Latest Chan Division News
Research
New $5.5 million NIH-funded study to test whether sensory adaptations can ease children’s dental fears and anxieties ⟩
November 25, 2024
Community and Partners Faculty Research
Study led by Leah Stein Duker in partnership with Children's Hospital Los Angeles extends Sensory Adapted Dental Environment research line begun in 2011.
By Mike McNulty (Adobe Stock) A new study funded by more than $5.5 million in NIH grants will test whether a Sensory Adapted Dental Environment (SADE) — a novel intervention that provides soothing visual, auditory and tactile input within the dental clinic environment — can reduce anxiety and…
⋯
Post-doctoral scholar receives three-year NIH fellowship award ⟩
October 3, 2024
Diversity, Access, Equity Health and Wellness Research
Ryan Walsh received F32 postdoctoral fellowship grant to study social determinants of health in non-standard work contexts.
Post-doctoral scholar Ryan Walsh Post-doctoral scholar Ryan Walsh has been awarded a F32 postdoctoral fellowship grant from the NIH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to study social determinants of health and health disparities in emerging (i.e., non-standard) work…
⋯
Belonging and camouflaging while Black, female and autistic ⟩
July 10, 2024
Autism Community and Partners Research Students
New article explores how occupational science might reconcile authentic belonging and autistic camouflaging among intersectional populations.
By Mike McNulty First author and occupational science PhD candidate Marshae Franklin OTD ’21, PhD ’26 (Photo courtesy of Marshae Franklin) To what extent does a person truly “fit in,” when fitting in requires hiding parts of one’s authentic self? What disruptions arise at the juncture…
⋯
New study reveals age-related brain changes influence recovery after stroke ⟩
May 3, 2024
Research
A groundbreaking study published by a USC-led international consortium offers new insights into stroke recovery, revealing that age-related changes in brain white matter significantly affect how well individuals recover motor abilities following a stroke.
"A new study by a global team of researchers, led by Sook-Lei Liew PhD, of USC’s Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI), has revealed that areas of age-related damage in the brain relate to motor outcomes after a stroke—a phenomenon that may be…
⋯
AI could help in the early diagnosis of autism, USC study finds ⟩
December 20, 2023
Artificial Intelligence Autism Faculty Research Technology
Results indicate an “easy and novel” way to detect autism spectrum disorders, paving the way for tailored therapeutic approaches.
By Leigh Hopper Artificial intelligence, coupled with data from an iPad coloring game, could assist in early diagnosis of autism, a new USC study shows. “These results indicate potential for an easy and novel method for early detection of autism and development coordination disorder,” said…
⋯
Sensory adapted dental rooms significantly reduce autistic children’s physiological and behavioral stress during teeth cleanings ⟩
June 2, 2023
Autism Community and Partners Diversity, Access, Equity Health and Wellness Research
Results of USC–CHLA study of 162 autistic children show that safe and feasible adaptations to the clinic environment created more relaxed, less anxious dental care experiences.
By Mike McNulty In the SADE research clinic at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, sensory adaptations to the environment were shown to significantly reduce autistic children's physiological and behavioral stress during dental cleanings. (Photo by Phil Channing) New results from a study led by USC…
⋯
International study shows link between brain age and stroke outcomes ⟩
April 7, 2023
Faculty Research Technology
A USC-led team of researchers find that brain age, a neuroimaging-based assessment of global brain health, may play a role in post-stroke outcomes and could potentially help identify people at risk for poorer outcomes.
A new study lead by a team of researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC shows that younger “brain age,” a neuroimaging-based assessment of global brain health, is associated with better post-stroke outcomes. The findings could lead to better ways to predict post-stroke outcomes and…
⋯
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…
⋯
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…
⋯
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…
⋯
Subscribe | RSS