Active Sponsored Awards
Jessie Bricker, OTD, OTR/L
Project Title: WUOT School-Based Scholars Program
Principal Investigator: Jessie Bricker, OTD, OTR/L
Funding Source: US Department of Education - Special Education - Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities, H325R230056
Project Period: 10/1/23-9/30/28
Project Goals: The grant will fund the School-Based Scholars Program, designed to improve the recruitment and retention of diverse occupational therapy students while increasing competencies to serve children with high-intensity needs in school-based settings. The program will provide tuition remission to up to five scholars per year, who will take specific courses supporting career development and academic performance while they work with community partner schools serving marginalized K-12 students. Scholars who receive funding agree to work in special education or related services for two years for each year of support they receive. Data will be collected on scholars to measure program success and report outcomes until their service obligations are fulfilled or they are referred for repayment of funding received.
Lisa Tabor Connor, PhD, MSOT, OTR/L
Principal Investigator: Lisa Tabor Connor, PhD, MSOT, OTR/L
Funding Source: Schultz Family Support Fund
Project Period: 5/09-present
Erin Foster, PhD, OTD, OTR/L
Project Title: Prospective memory impairment in Parkinson disease-related cognitive decline: Intervention and mechanisms
Principal Investigator: Erin Foster, PhD, OTD, OTR/L
Funding Source: NIH/NIA R01AG065214
Project Period: 09/15/2020-05/31/2025
Project Goals: The long term goal of this research is to reduce disability, improve quality of life, and delay dementia onset among people with Parkinson disease (PD) by enabling them to cope with cognitive decline to maintain daily function. The primary objective of the current project is to determine the efficacy of a mechanistically-targeted strategy training intervention on prospective memory among people with PD-related mild cognitive impairment (PDMCI). It is a single-blind randomized controlled trial comparing the effects of strategy training to the traditional process training approach on objective laboratory prospective memory performance (Aim 1) and reported everyday prospective memory function (Aim 2). Additional objectives of the current project are to investigate neural mechanisms of prospective memory impairment in PD (Aim 3) and neural and behavioral predictors of prospective memory training response (Aim 4). This project leverages participants, data and infrastructure from an existing longitudinal cohort of PD and control participants to evaluate short-term and long-term training effects, neurobiological mechanisms, and predictors of treatment response.
Project Title: Brain Health Across the Metabolic Continuum in Youth at Risk for T2D
Principal Investigator: Tamara Hershey, PhD (WU)
OT Investigator: Erin Foster, PhD, OTD, OTR/L
Funding Source: US NIH/NIDDK R01DK126826
Project Period: 9/11/21-6/30/26
Project Title: The Black and African American Connections to Parkinson's Disease
Principal Investigators: Erin Foster, PhD, OTD, OTR/L, and Scott A. Norris, MD
Funding Source: The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
Project Period: 1/1/24-12/31/25
Project Goals: To increase representation of Black and African American genetic data in the GP2 data repository, where researchers can utilize this data to discover greater understanding of PD.
Project Title: The Black and African American Connections to Parkinson’s Disease (BLAAC PD) Recruitment Demonstration Project “Developing Community-Engaged Recruitment Strategies to Enhance Diversity and Representation in Parkinson's Disease Research”
Principal Investigator: Erin Foster, PhD, OTD, OTR/L
OT Co-Investigator: Kelly Harris, PhD, CCC-SLP
Funding Source: The Michael J. Fox Foundation’s Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Initiative, Global Parkinson's Genetics Program (GP2)
Project Period: 01/01/2025-12/31/2026
Project Goals: The Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2) is an international effort aimed at generating significant insight into the genetic basis of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and democratizing access to results and data. The BLAAC PD project focuses on recruiting people who identify as Black or African American. This project will develop, implement and report on strategies to a) learn from local stakeholders on opportunities and challenges to clinical research participation among Black or African American people with PD; b) build and leverage relationships with varied stakeholders to increase engagement in PD-related research among Black and African American people in the region; c) raise awareness of PD in the community through varied media channels.
Kelly Harris, PhD, CCC-SLP
Project Title: Addressing Environmental Triggers for Youth with High-Risk Asthma: A Pilot Study
Principal Investigator: Kelly Harris, PhD, CCC-SLP
Funding Source: The Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity at WU in St. Louis Seed Grant Program
Project Period: 07/01/2024-06/30/2025
Project Goals: Asthma is the most common chronic condition affecting youth and disproportionately impacting Black youth and children living in poverty. Interventions that reduce asthma triggers in the home have been shown to significantly improve health outcomes, reduce healthcare utilization, and improve health equity; however these interventions are under-implemented among vulnerable populations due to social and economic contextual barriers. The objectives of this study are to (1) to refine the conceptual model for Asthma HOME, an intervention targeting asthma management through environmental modifications and (2) to pilot Asthma HOME components to determine feasibility, effectiveness, and optimization criteria to inform a future optimization trial.
Project Title: “Developing An Equity-Focused Asthma Home Environmental Assessment Program: Building a Community-Engaged Partnership” as part of the Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences Project (Powderly, PI)
Principal Investigator: Kelly Harris, PhD, CCC-SLP
OT Co-Investigator: Lindsay Spell, OTD, OTR/L
Funding Source: WU Center for Community Health Partnership & Research’s (CCHPR) ‘Partnership Development & Sustainability Support (PDSS) Funding Program’ supported by the WU Institute of Public Health (IPH) and the WU Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) through the NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) UL1TR002345 award.
Project Period: 03/01/2025-02/28/2026
Project Goals: This project will establish a Community-Based Collaborative team with local community organizations and families of youth with asthma, and (2) identify determinants of asthma management within our local community, including health concerns and outcomes prioritized by community shareholders.
Catherine Hoyt, PhD, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Principal Investigator: Catherine Hoyt, PhD, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Funding Source: Missouri Foundation for Health
Project Period: 8/1/22-7/31/25
Project Goals: This project aims to generate change on various levels: a) for children with indicators of developmental delay during screening, the project will create a referral toolkit that includes a ready to submit “informal clinical opinion form” for EI to support their qualification for services; b) for EI leadership and FQHC staff, the project will raise awareness of racial disparities and challenges faced by families living with SCD and anticipate that these relationships will lead to further collaboration to enhance services for families with young children with SCD in the St. Louis region and more broadly in MO; c) at the organizational and system level, this project will implement a pilot screening and referral program that provides linkage between our community partners (EI and a local FQHC), identify strategies to address implementation barriers, and provide guidance on how to best help children qualify for EI services; d) at the policy level, the project will also gather meaningful information to generate change to expand EI eligibility criteria.
Project Title: Early Identification Of Developmental Delay Among Infants And Toddlers With Sickle Cell Disease
Principal Investigator: Catherine Hoyt, PhD, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Funding Source: NIH/NHLBI K23HL161328
Project Period: 7/1/23-6/30/28
Project Goals: The goal of the proposed study is to determine the incidence and severity of developmental deficit at 9, 18 and 30 months of with sickle cell disease and test a 12-month, home-based caregiver intervention with this disproportionately affected population. Aim 1. Determine incidence and severity of developmental delay in children with SCD compared to peers (n=100). Aim 2. Evaluate effects of monthly caregiver driven intervention over 1 year for children with SCD (n=25). Aim 3. Identify contextual determinants (i.e., facilitators and barriers) related to implementing a home-based caregiver intervention.
Project Title: Implementation of Science for Pediatric CIMT
Principal Investigator: Sharon L. Ramey, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
OT Investigator: Catherine Hoyt, PhD, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Funding Source: NIH
Project Period: 8/1/23-4/30/25
Project Goals: Given the established efficacy of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) and the urgency to implement this effective intervention for all eligible children, the proposed study will 1) systematically analyze the extent to which CIMT is being provided around the United States, and 2) describe what adaptations to standard protocols are necessary to increase uptake of CIMT as standard care for children with HCP. The long-term goal of this research is to increase the availability of CIMT for children with HCP. The purpose of this study is to use a rigorous implementation science methodology to understand the current landscape of CIMT and perceived determinants of implementation.
Project Title: From Theory to Practice: A Scoping Review of Implementation Strategies in Pediatric Rehabilitation
Principal Investigator: Catherine Hoyt, PhD, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Funding Source: WU Institute of Public Health, Center for Dissemination and Implementation, Conceptual and Methodological Review (CAM) Funding Program
Project Period: 10/15/23-4/30/25
Project Goals: The goal of this study is to complete a scoping and realist review to understand how and why complex interventions work in clinical practice. The objective of this review is to assess the breadth of implementation strategies that have been deployed in the context of pediatric rehabilitation. This review serves as a first step towards (a) understanding what strategies have been used to promote the uptake of pediatric rehabilitation research findings and (b) applying a realist review methodology to understand how to replicate effective implementation in pediatric rehabilitation care settings.
Project Title: Strengthening Academic and Community Partnerships for Sustainable Support for Families with Children Affected by Sickle Cell Disease
Principal Investigator: Catherine Hoyt, PhD, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Funding Source: WU Center for Community Health Partnership & Research’s (CCHPR) ‘Partnership Development & Sustainability Support (PDSS) Funding Program’ supported by the WU Institute of Public Health (IPH) and the WU Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) through the NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) UL1TR002345 award.
Project Period: 03/01/2024-02/28/2025
Project Goals: With funding from the PDSS award in 2023, we were able to identify and establish a partnership between the Washington University Program in Occupational Therapy, pediatric providers at CareSTL, a local federally qualified health center chain, and the St. Louis Sickle Cell Association. After months of regular meetings, we conducted a focus group for the next steps. Partners identified that continuing to meet monthly and having a formal opportunity to connect in person and learn about community services for sickle cell care are the top priorities. This 2024 PDSS funding enables us to meet these goals.
Project Title: “Strengthening Family-Centered Communication and Connections in the St. Louis Sickle Cell Community”
Principal Investigator: Catherine Hoyt, PhD, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Funding Source: The Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity (CRE2) at WU in St. Louis Small Grant Program
Project Period: 02/2025-03/2026
Project Goals: In support of our research examining the experiences of Black and African American caregivers of children with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), a historically underfunded condition that disproportionately affects the African American community, this project seeks to complete a rigorous qualitative analysis about the experiences of these families caring for children with SCD.
Brian Johnson, PhD, OTR/L
Project Title: TRACK-DCM: a smartphone application for precision assessments of degenerative cervical myelopathyPrincipal Investigator(s): Jacob Greenberg, MD, MSCI
OT Investigator(s): Brian Johnson, PhD, OTR/L
Funding Source: Missouri Spinal Cord Injury/Disease Research Program (SCIDRP)
Project Period: 03/1/24-2/28/25
Project Goals: Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy (DCM) poses a substantial health challenge in aging population with surgical intervention being the only evidence-based treatment for DCM. However, the decision to undergo surgery and the ability to evaluate surgical outcomes are both hindered by the lack of reliable tools to accurately classify and monitor DCM severity. By leveraging the widespread availability of smartphone technology, this proposal aims to develop and evaluate a mobile application (TRACK-DCM) to both support precision assessments of DCM severity and provide a platform for supporting perioperative rehabilitation.
Jessica Kersey, PhD, OTR/L
Project Title: Enhancing Equity in Community-Based Brain Injury Support ServicesPrincipal Investigator: Jessica Kersey, PhD, OTR/L
Funding Source: The Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity at WU in St. Louis Scholar Grant Program
Project Period: 07/01/2024-06/30/2025
Project Goals: Community-based traumatic brain injury (TBI) support services can improve long-term quality of life, but there are race-based disparities in access to and use of these services. In this study, we will examine the current sources of community and social support used by Black TBI survivors, barriers to accessing TBI-specific supports, and priorities in community support needs. The results of this study will guide future efforts to either reduce barriers to accessing existing programs or generate new programs that better meet the needs and priorities of Black TBI survivors.
Project Title: “Sustaining a Partnership to Address the Needs of People with Brain Injury” as per of the Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (Powderly, PI)
Principal Investigator: Jessica Kersey, PhD, OTR/L
Funding Source: WU Center for Community Health Partnership & Research’s (CCHPR) ‘Partnership Development & Sustainability Support (PDSS) Funding Program’ supported by the WU Institute of Public Health (IPH) and the WU Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) through the NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) UL1TR002345 award.
Project Period: 03/01/2025-02/28/2026
Project Goals: This project sustains a new community partnership between Jessica Kersey (Washington University’s Program in Occupational Therapy), and the Brain Injury Association of Missouri (Executive Director, Maureen Cunningham) that aims to improve health, participation, and quality of life among people living in the community with brain injury.
Hanna Launius, OTD/S ’26
Project Title: PromOTing Healthy Living WorkshopsPrincipal Investigator(s): Mia Pearce, OTD/S ’25, and Hanna Launius, OTD/S ’26
Co-Investigator(s): Noemi Rojas Serrano, OTD/S ’26
Funding Source: Transform Grant from the WU Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement’s St. Louis Impact Fund
Project Period: 1/19/24 to 1/18/27
Project Goals: Through monthly student-led workshops at Northside Youth and Senior Service Center (NSYSSC), the program aims to promote occupational engagement among the community-dwelling older adult population of North St. Louis while also challenging students to practice clinical skills and be advocates for the profession.
Kerri Morgan, PhD, OTR/L, ATP
Project Title: Wheelchair User Physical Activity Training Intervention to Enhance Cardiometabolic Health (WATCH): A Community-Based Randomized Control TrialPrincipal Investigator: Kerri Morgan, PhD, OTR/L, ATP
Funding Source: NIH/NICHD R01HD111022
Project Period: 2/1/23-1/31/28
Project Goals: Low levels of physical activity (PA) are common in Wheelchair users (WU) due to physical disability. WU are also at greater risk for obesity and cardiometabolic health-related diseases compared to the general population. This study proposes a hybrid I randomized controlled trial to test the cardiometabolic effects of a tailored intensity-controlled physical activity training (IPAT) intervention compared to education and access to a community-based accessible gym (EA). Aim #1: To compare the effectiveness of the IPAT to EA on cardiorespiratory fitness, vascular function, and body composition. Aim #2: To identify barriers and facilitators to WU engaging in PA at a community-based, accessible gym. Aim #3: To examine the mediators (e.g., self-efficacy) and moderators (e.g. age, race, duration of disability) of the expected intervention effect to understand differences in physiologic response.
Community Partner: Paraquad
Project Title: Physical Activity Promotion for Persons with Disabilities in Missouri: Identifying Current Practices and Future Strategies
Principal Investigator: Kerri Morgan, PhD, OTR/L, ATP
Project Period: 9/1/23-2/28/25
Total Award: This project will identify strategies to improve physical activity services for persons with mobility disabilities (PwMD) through education and resource referral during the transition from rehabilitation to the community.
Project Title: Reaching Persons with Spinal Cord Injury with Important Health Information Through a Text-Messaging Intervention: Adaptation and Pilot Study
Principal Investigator: Kerri Morgan, PhD, OTR/L, ATP
Funding Source: Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, Psychosocial Research (PSR) Grant
Project Period: 04/30/24-04/29/26
Project Goals: Our research team at Washington University in St. Louis and Shirley Ryan Ability Lab will adapt, further develop, and pilot test a 12-week self-management short message service (SMS) intervention using mobile phones to improve the psychosocial health of persons with spinal cord injury (PwSCI). The purpose of the project is to further develop (Aim 1) and adapt (Aim 2) an mHealth intervention for persons with a disability targeted at one specific secondary health condition (SHC), fatigue, previously developed by the research team.
Project Title: Turning the TiDe: Training Diverse Clinician Scientists in Rehabilitation Research
Principal Investigator(s): Elizabeth Skidmore, PhD, OTR/L, University of Pittsburgh; Gregory Hicks, PT, PhD, University of Delaware
WU Principal Investigator(s): Marcie Harris-Hayes, PT, DPT, MSCI, Professor of Physical Therapy and Orthopaedic Surgery
OT Investigator: Kerri Morgan, PhD, OTR/L, ATP
Funding Source: NIH/NICHD R25HD109110
Project Period: 9/1/22-8/31/27
Project Goals: Provide education, mentoring and supervised experiences to train faculty in the knowledge and skill they need to mentor diverse clinician scientists effectively. These faculty trainees will provide mentoring and "hands on" experiences in rehabilitation research for diverse student trainees from occupational and physical therapy graduate training programs.
Mia Pearce, OTD/S ’25
Project Title: PromOTing Healthy Living WorkshopsPrincipal Investigator(s): Mia Pearce, OTD/S ’25, and Hanna Launius, OTD/S ’26
Co-Investigator(s): Noemi Rojas Serrano, OTD/S ’26
Funding Source: Transform Grant from the WU Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement’s St. Louis Impact Fund
Project Period: 1/19/24 to 1/18/27
Project Goals: Through monthly student-led workshops at Northside Youth and Senior Service Center (NSYSSC), the program aims to promote occupational engagement among the community-dwelling older adult population of North St. Louis while also challenging students to practice clinical skills and be advocates for the profession.
Benjamin Philip, PhD
Project Title: Interhemispheric Communication and Compensation in Peripheral Nerve Injury
Principal Investigator: Benjamin Philip, PhD
Funding Source: NIH NINDS R01NS114046
Project Period: 12/15/20-11/30/25
Project Goals: Our short-term goal is to identify interhemispheric mechanisms that support left hand compensation (both performance and use), and determine whether the mechanisms arise from cortical asymmetry for movement (i.e. hand dominance). This will provide the foundation for our long-term goal to develop and target therapies to improve LH compensation for patients who face challenges to rehabilitation due to chronic RH impairment. Aim 1: Identify the interhemispheric mechanisms that support LH performance after RH injury. Aim 2: Identify the interhemispheric mechanisms that support increased usage of the LH after RH injury. Aim 3: Determine whether the interhemispheric mechanism arises from cortical asymmetry.
Samantha Randolph, MA
Project Title: Toward an Understanding of Loneliness and Social Participation in Serious Mental Illness
Principal Investigator: Samantha Randolph, MA
Funding Source: The American Occupational Therapy Foundation Bonita Kraft Occupational Therapy Doctoral Student Scholarship Award
Project Period: 1/24/24-1/23/25
Project Goals: Using a mixed methods approach, this project aims to identify the mechanisms of loneliness among people with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and to establish intervention priorities as identified by the consumers themselves.
Duana Russell-Thomas, OTD, OTR/L
Project Title: Transforming Health Education with Community Trust
Principal Investigator: Duana Russell-Thomas, OTD, OTR/L
Funding Source: WashU Pitch Partners2 funding from the Center for Community Health Partnership & Research at Institute for Public Health (IPH) and the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) through the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the NIH and by support from the Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital Grant Number CCHPR24.
Project Period: 12/01/24-11/30/25
Project Goals: Over the last five years, the WashU Center for Interprofessional Practice & Education (CIPE) and the St. Louis Community Health Worker Coalition (CHWCo) have collaborated to build and pilot a model of care that addresses the complex health needs of the underserved and uninsured in the STL community. Given the success of preliminary evaluation findings, this project is ready to pilot an expanded form of the work with our identified community partner, CareSTL Health. Our overall goal is to form a mutually beneficial relationship between CareSTL Health, the STL CHW Coalition & CIPE whereby interprofessional teams of students could help improve the health and wellness of current CareSTL Health patients and residents of associated facilities like Alumnus Gardens, while learning key tenants of community-centered care.
Lindsay Spell, OTD, OTR/L
Project Title: Asthma Home Occupation-based Modified Environmental (HOME) Assessment: Implementer Perspectives
Principal Investigator(s): Lindsay Spell, OTD, OTR/L
OT Mentor: Kelly Harris, PhD, CCC-SLP
Funding Source: American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF) Nancy Talbot Postdoctoral Research Fellowship-Competitive Year02 Renewal
Project Period: 02/01/2025-01/31/2026
Project Goals: To better understand acceptability and feasibility of our previously developed ‘Asthma Home Environmental’ (Asthma HOME) intervention, we will (1) conduct user testing to assess the acceptability of Asthma HOME among OTs, and (2) establish and engage a Community Advisory Board (CAB) to refine Asthma HOME.
Susy Stark, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Project Title: Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences -Hub Research Capacity Component- Integrating Special Populations (ISP) (Subproject)
Principal Investigator: William Powderly, MD (WU)
OT Investigator: Susy Stark, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, Sub Project Co-Lead
Funding Source: US NIH/NCATS UL1TR002345
Project Period: 3/01/22-2/28/27
Project Title: Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences, Clinical Translational Science Award Training Core
Principal Investigator: Jay Piccirillo, MD, FACS
OT Investigator: Susy Stark, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, TL1 Associate Lead
Funding Source: US NIH/NCATS TL1TR002344
Project Period: 3/01/22-2/28/27
Project Title: FALLS: A Marker of Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease
Contact Principal Investigator: Susy Stark, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Other Principal Investigator: Beau M. Ances, MD, PhD, MSc
Funding Source: NIH/NIA R01AG057680
Project Period: 8/15/18-4/30/25
Project Title: Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center/ Research Education Component
Principal Investigator: John C. Morris, MD
OT Investigator: Susy Stark, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Funding Source: US NIH P30AG066444
Project Period: 05/15/20-04/30/25
Project Goals: The goal of the Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center Research Education Component is to provide a one-stop training center for comprehensive Alzheimer disease and related dementias research training for individuals along the training pipeline, including underrepresented minorities, and the development of a team of well-trained, highly effective mentors.
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