SHRS Blog

Michelle Schein, associate professor, clinical coordinator and program director for the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, recently attended the 11th annual Disability and Mental Health Summit in Western Pennsylvania, serving on one of the summit’s panels.  

The inaugural SHRS Dean’s Annual Staff Excellence Awards were announced by Dean Anthony Delitto at the State of the School on April 4. The awards are an important gesture honoring SHRS staff who go above and beyond their daily responsibilities and whose actions support the mission and values of the SHRS and Pitt community. The four deserving winners were: the Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Award to Anastasia White, the Debora L. Miller Award for Leadership and Operations Award to Jessica Thomas, the Research and Scholarly Activity Mission Administration Award to Laura Waterstram, and the Student Impact Award to Joyce Broadwick. 

Mutrik Alajmi (MSOT ’22), who lives in Colorado, shares his experience as a student who graduated from the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program, a two-term, 30-credit post-professional program designed for occupational therapists educated in the United States or internationally, who want to advance their knowledge and skills in a career they already love.  

Our series on the Master of Science in Occupation Therapy alumni talks with Zahraa Khanafer who grew up in Kuwait and worked there as an OT before coming to Pitt. Learn about her decision to study abroad at Pitt OT, her experience in our post-professional program and the faculty support she received! 

“I am thrilled to embark on this new journey at UPMC. I am significantly appreciative and deeply proud of my DPAS degree and all that it has led me to,” says Acosta. Read more about her role and DPAS journey.

Department of Physical Therapy faculty have been leading groundbreaking physical therapy and interdisciplinary research at Pitt and beyond. Here is a roundup of recent Pitt Physical Therapy research news.

In February, many of the Pitt Department of Physical Therapy faculty and students attended the 2024 American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Combined Sections Meeting (CSM) in Boston, MA. Pitt PT’s impact at CSM was highlighted with presentations by full-time and adjunct faculty in eleven two- hour sessions, five poster presentations and six platform sessions. CSM was a powerful demonstration of what makes students, faculty, and alumni so proud to be part of Pitt PT!

Are you in the 11th or 12th grade and interested in learning about using artificial intelligence (AI) in health care? The Pitt Health Informatics faculty will be joined by the School of Medicine’s Computational Pathology and AI Center of Excellence (CPACE) and the IEEE Computer Society to host an all-expenses-paid, weeklong summer school in Oakland from June 24 to 28, 2024.  

The University of Pittsburgh is proud to host the inaugural OTC Hearing Aid and Hearing Self-Care Symposium on June 7, 2024. The event will bring together thought leaders from pharmacy, audiology and public health to discuss how the newest class of hearing aids (over-the-counter) can increase patient access to hearing health care in the United States. 

The University of Pittsburgh Healthy Home Lab (HHL) has been awarded a $1 million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to develop technology-enabled solutions to reduce falls and improve the safety of older adults living in public and rental housing. 

The University of Pittsburgh’s Board of Trustees approved the building under construction at Fifth Avenue and Halket Street to be the new headquarters for SHRS. This building will unite nine of our 13 disciplines in one Oakland location, meeting SHRS’ immediate and future needs with modernized teaching facilities and state-of-the-art equipment.