patient-provider interactions on both sides. The goal is to remove clinicians from the secretary position that EHRs have put them in, reduce the burnout caused by the burden of documentation, and restore a more connected patient encounter. While the visit is being recorded, AI will summarize the appointment qualitatively, quantitatively, and equitably, and provide assessment based on symptoms shared verbally as well as those captured visibly by the technology. The long-term goal is to provide real-time automated guidance.
His podcast, Informatics in the Round, features lively, non-technical conversations on hot-button cultural issues from an informatics perspective. He is a co-author and co-editor of the Who Me? children's book series featuring scientists from marginalized groups, encouraging young children to consider careers in STEMM. He also produced and directed the documentary No Matter Where about the challenges of sharing information across the healthcare system, how these communication failures impact patients and providers, and the changes that must occur to create a safer world.
The author of over 200 publications, Dr. Johnson has won dozens of awards over his career, holds numerous national leadership positions, and serves on various advisory boards. He was elected to the American College of Medical Informatics, the Academic Pediatric Society, the National Academy of Medicine, the International Association of Health Science Informatics, and the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. He received his MD from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and his MS in Medical Informatics from Stanford University.
*Given the dynamics of Artificial Intelligence, objectives subject to change.
State of the Science
Friday, 3:00-5:30 pm PT
Hilton Anaheim (HQ Hotel)
The Coaching Connection: Where Science Meets Practice in Occupational Therapy
Coaching practices have caught OTs' attention in recent years. The alignment of coaching and OT is unmistakable. Yet, this alignment still requires us to a.) examine the evidence supporting coaching practices, and b.) implement coaching with fidelity across practice areas and settings. Coaching keeps our focus on people’s authentic lives as we foster their self-determination and support action to live their best lives through occupational participation on their own terms. The AOTF convened interdisciplinary stakeholders who did a deep dive into coaching evidence and practices to identify how coaching fits into OT education, practice, and research. Join us to discuss where we are and where we can go to discover what coaching looks like when OTs integrate these ideas into best practices.
Speakers:
MJ Mulcahey, PhD, OTR/L, FASIA, CLCP, Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, Director of the Center for Outcomes and Measurement, Jefferson College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia
Winnie Dunn, PhD, OTR, FAOTA, Distinguished Professor, Occupational Therapy Education, Certified Positive Psychology Coach, University of Missouri
Lauren M. Little, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, Associate Dean of Research, College of Health Sciences, Professor, Occupational Therapy, Rush University
Scott D. Tomchek, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, Professor, Record Review Project Director, School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, University of Louisville
In-person: $60 (Student: $30) - Add to your full AOTA conference registration
Research Excellence Symposium
Friday 12:30 – 2:00 pm PT
Hilton Anaheim (HQ Hotel)
AOTF fosters and celebrates research excellence across various career stages with a vision of having a vibrant science that builds knowledge to support effective, evidence-based occupational therapy. The 2026 AOTF Academy of Research in Occupational Therapy Inductee, Early- and Mid-Career Research Excellence Awardees, and our Lifetime Achievement Awardee share insights from their career journeys and latest research. Included with your AOTA Inspire main registration- Add to your agenda.
Academy of Research Symposium
Thursday, 4:00 – 6:00 pm PT
Hilton Anaheim (HQ Hotel)
The 2026 AOTF Academy of Research in Occupational Therapy Inductees share their career journeys and the latest developments in their research. Established in 1983, the AOTF Academy of Research in Occupational Therapy recognizes and honors individuals who have made exemplary, distinguished, and sustained contributions to the advancement of the science of occupational therapy. Included with your AOTA Inspire main registration- Add to your agenda.
Plus, don't miss (Tip: Search "AOTF" in the AOTA INSPIRE App.)...
- STRIDE Mentored Research Scholarship Posters, Thursday, 3-5 pm, Anaheim Convention Center
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Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture: Beyond the Score: Reclaiming the Meaning of Assessment in Relationship-Centered Care, Trudy Mallinson, PhD, OTR/L, FACRM, FAOTA, NZROT, AOTF Academy of Research Member, Saturday, April 25, 11:15 am–12:30 pm
- Awards & Recognitions Ceremony, Saturday, April 25, 4:15 pm–5:15 pm
- Visit our AOTF Booth (tbd):
Dates and times subject to change. Please refer to the AOTA INSPIRE app. for the most up-to-date information.
Thank you for joining us last year in Philly!
Cancellation/Refund/Transfer Policies