Trudy Mallinson, PhD, OTR/L, FACRM, FAOTA, NZROT, the GW Associate Dean for Health Sciences Research, Professor of Clinical Research and Leadership, and has been awarded the 2026 Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship.
The Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship is awarded to a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association who has creatively contributed to the development of the body of knowledge of the profession through research, education, and/or clinical practice. The award is presented the year prior to the presentation of the lecture, and a version of the lecture is published in AJOT in the year the lecture is presented.
“Trudy is moving our profession and practice into the future with the client at the center of our care and research. OT practice and research needs to catch up to where Trudy is taking us as a profession. Her knowledge and experience will highlight the innovative thinking happening at GW,” said Roger Ideishi, JD, OT/L, FAOTA.
Mallinson’s primary research interest is how better outcomes measurements can improve health care for patients and inform health care policy. Her current research addresses a variety of rehabilitation measurement issues including: measuring the recovery of consciousness in patients with severe traumatic brain injury, describing attention and awareness following mild traumatic brain injury, and the standardization and calibration of functional performance assessments to enable comparison of patient outcomes across post-acute care rehabilitation settings.
Sarah Doerrer, PhD, OTR/L, CHT, CLT, reflected on her collaboration with Mallinson as she completed her research residency with her in 2015. "Her drive to produce quality research is inspiring, and her advice is always instrumental in guiding my decisions in designing and carrying out research studies. This skill set is very rare in our field, and I am so happy she is being honored with the Eleanor Clark Slagle Award," said Doerrer.
Mallinson was also inducted into the American Occupational Therapy Foundation’s Academy of Research on April 5, 2025, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to celebrate her remarkable achievements.
