Title: Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy

Company: Boston University

Location: Newton, Mass.

Within the past eight years, Dr. Christine Helfrich has served as assistant professor of occupational therapy at Boston University. Through her position with the university, she pioneers work with the homeless in Newton, Mass., while overseeing disability-related community research. In five years, Dr. Helfrich intends to facilitate more faculty to conduct funded research.

Dr. Helfrich attributes her success to her flexibility in the field and the fact that occupational therapy looks at the whole person. She earned a Ph.D. in public health and a master’s degree in occupational therapy both from the University of Illinois. Since graduation, Dr. Helfrich keeps abreast of changes in her profession through her memberships with Academy of Research in Occupational Therapy, The American Occupational Therapy Foundation, and American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.