OTD Newsroom

The Occupational Therapy Doctorate program is at the center of efforts to make low-vision rehabilitation resources more accessible for the growing number of people who need them.

Dr. Antoine Bailliard is an associate professor in orthopaedic surgery. As a member of the OTD faculty, he teaches Occupational Science and Occupational Transitions and works with OTD students on Customized Learning Projects. He's also a bridge builder and advocates for moving OTs into community health settings to better serve the growing number of individuals with mental health needs. He was recently appointed as a faculty member at the Star Institute for Sensory Processing in Denver.

Forty-five new Occupational Therapy Doctorate students participated in an inspiring Convocation ceremony on Friday, August 11. The OTD ceremony marked and celebrated the new students’ entry into the program and concluded a week filled with orientation activities.

Duke OTD’s Tomeico Faison OTD, OTR/L and Kimberly Hreha, EdD, OTR/L joined colleagues from Duke Eye Center’s Vision Rehabilitation and Performance Division at the International Society of Low Vision Research and Rehabilitation (ISLRR) Conference in Denver, Colorado, held July 24-27. 

"As a community-engaged social epidemiologist, I am dedicated to making a difference in people’s lives by promoting equitable access to health, with a special focus on partnering with community organizations to support underserved populations."

Students enrolled in OTD 517: Enabling Occupational Skills III put their knowledge of the OT process in community-based settings into practice at B3 Coffee.  

In his role as an adjunct professor and consultant and trainer for the Center for Excellence in Community and Mental Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Antoine Bailliard, PhD, MS, OTR/L is working to help more North Carolinians live independently. 

Students in OTD 515 - Innovation and Everyday Leadership took a field trip to Durham Tech Community College to visit with a class of OT assistant students.

"We are confident in our admissions process to select students who will succeed and contribute to our aim and be outstanding occupational therapists. Everyone is here based on their merits, achievements, and promise."

The US Supreme Court decision lands hard for many in academia because learning through diversity has become an established best practice in education. And in health professions education, learning through diversity has become a means for addressing health disparities.    

Produced annually by Duke OTD and Duke DPT, the impACT program hosted 10 area high school students on campus June 28-30.  Through interactive sessions and fun challenges, attendees are exposed to healthy eating and behaviors, and the OT and PT professions.  

Faculty members Tomeico Faison, OTD, OTR/L, and Cambey Mikush, OTD, ORT/L, worked with Tiffany Adams, PT, DPT, MBA, PhD on the program. OTD Class of 2025 student April Burch served as co-lead, along with DPT student Krissia Pocosangre.