17 AOTF Fred Sammons Volunteer Recognition Award Nancy Snyder Lieftinck, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA Columbus, Ohio Ms. Nancy Snyder Lieftinck is an acknowledged leader in occupational therapy. She served the Foundation generously, completing two terms as President of AOTF from 1969 to 1976 and 1985 to 1989. Under her direction, the AOTF Board of Directors established the AOTF state scholarship program and hired the Foundation’s first full-time Executive Director. The emphasis on scholarship and research was a hallmark outcome of her leadership that today continues to be the essential purpose and mission of the Foundation. Her role as President of AOTF provided an opportunity to strengthen the mission of its operations. This resulted in the critical need for a strong business model that enabled AOTF to evolve into the viable organization it is today. Ms. Snyder Lieftinck was inducted into the Roster of Fellows of AOTA in 1975 and received the Retired Educator’s Award in 2003. AOTF A. Jean Ayres Award Stacey E. Reynolds, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia Dr. Stacey Reynolds’ sustained commitment to the investigation of sensory processing has resulted in more rigorous science, greater awareness of the value of occupational therapy knowledge in this area, new methods of investigation, greater understanding of sensory processing in new populations, and the relationship of sensory processing to functional performance. For 15 years, Dr. Reynolds has contributed to the profession of occupational therapy with more than 30 publications and over 70 presentations. Virginia Scardina Research Award of Excellence Karla K. Ausderau, PhD, OTR/L University of Wisconsin – Madison Madison, Wisconsin Dr. Karla Ausderau’s extensive clinical background significantly enriches her current well-funded research on increasing our understanding of sensory pro- cessing as a core feature of development in children with ASD. She developed the only feeding assessment related to eating challenges in ASD, as well as a successful parent-mediated intervention to improve eating and family mealtimes. Her significant contribution to occupational therapy exemplifies the type of work that the Virginia Scardina award was created to support. Dr. Ausderau is clearly the type of clinician-researcher that Virginia “Ginny” Scardina so highly valued and supported.

18 AOTF Early Career Research Excellence Award Ickpyo Hong, PhD, OTR University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston, Texas Dr. Ickpyo Hong has applied his knowledge of measurement to health services research. Recently, he demonstrated different discharge patterns among patients with stroke across post-acute care settings using Medicare data. Also, Dr. Hong is creating a precise common measurement scale between Asian stroke survivors across the United States, China and Korea and examining the social, contextual and behavioral factors that influence functional status across the three Asian stroke population’s using population-based national survey data. In addition, he is studying how in-depth patient level real-world healthcare data (e.g., electronic health records) can improve the current medical quality measures which were exclusively based on the traditional claim data. AOTF Mid-Career Research Excellence Award Elizabeth A. Pfeiffer, PhD, OTR/L, BCP, FAOTA Temple University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Dr. Elizabeth Pfeiffer’s research contributions stand out as an extraordinary exem- plar of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation’s vision to create rigorous evidence supporting occupational therapy. She advances this evidence through her research agenda in supporting a person’s participation in meaningful life activ- ities “in context”. She has a strong history of federal and foundational funding that support these research initiatives and an extensive publication history. Dr. Pfeiffer has contributed in significant ways to intervention research and measurement development to support individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Develop- mental Disabilities, and Serious Mental Illness across the lifespan. AOTF Academy of Research Jennifer Fleming, PhD The University of Queensland Brisbane, Australia Dr. Jennifer Fleming’s research aims to improve the lives of people with brain impairment by understanding psychosocial and cognitive limitations arising from neurological injury and discovering effective occupation-based rehabilitation methods. Focus areas are self-awareness impairment, memory rehabilitation, meaningful occupation and community participation, the transition from hospital to home, and lifetime care and support. Her work is clinically based, interdisciplinary and translational. She has developed five assessment tools for use in brain injury rehabilitation research and clinical practice including the Self-Awareness of Deficits Interview which has been adopted worldwide. Her clinical trials on cognitive reha- bilitation interventions have been funded by the National Health Medical Research Council of Australia, and have informed international treatment guidelines. Dr. Fleming’s commitment to building research capacity within occupational therapy and the allied health professions is demonstrated through the sustained supervi- sion of research students and mentoring of early career researchers.