Dr. Elizabeth Skidmore is a Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy and Associate Dean for Research in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at University of Pittsburgh. She is an occupational therapist and an internationally renowned rehabilitation scientist with expertise in cognition, mood, and disability among people with various neurological disorders. Skidmore’s research program focuses on optimizing rehabilitation intervention strategies to promote long-term independence, community participation, and subsequent health. Her research programs have advanced the efficacy and implementation of meta-cognitive strategy training and behavioral activation approaches in inpatient, outpatient, and community rehabilitation settings.
Dr. Skidmore has more than 20 years of experience leading large research studies funded by federal agencies such as the National Institute of Health, National Institute of Disability Independent Living, and National Science Foundation. She also collaborates on several multi-site studies domestically and internationally. Dr. Skidmore collaborates with scientists, practitioners, and students from a wide range of disciplines including neurology, psychiatry, ophthalmology, optometry, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, engineering, biostatistics, health informatics, and information science. In addition, Dr. Skidmore devotes time to training rehabilitation scientists at the predoctoral, postdoctoral, and faculty levels. She is the site principal investigator for the Comprehensive Opportunities in Rehabilitation Research Training program, funded by the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research.
Dr. Skidmore received her BS in Occupational Therapy from Western Michigan University and her MS and PhD in Rehabilitation Science at the University of Pittsburgh. She is the recipient of several awards for educational excellence including the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award and the Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association Academic Educator Award. Dr. Skidmore is also the recipient of several research awards, including the President’s Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2013). Dr. Skidmore is a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association and the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. She is also a member of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation Academy of Research. She has served on the National Advisory Board for Medical Rehabilitation Research, the Learning Health Systems in Rehabilitation Research Network Didactic Core Committee, and the Center on Health Services Training and Research Advisory Committee, among several other advisory boards.
Dr. Skidmore co-leads the Pittsburgh Low Vision Research Collaboration in partnership with Jose Sahel MD. Dr. Skidmore collaborates with several multi-disciplinary research teams, coordinates research and clinical resources, and partners with low vision services locally, nationally, and internationally.
Expertise and Roles:
- Rehabilitation
- Intervention
- Implementation