Lorie G. Richards

Lorie G. Richards, PhD, OTR/L

Languages spoken: American Sign Language, French, Spanish

Academic Office Information

lorie.richards@hsc.utah.edu

I began my career by earning a BS in Occupational Therapy from Elizabethtown College. I then worked as a clinical therapist for 3 years before deciding that I did not know enough and returned to school. I completed an MS and PhD in Experimental Psychology from Syracuse University, with an emphasis in cognitive neuropsychology. My first faculty position was at the University of Kansas Medical Center where I was first introduced to clinical research, having the great fortune to participate in a Claude D. Pepper grant emphasizing rehabilitation after stroke, and learning how to teach at the university level. I subsequently joined the faculty at the University of Florida and became a Research Health Scientist with the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, where I continued to develop my expertise in clinical trials in stroke rehabilitation. I moved to the University of Utah in 2011 to be the Chair of the Division of Occupational Therapy. I am enjoying the challenging nature of being a Chair at a research intensive university that also prides itself on excellence in education.

Research Statement

<p>
In the decade of the brain, it was made evident that the central nervous system is changes with experience throughout life. This discovery offers great promise for neurorehabilitation because it suggests that the type and amount of therapy provided to individuals with these conditions was important to their recovery. My research has focused on testing the efficacy of various motor rehabilitation interventions for promoting increased arm and hand function, and pairings of such interventions, for individuals with stroke. These interventions are based on principles of neuroplasticity (use it or lose it; repetition matters; ), neural function (e.g., interhemispheric inhibitory imbalance after stroke; pharmaseuticals to enhance neuroplasticity), motor learning (e.g., distributed vs massed practice), and biomechanics (e.g., restraining degrees of freedom during practice). I look forward to extending these ideas to the development of cognitive and visual rehabilitation strategies.</p>

Education History

Doctoral Training Syracuse University
 PHD
Syracuse University
 MS
Undergraduate Elizabethtown College
 BS

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Terrill AL (02/02/2022). Intimate relationships and stroke: Piloting a dyadic intervention to improve depression. Int J Environ Res Public Health.
  2. DiBella EVR (11/2021). Beyond diffusion tensor MRI methods for improved characterization of the brain after ischemic stroke: A Review. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol.
  3. Stein J (10/28/2021). Which Road to Recovery?: Factors Influencing Postacute Stroke Discharge Destinations: A Delphi Study. Stroke.
  4. Pashmdarfard M (06/2021). Factors Affecting Participation of Children with Cerebral Palsy in Meaningful Activities: Systematic Review. Occup Ther Health Care, 30, 1-38.
  5. Watt H (06/01/2021). Integrated services or pullout? Factors influencing school-based occupational therapy service delivery models. .
  6. Avery J (01/2021). Comparison of trigger finger orthotic wearing schedules: A feasibility study. . 39, 182-205.
  7. Richards LG (12/22/2020). Advances in Stroke Therapies Targeting Stroke Recovery. Stroke, 51, 348-350.
  8. Avery J (12/2020). Comparison of trigger finger orthotic wearing schedules: A feasibility study.
  9. Voss MW (05/2019). Boundaries of the Construct of Unemployment in the Pre-Retirement Years: exploring an expanded measurement of lost-work opportunity. .
  10. Hodgson K Adluru G Richards LG Majersik JJ Stoddard G Adluru N DiBella E (03/01/2019). Predicting Motor Outcomes in Stroke Patients Using Diffusion Spectrum MRI Microstructural Measures. Front Neurol, 10, 72.
  11. Gibbons E (02/12/2019). Simultaneous NODDI and GFA parameter map generation from subsampled q-space imaging using deep learning. . Magn Reson Med, 81, 2399–2411.
  12. Gibbons EK Hodgson KK Chaudhari AS Richards LG Majersik JJ Adluru G DiBella EVR (02/01/2019). Simultaneous NODDI and GFA parameter map generation from subsampled q-space imaging using deep learning. Magn Reson Med, 81(4), 2399-2411.
  13. Hodgson K (02/2019). Predicting motor outcomes in stroke patients using diffusion spectrum MRI microstructural measures. 10, 72.
  14. Terrill A (09/2018). Development of a Novel Positive Psychology-Based Intervention for Couples Post-Stroke. 63, 43-54.
  15. Loh SY (12/2017). Professional Autonomy and Progress of Occupational Therapy - A Case Study on a Neglected Health Profession in Malaysia. DOI: 10.29011/JHHA-105. 100005.
  16. Keith Leslyn (11/2017). Lifestyle Modification Group for Lymphedema and Obesity.
  17. Cassidy Theresa (07/2017).
  18. Crammer S (03/2017). Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation Research: Issues, Opportunities, and the National Institutes of Health StrokeNet. 48, 813-819.
  19. Sethi A (01/2017).
  20. Peters HT (01/2017).
  21. Wittenberg G (09/2016).
  22. Winstein CJ (05/04/2016).
  23. Jeanette Koski (09/2015).
  24. Wittenberg G (08/2015).
  25. Koski Jeanette (12/07/2014).
  26. Nadeau Steven (04/2014).
  27. Lorie Richards (11/19/2013).
  28. Nadeau Steven (09/23/2013).
  29. Sethi Amit (05/10/2013).
  30. Sethi Amit (05/2013).
  31. Woodbury ML (03/11/2013).
  32. Sethi Amit (01/18/2013).
  33. Woodbury ML (11/21/2012).
  34. Amit Sethi (09/24/2012).
  35. Richards Lorie (06/29/2012).
  36. Amit Sethi (02/2012).
  37. (07/14/2011).
  38. (02/23/2011).
  39. (11/09/2010).

Abstract

  1. Terrill A (10/2018). Pilot testing a positive psychology intervention to promote well-being in couples coping with stroke. [Abstract]. 61, e194.
  2. Terrill A (11/2016). [Abstract].
  3. Adluru G (11/2014). [Abstract].

Other

  1. Richards Lorie Gage (01/01/2022). Advances in therapy. American Heart Association.
  2. Richards LG (01/2021). Advances in Stroke: Therapies Targeting Stroke Recovery. Stroke (52, pp. 348-350). Stroke.
  3. Lorie G Richards (12/2020). Advances in Stroke: Therapies Targeting Stroke Recovery. Stroke. Stroke.
  4. Richards LG (01/2020). Richards, L.G., and Vallée, C. (in press). Not just mortality and morbidity, but also functioning: Opportunities and challenges for Occupational Therapy in the World Health Organization’s Rehabilitation 2030. . AOTA Press. AOTA Press.
  5. Pizzi M (09/2017). Promoting Health, Well-Being, and Quality of Life in Occupational Therapy: A Commitment to a Paradigm Shift for the Next 100 Years. AOTA (71). AOTA.
  6. Adluru G (12/2015).
  7. Richards L (12/2015).