Vera Transitions to Postdoc

CPERL bids farewell to Dr. Vera Kaelin as she prepares to transition to postdoctoral training at Umea University, where she has chosen to train with Dr. Helena Lindgren! Since becoming CPERL's first PhD student in 2018, Vera has distinguished herself as an innovative and thoughtful training scientist dedicated to working at the intersection of Occupational Therapy and Computer Science across research projects. During her five years at CPERL, she designed and conducted a dissertation focused on the use of artificial intelligence as a tool to support pediatric (re)habilitation in the school and community settings. While completing her dissertation, she also contributed to other related projects, including examining the role of artificial intelligence to classify caregiver strategies in boosting participation for children with disabilities through a projected funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Shivani shares: "Vera has made a great impact at CPERL through both her work and the relationships she built with fellow lab members. As one of her mentees, I've grown as a researcher and have been guided through personal and professional matters from her advice. I'm thankful for all that Vera has taught me and I hope to continue to collaborate with her in the future as I use her teachings to further myself into the world of research."

Vivian shares: "It has been an honor to work with Vera over the past 4 years. We have collaborated on many projects in CPERL and I am continually impressed with her ability to thoughtfully engage community partners and be innovative in her science. I have loved watching Vera grow in her roles of PhD student, mentor, and mother during our time together and look forward to seeing her excel in her new postdoc role."

CPERL wishes the best for Vera as she takes on this new role and are excited to see how she will continue to positively impact the world. Congratulations, Vera!