By Jill Pease
University of Florida doctoral candidate Jordan Major has been awarded the Nancy Talbot Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship from the American Occupational Therapy Foundation to support her research on diabetes distress among pregnant women.
Major graduates this August with a Ph.D. in rehabilitation science from the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions. Following graduation, she begins a position as a UF postdoctoral associate in the Sensory Development Lab. During her doctoral training, Major served as a graduate research assistant in the lab under the mentorship of Stefanie Bodison, Ph.D., O.T.D., lab director and an assistant professor in the UF Department of Occupational Therapy.
For the AOTF-funded project, Major will examine the trajectories of diabetes distress and postpartum depression symptoms from early pregnancy through one month postpartum, comparing outcomes for women who receive an occupational therapy intervention with those who do not. She will collaborate with Juan Munoz Pena, M.D., a clinical associate professor of endocrinology in the UF College of Medicine and director of pre-existing diabetes pregnancy care within the UF Health Maternal Fetal Care Program.
The fellowship not only supports Major’s research but also highlights the growing role of occupational therapy in addressing complex health challenges during pregnancy.
“The hope is that we will be able to integrate occupational therapy into peripartum care for pregnant individuals with Type 1 diabetes,” Major said. “The support from AOTF allows me the time and resources needed to conduct this important work. It will also help with additional training and attending specialty conferences for networking and dissemination of findings.”