Student Highlights

Recent Student News, Awards & Accomplishments:

Podcast "Occupations Unpacked": As part of 3rd year EL-OTD student, Hailey Pister's Doctoral Capstone Project, she has created and published the first few episodes of a podcast series that discusses issues in policy, advocacy, and practice related to substance use and other often stigmatized occupations. She has guests from all over the globe featured on the podcast. Check out the first few episodes on Instagram, Anchor FM or Spotify and feel free to subscribe and follow along!

Students and Faculty accepted for the 2021 MAOT Conference:  Congratulations to our students and faculty for having their posters accepted for the 2021 MAOT Conference.

• Grove, K MS, OTS. Teen Anxiety and Social Outcomes in Dog-Assisted Interventions.
• Pohlhammer, E OTS, and Whitney, R OT, OTD, OTR. Families with Serious Illness: Art and Psychosocial Well-Being.
• Sarkar, T, OTS. Virtual Reality and Chronic Pain for Older Adults. *this poster has been accepted to both MAOT and AOTA.
• Shi, Yaqi, OTS. Exploring Peer Health Coach (PHC) Roles in the Online Health-Management program for Adults with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI).

Congratulations to Miranda Cullen, MS, OT who successfully passed her Post-professional OTD defense last Friday, April 23, 2021. Her presentation was titled: “Creating An Evaluation Tool For A Program Serving Adolescents And Young Adults With Chronic Illnesses: A Community-based Participatory Research Approach”.  

Congratulations to post professional master’s student Zhiqing Chen who recently published an article that was developed from an independent study project while here at Tufts! Chen Z, Baker NA. Effectiveness of eccentric strengthening in the treatment of lateral elbow tendinopathy: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Journal of Hand Therapy. 2021, 34:18-28 

Students and Faculty accepted for the 2020 MAOT Conference: Congratulations to our students and faculty for having their posters accepted for the 2020 MAOT Conference.

• Chiang V, Baker NA. Horticultural therapy’s effectiveness for depression in older adults.
• de Wet M, Baker NA. Experiences of deaf individuals with upper extremity dysfunction.    
• Haan E, Soucy J, Connolly G, Lettenberger J,  Baker N, Marfeo E, Tickle-Degnen L, Caregiver burden and neurodegenerative disorders: A scoping review.
• Pohlhammer E, Pacun H, Chavez-Hernandez D, Porter N, Marfeo E, Baker N, Barnes M Exploration of domestic violence interventions: A scoping review.
• ​Becker J, Degrado G, Grey S, Lubic S, Rothman S, Baker N, Marfeo E, Morris M. Exercise and academic outcomes in children: A scoping review.
• Loring K, Peary D, Foley E, Shi Y, Baker N, Marfeo B, Barnes M Mindfulness and intellectual disability:  A scoping review.
• Rutta R, Kumar S, Irwin K, Pisharody V, Marfeo E, Baker N, Barnes M. Mindfulness and executive functioning in pre-adolescents and adolescents.

2020 Virginia Auty Nedved-Cook, BSOT 52 Endowed Student Research Award Recipients: Tufts Department of Occupational Therapy would like to congratulate our recent 2020 Virginia Auty Nedved-Cook, BSOT 52 Endowed Student Research Award recipients! We are looking forward to hearing and sharing the results of these post professional OTD Leadership projects!

• Miranda Cullen: Examination of Social Participation and Navigation (SPAN) for young adult brain tumor survivors: A usability study
• Sepanta Yousefian: Occupational therapy practitioners’ cultural awareness
• Manike de Wet: Experiences in social participation of Deaf individuals with upper extremity dysfunction
• Mackenzie Rickert: Evaluating a Life Skills group for elementary aged students with social and emotional disorders 

AOTA Student Spotlight: Lindsay Hoffman ’20.

Michael Stevenson, Project Coordinator for Parkinson's research in Professor Linda Tickle-Degnen's Tufts Health Quality of Life Lab led the lab's team for fund-raising at the 32nd American Parkinson Disease Massachusetts Annual Optimism Walk for Parkinson's. The team raised over $3000. Besides Michael, team members were students Amber Murray-Smith and Lauren Domingue.

OT student, MJ Craig takes first place in MIT Hack. This is the second time Tufts students have placed first at the annual MIT AT Hack, with last year's winning design, CiPods and CiPids Wireless, a device to allow people with a cochlear implant to use ear buds.

Kathryn Colleran: May 1, 2019 - The Feasibility and Utility of the Occupational Therapy Oral Health Management Screener in a Mental Health Setting.

Denise LaRocca: April 24, 2019 - The Pain Conversation: Occupational Therapists' Perspectives on Using Language to Navigate a Persona's Pain Experience.

OT student research at the AOTA 2019 Conference.