Biography
Dr. Amy Paul-Ward has been a faculty member at Florida International University since 2004 and currently is an Associate Professor in the Occupational Therapy Department. She earned her PhD at UCLA. After working at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the areas of adult immunization and hepatitis prevention, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Illinois, Chicago in Disability Studies. While at UIC, she earned a post-professional master’s degree focusing on theory and research in occupational therapy. Dr. Paul-Ward is an applied medical anthropologist whose body of work draws on anthropology, justice, occupational science and disability studies to understand and address transitional barriers at different points in the life course. Her research program explores these issues with different vulnerable populations including foster care and homeless youth, young adults with cognitive impairments in post-secondary transition programs, women currently or formerly in prison, adults with HIV, and sex workers. Her interdisciplinary work, which incorporates a critical medical anthropology lens to advocate for providing occupational therapy services for individuals who do not traditionally receive access to it, has influenced the national conversation on occupational therapy and foster care.