Our Team
Lab Director:
Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
PhD Students:
Dr. Yeook Kim
Yeook Kim is a fourth-year PhD student working with Gael Orsmond as her mentor. She received her Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Yonsei (Mirae), South Korea and her Master’s and Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from The University of Pittsburgh. Her current research has focused on community participation in autistic young adults and community-engaged research.
Sharada Krishnan
Sharada Krishnan is a fourth-year PhD candidate working with Gael Orsmond as her mentor. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California. Shar’s research interests focus on school-based services and trauma, mental health, and well-being across the transition to adulthood for autistic youth.
Mario Crown
Mario Crown is a first-year PhD student working with Gael Orsmond as his mentor. He received his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. His research interests largely focus on social participation and mental health in autistic adolescents during the transition to adulthood.
ROAD AHEAD LAB ALUMNI:
Dr. Jasin Wong
Jasin Wong is an assistant professor at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. She completed her PhD in Rehabilitation Science with Gael Orsmond and Wendy Coster in the Families and Autism Research Lab. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Occupational Therapy from National Taiwan University.
Dr. Jennifer Chen
Jen Chen is currently an occupational therapist at StanfordLucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. She continues to collaborate on research and publications with the team.
Dr. Elizabeth Schmidt
Elizabeth K. Schmidt is an Assistant Professor and the Director of Research at the Lincoln Memorial University Doctorate of Occupational Therapy program. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the Families and Autism Research Lab. She received her PhD and Masters of Occupational Therapy from the Ohio State University. Her research interests are in promoting sexual and reproductive health of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through accessible sexual health education.
Dr. Elizabeth Munsell
Dr. Elizabeth Munsell is the Director of Research at Pearson. She received her masters and PhD at Boston University Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and completed her post-doctoral fellowship at the Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and the Center for Education in Health Sciences at Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University. Her clinical occupational therapy experience includes public school-based therapy, community life skills programs, and acute rehabilitation. Her research aims to enhance function and community participation of young adults with disabilities, with a particular focus on understanding the needs of youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities entering adulthood and how to assess meaningful transition outcomes to inform clinical intervention.
Jess Bauza de García
Jess Bauza de García is an Occupational Therapist, and was working as the Research Coordinator for the ROAD Ahead Study. They received their Bachelor of Science in Psychology from University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and their Master of Occupational Therapy from Bay Path University.