Mansha Mirza
Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy
Associate Professor, Disability and Human Development
Focus Areas
Office Phone
Office
1919 W. Taylor St., 346 AHSB
Mail Code
811
Office Hours
By appointment
CV
About
Dr. Mirza’s scholarly interests address health and social service disparities among low-income, underserved communities, with a special focus on immigrant and refugee newcomers. She is currently leading/co-leading research projects that seek to enhance services for these communities through community-engaged and culturally-informed adaptations of existing evidence-based interventions. Dr. Mirza teaches a graduate elective course on Disability and Global Health and is also involved in teaching courses in the Research Foundations for Evidence-Based Practice series in the Entry-level Occupational Therapy Doctorate curriculum. Dr. Mirza is a member of the Health Disparities and Social Justice for Underserved Populations and Communities Scholarship of Practice Community within the Department of Occupational Therapy.
Selected Grants
Social Science Research Council, Refugees, Rights, Resettlement, Principal Investigator
Administration for Community Living, National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research, Promoting Obesity Prevention among Latino Children with Developmental Disabilities and their Families through Engaged Research, Site Co Principal Investigator
National Institute on Aging, UIC Midwest Roybal Center for Health Promotion and Translation, Piloting the IPROACTIF intervention to preserve independence and functioning, Principal Investigator
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Selected Publications
Service to the Community
Dr. Mirza's scholarship builds on her collaborations with community organizations in the Chicago area, such as the Grupo SALTO, the Arc of Illinois, and the Marjorie Kovler Center for torture survivors. Dr. Mirza has previously served on the Illinois Refugee Health Task Force, a coalition of refugee resettlement agencies, health centers, and other community-based agencies in Chicago.
Leadership in the Profession
American Occupational Therapy Association, Member
American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine - International Special Interest Group Executive Committee, Member at Large
American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine - International Special Interest Group Refugee Empowerment Task Force, Co-Chair
Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Asian Americans, Member
Notable Honors
2015-16 - Faculty Fellow, Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago
Education
BS, Occupational Therapy, University of Mumbai, Mumbai, India, 2002
M., Occupational Therapy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2004
PhD, Disability Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2010
Postdoctoral MS, Health Services and Outcomes Research, Northwestern University, Chicago, 2012