30 Years of USC Occupational Science

Occupational science was established at the University of Southern California in 1989 to study the benefits of engaging in purposeful activities — “occupations” — on health, development, and quality of life and to provide the profession of occupational therapy with its own scientific and research base for informing clinical practices.

Dr. Grace Baranek on 30 Years of USC Occupational Science

Today, the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy looks ahead to the next 30 years of occupational science with Associate Dean and Chair Dr. Grace Baranek, in her own words. Dr. Grace Baranek is a prolific scholar and internationally renowned expert on the sensory features of children with autism spectrum disorder. In her leadership role at USC Chan, she oversees a research enterprise totaling more than $27 million in active, federally funded grants, ensuring that occupational science continues to generate and mobilize knowledge about “real people” in the contexts of their “real lives.”

Dr. Florence Clark on 30 Years of USC Occupational Science

Today, the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy looks back on 30 years of occupational science with Professor Emeritus Florence Clark, in her own words. A widely cited researcher and co-founder of occupational science, Dr. Clark is renowned for the USC Well Elderly Studies, which demonstrated the clinical applications of occupational science principles with outcomes published in 1997 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Elizabeth Yerxa on 30 Years of USC Occupational Science

One of occupational therapy’s most visionary leaders and earliest advocates for occupational science, Dr. Yerxa is highly regarded for her contributions to the philosophical base and values of the profession; for her research on life satisfaction of people living with severe disabilities and the nature and management of time; as well as for her work advocating occupational science research during its earliest years in the 1980s and ’90s.

Dr. Ruth Zemke on 30 Years of USC Occupational Science

Today, the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy looks back on 30 years of occupational science with Professor Emeritus Ruth Zemke, in her own words. A celebrated leader in the national and international development of occupational science, Dr. Zemke is recognized for her work focusing on the characteristics of occupation, especially its temporal and spatial dimensions.

Dr. Sook-Lei Liew on 30 Years of USC Occupational Science

Today, the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy looks forward to the next 30 years of OS with Associate Professor Sook-Lei Liew, in her own words. At her Neural Plasticity and Neurorehabilitation Laboratory, Dr. Liew is studying plasticity and recovery after stroke using noninvasive brain stimulation, brain–computer interfaces and novel learning paradigms. As an occupational therapist and occupational scientist, Dr. Liew is finding new ways of capitalizing on every individual’s unique learning or recovery potential in order to improve their quality of life and engagement in meaningful occupations.