Latest Chan Division News

USC Chan Student Completes Externship at PKUHSC in Beijing, China ⟩
April 3, 2023

Academics and Courses China Initiative Community and Partners International Students

USC Chan Entry-Level Master’s student Tina Peng discusses her externship at Peking University Health Science Center (PKUHSC) in Beijing, China, focused on building leadership skills and learning about local occupational therapy (OT) practice.

Every spring, second-year Entry-Level MA students participate in a student-driven externship assignment designed to build their leadership skills, provide opportunities to learn about non-clinical roles of occupational therapists, and help develop a sense of professional identity. As part of this…

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Mitigating on-the-job stress: Stress mapping with artificial intelligence ⟩
March 29, 2023

Artificial Intelligence Faculty Health and Wellness Research Technology

USC Chan’s Shawn Roll leading interdisciplinary team on $1.1M National Science Foundation grant for managing, mitigating on-the-job stress.

By Mike McNulty for The Explorer Journal 2023 (Illustration by master1305/Adobe Stock) The World Health Organization has called stress the “health epidemic of the 21st century” — and that was before the Covid-19 pandemic. While a highly personalized phenomenon, job-related stress is…

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Chan Bakes for Earthquake Relief ⟩
March 12, 2023

Community and Partners Events Global Initiatives International Students

From March 6-10, more than 50 USC Chan students, staff, and faculty worked together to host a bake sale fundraiser in support of earthquake relief efforts after the February 6 earthquake in Syria and Turkey.

Amber Butler MA ’23, Philanthropy Chair of USC’s Occupational Therapy and Science Council, initially proposed the idea for the bake sale, saying “I was feeling helpless watching the news and seeing all the devastation in Syria and Turkey. I was heartbroken watching families and rescue officers…

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Chan Partners with LA Community Organizations in Blanket Drive ⟩
March 10, 2023

Community and Partners Global Initiatives Students

USC Chan Global Initiatives partnered with the Bless One Foundation to hold a Winter Blanket Drive on behalf of the St. Joseph Center in Long Beach, California.

USC Chan student Maquela Noel OTD ’25 spearheaded the Blanket Drive and shared “Helping individuals in need has always meant something to me because I feel as though everyone deserves equal opportunities. The Drive allowed us to make an impact in the Los Angeles community, which I will cherish…

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More than two dozen Trojans on WROTSS 2023 agenda ⟩
February 13, 2023

Associations and Bodies Conferences

More than two dozen USC Chan faculty, students and alumni will be speaking at the 2023 Western Regional Occupational Therapy Spring Symposium in Las Vegas from Mar. 3-5. The event is a collaboration between the occupational therapy state professional associations of Arizona, Idaho, New Mexico,…

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USC-PKUHSC Dual-Degree Graduates and Current Students Discuss Transition to OT Careers ⟩
February 10, 2023

Academics and Courses China Initiative Community and Partners International Students

China Initiative team leads an information session between graduates (cohort 1) and current students (cohort 2) of the USC-PKUHSC dual-degree program to support their transition from student to OT practitioner in China upon graduation.

Due to their unique experience in the USC-PKUHSC dual-degree program, the cohort 2 students who will graduate in August 2023 typically seek additional guidance in preparing for their return to China and planning their career trajectory. The hiring process in China follows a strict timeline, in which…

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Significant PKUHSC News and Updates ⟩
February 9, 2023

Academics and Courses China Initiative Community and Partners International

A variety of exciting changes are on the horizon for the Peking University Health Science Center’s educational structure and administration.

Beginning in 2016, when USC Chan formed a partnership with Peking University Health Science Center (PKUHSC) to develop an innovative dual-degree program, the goal has always been to advance occupational therapy (OT) education, practice, and research standards in China. As we approach the third year…

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Four new, early-stage projects selected for internal research funding ⟩
February 3, 2023

Autism Community and Partners Faculty Pandemic Research

Aims of projects include increasing social connections in mental health clubhouses, improving return-to-work, developing trauma-informed framework for minoritized families of autistic girls and better understanding autistic sensory strengths

Three projects have been selected for the upcoming funding cycle of the Responding to Society’s Post-pandemic Occupational Needs (ReSPONs) Initiative, the USC Chan Division’s seed grant mechanism for early-stage projects that address the intersecting pandemics — COVID-19, systemic racial…

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Study highlights barriers, facilitators to telehealth occupational therapy for autistic children during the pandemic ⟩
January 17, 2023

Autism Community and Partners Pandemic Research Technology

Qualitative research explores perspectives of occupational therapists, clinical administrators and caregivers.

By Mike McNulty Telehealth became an essential way for occupational therapists to work with clients during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, nearly three years after the March 2020 stay-at-home orders, researchers from USC Chan’s Disparity Reduction and Equity in Autism Services (DREAmS) lab published…

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Study finds 3 percent of children have elevated sensory issues that seemingly worsen throughout early childhood, a pattern strongly linked to autism ⟩
December 29, 2022

Autism Faculty Research

By following more than 1,500 children over six years, USC-led study helps confirm sensory features are an early behavioral marker of autism.

By Mike McNulty Figure 1 from the article showing identified Class types and their respective trajectories. (Figure courtesy of Chen et al.) New results from a USC-led study reveal that 3 percent of all children have elevated sensory traits which seemingly worsen as they grow from infants/toddlers…

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