People

Shawn C. Roll ⟩

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Curriculum Vitae
Shawn C. Roll received his BS in Occupational Therapy, MS in Allied Health Professions with a Minor in Research Methods, and PhD in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences with an Interdisciplinary Specialization in College and University Teaching. Dr. Roll is a registered and licensed occupational therapist (OTR/L) and a registered musculoskeletal sonographer (RMSKS). Dr. Roll has clinical experience in work programs, focusing on the assessment, prevention, and rehabilitation of work-related injuries, and his research leverages his combined professional and clinical expertise to understand the intersections among workplace environments, work performance, and worker health and well-being. For his scholarly and professional contributions, has has been named a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association (FAOTA) and a Fellow of the American Institute for Ultrasound in Medicine (FAIUM), was the 76th inductee into the American Occupational Therapy Foundation’s Academy of Research, and was the 27th recipient of the Distinguished Sonographer Award from the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.

Ryan Walsh ⟩

Postdoctoral Scholar
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Ryan Walsh is a licensed and registered occupational therapist and postdoctoral scholar in the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. He received his Master of Science in Occupational Therapy at the Univeristy of Illinois at Chicago in 2018 and completed his PhD in Rehabilitation and Participation Science at Washington University in St. Louis in 2023. Dr. Walsh’s research interests include workplace health promotion, participatory worker interventions, chronic disease prevention and management, implementation science, and systems science.

Madeline Parga ⟩

PhD Candidate
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Madeline Parga received her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Society from Cornell University in 2021. Her research interests lie within the vast potential of transdisciplinary investigation into applications of artificial intelligence (AI) for smart environments. She aims to apply the biopsychosocial model to investigations of how smart devices in occupational environments will impact all people, while emphasizing disability as an identity and not only a condition of the being as it has largely been treated by literature investigating AI applications.

P. Zama Dlamini ⟩

PhD Student
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Min Ji Song ⟩

PhD Student
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Chelsea Okundolor

Entry-OTD Student Worker
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Katie Gonzalez

Entry-OTD Student Worker
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Marai Salgado Benetiz

Melody Chang

Ruby Yoon

Kevin D. Evans ⟩

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Research lab website ⟩
Dr. Evans is Professor Emeritus at The Ohio State University. Dr. Evans is a preeminent leader in the sonography profession, having served as President of the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Chair of the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography, and Editor for the Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography. Dr. Evans is an accomplished scholar with expertise in both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, and he is a leader in research within the sonography profession. His research is focused on improving sonographic training and exploring the impact of work-related tasks on musculoskeletal disorders in sonographers. Dr. Evans engages with the MSOP lab on numerous research activities related to the advancement of musculoskeletal sonography and the prevention of injuries in ultrasound users.

Carolyn M. Sommerich ⟩

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Research lab website ⟩
Dr. Sommerich is Professor in the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering at The Ohio State University. Dr. Sommerich is a pre-eminent leader in human factors and ergonomics, having served as President of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Dr. Sommerich has deep expertise in ergonomics and occupational biomechanics, focusing on participatory, interdisciplinary intervention research to reduce musculoskeletal disorders among workers in healthcare, industry, and education.

Burcin Becerik-Gerber ⟩

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Research lab website ⟩

Dr. Becerik-Gerber is Dean’s Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at USC. Dr. Becerik-Gerber’s research focuses on the design, automation, control, and visualization of user-centered responsive and adaptive built environments. To date, she has authored around 130 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers. Her work has received support worth over $6.3m individual and collaborative grants from a variety of agencies, including the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy and Department of Transportation. Dr. Becerik-Gerber engages with the MSOP lab on research activities related to worker health and well-being in the built environment.

Gale Lucas ⟩

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Dr. Lucas is a Research Associate Professor at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT). She obtained her BA from Willamette University in 2005 and her PhD from Northwestern University in 2010. Her expertise is in human-computer interaction, affective computing, and trust-in-automation, and her research focuses on rapport, disclosure, trust, persuasion, and negotiation with virtual agents and social robots. Dr. Lucas engages with the MSOP lab on research activities related to the integration of technologies into the workplace to support worker health and well-being.

Nancy A. Baker ⟩

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Dr. Baker is Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Tufts University. Her expertise is at the integration of hand impairment and work, and her research reflects a synthesis of preventing work-related hand injuries (ergonomics), addressing work-related limitations due to hand impairment (arthritis), and determining conservative treatments for work-related hand injuries (carpal tunnel syndrome). Her research has focused on the effect of musculoskeletal disorders on performance during everyday tasks and interventions to improve that performance, with a focus on hand-intensive work tasks, such as computer use or dentistry. Dr. Baker engages with the MSOP lab on numerous research activities related to carpal tunnel syndrome and work-related hand injuries.

Wendy Mack ⟩

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Dr. Mack is Professor of Biostatistics in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. She co-directs the department’s Division of Biostatistics graduate programs and directs Biostatistics Resources at the Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (SC CTSI). Professor Mack has more than 20 years of experience directing biostatistical and data coordination activities, primarily funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Her expertise includes the design, conduct, and analysis of multiple single-centered and multi-centered clinical trials and observational studies. Dr. Mack engages with the MSOP lab on multiple funded research projects and student training awards.

Lori Michener ⟩

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Research lab website ⟩

Dr. Michener is a Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy in the USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy. Dr. Michener’s research characterizes the biomechanics of musculoskeletal shoulder pain, diagnosis and treatment of shoulder and cervical pain, clinical trials investigating optimal treatment strategies for shoulder and cervical disorders, and the use of patient-rated outcomes measurement tools to assess health-related quality of life. Dr. Michener engages with the MSOP lab on research activities related to the use of musculoskeletal sonography to advance upper extremity rehabilitation.

Jennifer Mitchell

Research Sonographer
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A Los Angeles-based entrepreneur, Jennifer has been servicing the ultrasound community since 2001. Ms. Mitchell is a versatile businesswoman and also an accomplished ultrasound sales professional and licensed sonographer. She conducts business at hospitals and imaging centers nationwide and has also been both a successful small business operator and a highly effective Sonographer who maintains one step ahead of the ultrasound market. Ms. Mitchell began her career as a sonographer at Kaiser Permanente Hospital after graduating from a Diagnostic Medical Sonography program in 1999, she then became a Regional Sales Director for Mooney Airplane Company. She founded her own company, Power Imaging in 2000 and it continues to be one of California’s leading companies offering sonography services.  In addition, she provides sales support, customer education and training for GE Healthcare.

Jane Forrest

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Research center website ⟩
Dr. Forrest is a registered dental hygienist and has a long-standing interest in advancing the practice, health, and well-being of dental hygiene professionals.  As a PI and the Director for the National Center for Dental Hygiene Research & Practice (NCDHRP), Dr. Forrest has been responsible for designing, implementing, and evaluating grants with the goal of building a strong scientific base for dental hygiene. She has developed a USC Technology Enhanced Learning Incentive Program, “Integrating Body Mechanics into Dental Hygiene Education,” and has evaluated the integration of proper body mechanics and motor/clinical skill development into the teaching of dental hygiene clinical skills.

Yiyang (Sunny) Fang

PhD Student (2021-2025)
Post-Professional OTD Resident (2020-2021)
BS-MA Research Student Volunteer (2017-2020)
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Sunny Fang completed her PhD in Occupational Science in December 2025, following the completion of her BS, MA, and post-professional OTD degrees all in the Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. Sunny’s dissertation, entitled “Technological innovation in construction: A mixed-methods study using occupational adaptation to understand changes in work performance and worker well-being,” examined how occupational performance and worker health and well-being are affected by technology implementation in the construction industry. Her approach to the topic is exceptionally novel in this context, which is primarily driven by engineering perspectives and focused on the safety and efficiency of technology, with limited regard for the effects of technology on individual workers’ performance, health, and well-being. During her 8.5 years of engagement in the MSOP lab, she contributed to 10 peer-reviewed publications and more than 20 presentations at national and international conferences; she received a Dissertation Research Grant from the Society for the Study of Occupation: USA and the Distinguished Contributions to Research and Scientific Writing Award from the Chan Division. Dr. Fang’s first placement following graduation was as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Shanghai, China.

Katie Loomis

PhD Student (2020-2025)
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Katie Loomis completed her PhD in Occupational Science in August 2025. Her dissertation, entitled “Capturing the multidimensional process of hand therapy: Exploring the landscape of research and clinical documentation to build foundational knowledge for practice-based inquiry,” examined the current context of engagement and participation in clinical research and documentation processes among hand therapists to determine if and how practice-based evidence networks might be created. Her research, which utilized social network analysis techniques, a national practitioner survey, and first-person interviews, highlights the complex interactions and transactions that occur among individual practitioners, the broader field, and various factors within the environmental contexts of this unique practice setting that create challenges in the development of practice-based evidence generation. During her tenure in the MSOP Lab, Dr. Loomis received multiple awards from the American Society for Hand Therapists for papers and presentations, including the First-Time Researcher Award and Best Paper Presentation Award. Dr. Loomis’s first placement following graduation was as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Southern California.

Yoko Fukumura

PhD Student (2019-2024)
MA Graduate Research Assistant (2017-2019)
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Yoko Fukumura completed her PhD in Occupational Science in December 2024. Her dissertation, entitled “Exploring the intersection of occupational engagement and well-being in student musicians,” examined the lived experience of health and well-being among college student musicians as they navigate their early career training. During her tenure in the MSOP lab, Dr. Fukumura delivered 21 conference presentations to local, national, and international audiences and contributed to 8 peer-reviewed manuscripts, including multiple papers cited in international policy documents relating to the physical and mental health of remote and hybrid office workers. Dr. Fukumura’s first placement following graduation was as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Southern California.

Buwen Yao

PhD Student (2018-2022)
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Buwen Yao completed her PhD in Occupational Science in August 2022. Her dissertation, entitled “Effects of occupation on physiologic biomarkers: Doppler sonographic evaluation of intraneural blood flow,” examined the transactional nature among the environment, occupational engagement, and physiologic biomarkers as a foundation for improving the validity of clinical evaluations and for exploring the pathologic development of median nerve injuries. During her tenure in the MSOP lab, Dr. Yao provided 14 conference presentations, contributed to 6 peer-reviewed manuscripts, received a research grant from the Society for Diagnostic Medical Sonography, was a finalist in the new investigator award competition of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, and was awarded the Elizabeth June Yerxa Award for scholarly achievements at USC. Dr. Yao’s first placement following graduation was as a Medical Research Resident at Peking University’s Third Hospital in Beijing, China.

Sandy Takata

PhD Student (2016-2022)
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Sandy Takata completed her PhD in Occupational Science in December 2022. Her dissertation, entitled “Precision Care to Optimize Safe Return to Function Following Surgical Flexor Tendon Repair,” represents foundational work toward developing and validating a sonographic imaging protocol to support therapists and patients as they engage in the co-occupation of rehabilitation and recovery following surgical flexor tendon repairs in the hand. During her tenure in the MSOP lab, Dr. Takata received nearly $115,000 in research funding, including an NIH F31 predoctoral fellowship and grants from the American Society of Hand Therapists and the Society for Diagnostic Medical Sonography Foundation. She contributed to 6 peer-reviewed manuscripts, received the First-Time Author Award from the Journal of Hand Therapy, and provided 25 conference presentations, being selected as a finalist for the New Investigator Award by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine. Dr. Takata’s first placement following graduation was as a Postdoctoral Scholar at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Kryztopher Tung

Postdoctoral Scholar (2018-2020)
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After receiving a PhD in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on ergonomics and occupational biomechanics from the University of Utah, Dr. Tung completed a two-year Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the MSOP lab. Dr. Tung’s primary research interests include upper-extremity musculoskeletal injury prevention across varied working populations, lower-extremity biomechanics, and gait analysis during various work tasks. His first placement following the post-doctoral training was as a biomechanical consultant for Rimkus Consulting, where he examines injury consistency biomechanics in upper extremity musculoskeletal injury, human gait and balance, slips/trips and falls, vehicle accident reconstruction, and occupant motion.

Mark Hardison

PhD Student (2014-2019)
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Mark Hardison completed his PhD in Occupational Science in August 2019. His dissertation, entitled “Exploring the Effects of Mindfulness on Psychosocial Factors for Patients Receiving Hand Therapy,” explored the psychosocial needs of individuals with hand injuries and investigated the use of mindfulness as a preparatory activity within the hand therapy context. During his tenure in the MSOP lab, Dr. Hadison provided 16 conference presentations, contributed to 6 peer-reviewed manuscripts, received a research grant from the California Foundation for Occupational Therapy, and was awarded the Elizabeth June Yerxa Award for scholarly achievements at USC. Dr. Hardison’s first placement following graduation was as an Assistant Professor in the Occupational Therapy Department at the University of New Mexico.