Research in the Occupational Therapy Program

We believe that the University of Wisconsin-Madison is one of the premier institutions in the country for occupational therapy research. There are many reasons for the prominence for OT research.

Please visit the faculty research page and the student research page to learn about current research projects in Occupational Therapy. 

We have several newly funded grants for research at the pre-doctoral level. We have two newly funded NIH grants for the study of fetal alcohol effects, prenatal stress, and sensory processing disorder in a primate model. A five-year grant, titled the Stroke Disparities Program Project, was awarded from the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke to study disparities in stroke recovery in African Americans. We also have intramural funding for studying outcomes of neurological interventions for spasticity in children with cerebral palsy and funding from the Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute to fund personnel to investigate biological markers for premature aging of stressed caregivers of children with disabilities.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is home to several highly specialized research facilities that play an important role in research in the Occupational Therapy Program. The Institute on Aging has more than 110 faculty affiliates from 45 academic departments studying diverse aspects of the aging process. Some investigators focus on disease prevention and treatment, or the role of health care policy in promoting access to quality care for aging adults. Others are working to understand the aging process through long term studies of later life changes such as retirement, relocation, caregiving, and widowhood. The Waisman Center is a rich resource for Occupational Therapy research, in that it is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases throughout the lifespan. The Waisman Center is one of nine national facilities that includes a Mental Retardation/ Develomental Disabilities Research Center and a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. The Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior support our neuroimaging studies in nonhuman primates. It houses a 3T MRI scanner and PET scanner and a tandem accelerator for the production of short half-life tracers under a single roof. Another major facility used for research is the Harlow Primate Laboratory, whose mission is to improve our understanding of infant development and the biological basis of behavior in order to promote health and psychological well being across the life span.