Kinsuk Maitra, Ph.D., joins the faculty of the Byrdine F. Lewis School of Nursing and Health Professions as professor and the founding chair of the new Department of Occupational Therapy (OT). Maitra has extensive experience in both occupational therapy education and clinical work. Previously professor and chair of OT at Florida International University in Miami, he brings considerable research experience, as well.
An expert on cognition, neurological disorders, and geriatric and adult rehabilitation, Maitra has received research support from National Science Foundation, National Parkinson Foundation and others. He focuses his research on cognitive priming and mobility/functioning in community-dwelling older adults and practice-based occupational therapy interventions in neurological disorders. He has numerous publications to his credit and in 2011, received the Research Scholar Initiative Award from the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, AOTA.
Maitra is a recipient of the Roster of Fellow Award from the American Occupational Therapy Association in 2015. He is also a member of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation Board of Trustees.
He received Ph.D. in neuroscience/motor control from Jadavpur University in Calcutta, India and holds a master’s in human physiology from Calcutta University and a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from Ithaca College in New York.