D1 Mentor and Student Match Form
Part I will be completed by Mentor and will provide a description of the projects available in the laboratory.
Part II will be completed by the Student. The student will describe their learning objectives and the reason
that the laboratory is a good match for their professional goals.
Part III records the agreement of the Student and Mentor to work together on a specific project within the
laboratory.
PART I Lab Description
Student Name:
Mentor
Bobbi Pineda, Ph.D., OTR/L
Email address
Pineda_r@kids.wustl.edu
Phone number
314-286-1304
Description of 2 year project:
Environmental and Medical Factors and their Effects on Function Following
Premature Birth: This lab experience allows the student to learn about assessing
medically fragile infants in the complex environment of the NICU. Students will gain
exposure and practice with different neonatal assessments, and in the second year,
this is expanded to general pediatric therapy instruction for preparation for fieldwork
and work experience in pediatric OT. Students in the NICU lab choose their own
project, with the assistance of the mentor. Areas of study may include, but are not
limited to, premature infant development, the effect of the environment, stress in the
premature infant, the role of parenting, predictive validity of neurobehavioral
assessments, functional outcome of infants who experience seizures at birth and/or
hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, functional outcome at 2 years of age, the
relationship between brain imaging and infant behavior, full term infant behavior,
sensory processing at 5 years of age in premature infants, and bottle or breastfeeding.
Students will participate in data collection, data analysis and design and complete an
individual project. A first author publication is the goal of this lab experience. Ideal
projects (that fit into what the lab currently has to offer and needs investigating) for
this group of OTD students would be:
1. Respiratory support and safety of oral feeding in the NICU (this would be in
collaboration with NICU therapists at St Louis Children’s Hospital, who
very much want to determine if oral feeds are safe on high levels of oxygen
support)
2. Changes in oral feeding prior to term
3. The association between maternal health (depression, anxiety, stress) on
adverse feeding outcomes (at 2 years of age)
4. Oral feeding performance at term and associations with feeding and growth
in the 1st year of life
5. Associations of cumulative stress exposure in the NICU on functional
outcome at age 2 (motor, cognitive, language and social-emotional health)
6. Light exposure in the NICU
7. The long term developmental effects (at follow up) of neonatal positioning in
the NICU (Dandle Roo and traditional NICU positioning)
8. Association of early neurobehavior (at 7-10 days of age) and functional
outcome in infants with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy
9. Thumb adduction and associations with outcome
10. Visual development of the premature infant
11. Early visual interaction and associations with autism risk
12. Caregiver concern and intent to access therapy at NICU discharge and
associations with early intervention service implementation
13. Psychometrics of neurobehavioral evaluations (Dubowitz, Premie Neuro)
14. Anesthesia exposure (surgical) and associations with neurobehavior
15. Feeding behaviors of children with cardiac disease.
16. Advanced MRI and associations with function
Expectations (time, lab hours, transportation needs, etc)
Over the Christmas break, students will be expected to read a premature infant book
designed for parents of preemies in preparation for being immersed in education to
achieve minimum competencies needed for working in the NICU. Flexibility in
scheduling is necessary, and students can expect to dedicate 8-10 hours per week at St
Louis Children’s Hospital and the Patient Oriented Research Unit. The student will also
be expected to participate in weekly meetings to become acclimated to the research
environment and multidisciplinary team as well as participate in weekly meetings with
the research mentor. This experience will require a strong student capable of interacting
with infants who are 1-2 pounds, are intubated, have intravenous lines, are attached to
cardiovascular monitors, etc. This experience also requires a highly motivated student,
who can perform well within a working lab, has good problem solving abilities, and can
meet deadlines. Strong writing skills are expected. It is expected that students have a
strong interest in pursuing OT in a pediatric setting and/or are interested in research.
Many opportunities for presenting, publishing and achieving leadership are available
within the lab.
PART II Student Self-evaluation
List your learning objectives for working in this laboratory:
How will this laboratory experience help you achieve your professional goals?
Describe your successful learning style and level of self-directedness:
Part III Mentorship Agreement
Student Name and Campus Address:
Title or Brief description of doctoral project (focus and form of project will be
determined after completion of OT572):
Student Signature & Date:
Mentor Signature & Date:
*Original signatures required