USC faculty win 2021 AOTF honors
February 8, 2021

Three USC Chan faculty members have been honored with annual awards from the American Occupational Therapy Foundation.

PhD Program Director and Associate Professor Shawn Roll was named to the AOTF Academy of Research in Occupational Therapy. Inclusion in the academy recognizes exemplary, distinguished and sustained contributions toward the science of occupational therapy. Roll has published 42 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has 11 manuscripts in review. His total grant funding to date is $3.86 million from various federal, intramural, industry and non-profit agencies.

Assistant Research Professor Leah Stein Duker was named a recipient of the A. Jean Ayres Award. This award recognizes scholars who are committed to the research-related development or testing of theory in occupational therapy and sensory processing. The award is named after USC alumna and one-time faculty member A. Jean Ayres BS ’45, MA ’54. Stein Duker studies the efficacy of tailored environmental modifications to alleviate behavioral stress, physiological distress and pain in children — including autistic children — undergoing difficult healthcare procedures and in their caregivers.

Associate Chair of Research and Professor Mary Lawlor received the Meritorious Service Award. Lawlor completed her three-year term as chair of the AOTF Board of Trustees in 2020.

Postdoctoral scholar Emily Kilroy PhD ’18 was named the recipient of this year’s Nedra Gillette Endowed Research Fellowship for her work on the neural correlates of sensory processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

USC alumna M. Pollie Price MA ’94, PhD ’03 also received a Leadership Service Commendation.

The awards are presented annually during the AOTA/AOTF Awards Ceremony at the American Occupational Therapy Association’s annual conference. The 2021 ceremony is scheduled for Apr. 26.

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