W I N T E R 2 0 1 3

MESSAGE

FROM THE

DEPAR TMENT

HEAD

Our 2012-13 academic

year has gotten off to a

great start. We are

pleased to share some of

the department’s high-

lights with you. We be-

lieve that the accomplish-

ments showcased in this

newsletter are a strong

representation of our

brand: “Creating Tomor-

row’s Practice: Leading

the Field in Education,

Scholarship, and Prac-

tice”.

I hope you enjoy this

sampling of highlights achieved by our students,

faculty and alumni during the past year.

Best,

Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar,

PhD, Professor and Department Head

The Third International Institute on the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) took place in

Stockholm, Sweden, on October 11-12, 2012. The institute was sponsored by the MOHO

Clearinghouse at UIC and the Swedish Association of Occupational Therapists, FSA. Five

continents were represented at the institute. Participants looked to assist one another in the

development of MOHO research and education. According to participants, the

institute was an “inspirational event” and “embodied the very essence of scholarship of

practice” for all who participated.

The UIC delegation of

presenters at the 3rd

MOHO Institute (from

left): Chia-Wei Fan, PhD

student; Gail Fisher, OT

faculty; Dr. Yolanda

Suarez-Balcazar, OT

department head; Elaine

Kayhan, OT student

(OTS); Phoebe Kinzie-

Larson, OTS; Dr. Lindsay

Jones, OTD alumna; and

Baily Zubel, OTS.

Annual MOHO Institute another success

OT students present at ILOTA conference

Through the generous donations from OT alumni, the UIC Department of Occupational

Therapy was able to assist 27 students in attending the 2012 ILOTA Conference held in

Naperville, IL, in November. Six second-year MS students presented at the conference.

Student Presentations:

“Multimodal Interventions Demonstrate

Potential for Treating Fibromyalgia Pain

and Fatigue”

Nicole Paneque & Annie Nekoliczak

“Strategies to Improve Self-Regulation

in Children”

Becky O’Connell & Maggie Yates

“Electrical Stimulation Improves Upper

Extremity Function in Children with

Neurological Deficits”

Mary Pearson & Catherine Ruiz

Progress Notes

U N I V E R S I T Y O F I L L I N O I S A T C H I C A G O

sm

OTD student Emily Frank (left) and PhD student

Danbi Lee represent the UIC OT department at our

ILOTA exhibitor booth.

Creating Tomorrow’s Practice

P A G E 2

P R O G R E S S N O T E S

UIC OT welcomes new faculty

Mansha Mirza, PhD, OTR/L, MSHSOR

Assistant Professor

Dr. Mirza received her BScOT from The Uni-

versity of Mumbai, India. She earned her MSOT

and PhD in Disability Studies from the Univer-

sity of Illinois at Chicago. Her research interests

broadly focus on people with disabilities and

chronic health conditions among underserved

immigrant and refugee communities; their ac-

cess to health, rehabilitation, and social services; their community participation

outcomes; and the environmental factors that mediate both their participation

outcomes and their access to needed services.

Sandy Magaña, MSW, PhD Professor

Dr. Magaña holds a master’s degree in Social Work

from California State University, San Bernardino,

and received her PhD from the Heller Graduate

School of Social Policy at Brandeis University. Dr.

Magaña’s research focus is on the cultural context

of families who care for persons with disabilities

and mental illness and the experiences of parents

who have children with disabilities. Dr. Magaña holds a 25% professor appointment

in the Department of Occupational Therapy and a 75% appointment in our col-

lege’s Department of Disability and Human Development.

Susan Magasi, PhD

Assistant Professor

Dr. Magasi is trained as an occupational therapist

(BScOT, McGill University; MS, University of

Illinois at Chicago) with clinical expertise in adult

neurologic rehabilitation. She earned her PhD in

Disability Studies from the University of Illinois at

Chicago and completed post-doctoral fellowships

in outcomes and health services research at the

Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Northwestern University. Dr. Magasi’s

research is focused on the identification and elimination of health and health-

care disparities experienced by people with disabilities.

Professor Joy Hammel, PhD,

has been awarded a five-

year grant by the U.S. De-

partment of Education/

NIDRR on Community and

Work Participation Disparities:

A Program of the ADA Partici-

pation Action Research Con-

sortium. Dr. Hammel will

conduct this research in

collaboration with faculty in

our college’s Department of

Disability and Human De-

velopment and UIC’s

Nathalie P. Voorhees Cen-

ter for Neighborhood and

Community Improvement.

Professor and Department

Head Yolanda Suarez-

Balcazar was appointed chair

of the Diversity Ad Hoc

Committee by AOTA Presi-

dent, Dr. Florence Clark.

The Department of OT

welcomes Anna Norweg,

PhD, as a visiting research

assistant professor.

Danbi Lee, PhD student,

was awarded the UIC Chan-

cellor’s Graduate Research

Fellowship.

Announcements

OTD student Leah Dunleavy

(MS OT ’12) won a Student

Research Grant from the

Autism Program of Illinois.

Welcome new post-doc! Dr. Valentina Lukyanova is our department’s new postdoc-

toral research associate working on a training grant funded by

the U.S. Department of Education/NIDRR. Her research will

focus on the “Advanced Training in Translational and Trans-

formational Research to Improve Outcomes for People with

Disabilities.”

P A G E 3

The Illinois Student Occupational Therapy Association, better known as Illi-

SOTA, worked hard to fundraise and support students who attended the

Illinois Occupational Therapy Association Conference in Naperville, IL, in

November. Their efforts included hosting several successful luncheons and

a bake sale in UIC’s student center. Illi-SOTA also supported two OTD stu-

dents' advanced fieldwork experiences in Peru and their work at the

Centro Ann Sullivan del Peru (CASP) through a “Boo-Grams” fundraiser for

Halloween. Illi-SOTA members continue to be active in the community.

Students participated in the Alliance for Lupus Research’s “Walk for Lupus”

in October and helped raise money to support lupus research. Illi-SOTA

plans to continue fundraising and to remain active as volunteers and partici-

pants in community events.

Illi-SOTA update

Students at the “Walk for Lupus”: Kim George, Sophia

Mendoza, and Cat Ruiz, joined by Zacky Mendoza.

Occupational therapist

Anna Blazevic, MS OT ’04,

OTR/L, and several OT

students have been work-

ing with adolescent inpa-

tients in UIC’s Compre-

hensive Assessment and

Treatment Unit (CATU).

Since the summer, they’ve

created and painted a wall

mural in the unit, the first

of its kind. CATU is a nine-

bed inpatient psychiatric

unit that treats adolescent

wards of the state. The

mural features a shattered

brick wall that opens up to a pastoral scene depicting a road leading

to the “tree of hope.” The scene is adorned with birds, a rainbow

UIC OT alumna inspires hope

UIC goes to AOTA Capitol Hill Day On Sept. 24, 2012, seven MS students gathered in Washing-

ton, DC, with clinical associate professor Gail Fisher to par-

ticipate in AOTA's Capitol Hill Day. Together, participants

sought congressional support for the Medicare Access to Re-

habilitation Act, which seeks to permanently repeal the ther-

apy cap. Students also lobbied for the inclusion of occupa-

tional therapy as a federally approved health care profession

for assessment and intervention in the Occupational Therapy

Mental Health Act and Medicare Home Health Flexibility Act.

AOTA Capitol Hill Day provided attendees with an exciting

way to understand the scope of occupational therapy and the

impact that social policy and legislation has on clients' lives.

The UIC OT team in Washington: Alejandra Villanueva, Becky Nixon,

Sarah Couch, Sara Ellena, and faculty member Gail Fisher

Welcome new clinicians! The department would like to welcome

Matthew Clinger and Carson Mumma

to the University of Illinois Hospital and

Health Sciences System. Both clinicians

have joined the inpatient adult physical

disabilities team working in the hospital.

Editor: Tamira Davis

Assistant Editor: Becky Nixon

Ideas for stories, questions, or feedback? Please contact

Tamira at tdavis17@uic.edu

On Oct. 7, 2012, six UIC second-year students in

the OT master’s program volunteered with the

Wheelchair Division of the Bank of America Chi-

cago Marathon. Becky Nixon, Kat Daniels, Ryan

Durkin, Kim Muir, Mary Pearson, Kelly Krueger

and Kim George (pictured at right) helped a group

of 40 Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Spinal

Cord Injury Association of Illinois volunteers es-

cort wheelchair racers to the start line and from

the finish line as they completed the 26.2 miles.

Chicago marathon: Pre-OT club and MS students help out

Representatives of the UIC pre-OT club (pictured at

left) Shannon Vogel, Cathleen Litz, Evan Lines, An-

drezej Waclaw and Ali Ottman also assisted with the

event, cheering racers and wheelers at the Charity

Mile Block Party and supporting the Spinal Cord In-

jury Association of Illinois at Mile 14. It was great to

have so many UIC occupational therapy students at

the event!

UIC Department of Occupational Therapy • 1919 West Taylor Street • MC 811 • Chicago, IL • 60612-7249 • 312-996-3051

College of Applied Health Sciences Alumni Weekend

May 3-5, 2013

The college we call home is planning its first-ever all-

alumni weekend, slated to include campus tours, a young

alumni reception, a gala featuring an alumni awards pro-

gram, a sneak peak at a new Chicago museum and more!

Please save the dates to come back to campus and revisit

some of the people and places from your years at UIC.

You’ll also get to network with health professionals from

diverse disciplines and locations.

Watch your mail and e-mail for details!

Visit us online (https://illinois.edu/sb/sec/7824288) to ensure

we have your preferred e-mail and mailing addresses

YOUR SUPPORT GOES A LONG WAY

The UIC Department of Occupational Therapy’s Annual

Fund provides us with current-use funds to put toward

immediate program enhancements. Your gift helps us

upgrade instructional technology, enrich scholarship awards,

and more. To learn more, please call Elise Krikau at 312-996

-1339 or visit us online (www.ahs.uic.edu/alum/support.php).

Thank you!

ALUMNI, SEND US YOUR NEWS!

We strive to have an ongoing conversation with alumni of

our programs. Where are you living? Where are you

working? How has your life developed, personally and

professionally? How has your UIC degree served you since

you left us? Please send us your updates (https://illinois.edu/

sb/sec/7824288).