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Recorded Session
Recorded Session

Leah I. Stein Duker, PhD, OTR/L

Assistant Professor
University of Southern California
University of Southern California

Dr. Leah Stein Duker is an occupational therapist and Assistant Professor in the Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of Southern California. Her research focuses on the broad-ranging effects of environmental factors on stress, well-being, and engagement during challenging healthcare encounters and the efficacy of tailored environmentally-based interventions to alleviate these challenges. For the last 15 years, her work has explored the oral health challenges experienced by children with disabilities, their caregivers, and their providers, as well as the benefits of adapting the environment to improve dental care for these populations. Dr. Stein Duker is currently funded by a NIH/NIDCR UG3/UH3 grant to explore the efficacy of adapting the sensory environment of the dental office to decrease behavioral and physiological distress in children with and without dental fear and anxiety. Her research interests include autism, sensory processing, Multisensory Environments, and both traditional wired and innovative wireless techniques for measuring psychophysiological stress and anxiety. Her work has examined care in a variety of settings, including dentistry, primary care, oncology, emergency medicine, and mHealth.

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