Meet the
2020 AHS Alumni Award winners T h e U I C C o l l e g e of A p p l i e d H e a l t h S c i e n c e s p ro u d l y h o n o rs t h re e a l u m n a e w h o a re c h a n g i n g t h e i r p rofe s s i o n s w i t h i n n ova t i ve t h i n k i n g .
Grace Baranek
Samantha Bond
Laura Mraz
Grace Baranek ’81 BS OT, an internationally known researcher on autism spectrum disorder, receives the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award. Samantha Bond ’16 MS BVIS, an award-winning teacher and artist in biomedical visualization, receives the Loyalty Award. Laura Mraz ’10 MS OT, ’11 OTD, founder and CEO of two multidisciplinar y therapy practices for children with disabilities, receives the New Alum Award. Baranek is professor, associate dean and chair of the Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of Southern California. Her current research concerns early identification screening methods and tools for autism spectrum disorder in infants and children. She led the Sensory Experiences Project, a 10-year longitudinal study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, on the developmental course, mechanisms and functional effects of sensory features in children with ASD.
Baranek is lead author of the First Years Inventory, a screening tool for infants ages 9-15 months at risk for later diagnosis of ASD, and the Sensory Experiences Questionnaire, a parent-report tool used widely by researchers to characterize children with ASD. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, Department of Education, the Autism Speaks Foundation and the American Occupational Therapy Association.
Editor ’s note: the AHS Alumni Awards are usually presented at AHS Celebrates. This year ’s program, scheduled for April 2, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 22
