Associate Professor of Research–Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California

Stacey L. Schepens Niemiec, PhD, OTR/L, DipACLM is Associate Professor of Research at the University of Southern California (USC) Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. She is a three-time Warrior of Wayne State University, earning her BS and MS in Occupational Therapy and PhD in Instructional Technology with a focus on interactive technology. She has also completed a pre-doctoral fellowship in Aging and Urban Health through Wayne State University’s Institute of Gerontology, a postdoctoral fellowship in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Michigan, and a second postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Trials Methodology from the University of Southern California. She is a licensed occupational therapist and a certified lifestyle medicine professional. Dr. Schepens Niemiec is Associate Director for Lifestyle Redesign® Strategic Partnerships for the Lifestyle Redesign® Knowledge Mobilization Initiative and Director of the Healthy Aging Research & Technology Laboratory within the USC Chan Division. She is an active member of the American Occupational Therapy Association and the Society of Behavioral Medicine Aging Special Interest Group.

Dr. Schepens Niemiec's research focuses broadly on the promotion of health and wellness in older individuals. Her work centers on the underlying mechanisms that facilitate or inhibit healthy aging, as well as methodologies—especially ones that incorporate cutting-edge technology—that emphasize activity participation. She relies on a multidisciplinary combination of occupational therapy, instructional technology, lifestyle medicine, and gerontology principles to guide her investigations, with an eye towards development of lifestyle-based interventions designed to counterbalance the chronic health problems that beset the older population. Dr. Schepens Niemiec’s research as principal investigator, co-investigator, and collaborator has been funded by the National Institutes of Health through institutes such as the National Institute on Aging, National Heart Lung Blood Institute, and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. She has been honored with the American Occupational Therapy Association 2022 Cordelia Myers Best Article Award, the Alzheimer’s Los Angeles Early Career Investigator’s Award, among other awards, and was invited as a distinguished researcher for the American Occupational Therapy Foundation and Planning Grant Collective designed to stimulate occupational therapy research to enhance aging in place. Early in her academic career at Wayne State University and now as faculty in the USC Chan Division, she has taken lead and supportive roles in strategic plan development, curriculum development, and educating the future generation of occupational therapists and occupational scientists at the masters, clinical doctorate, and PhD levels.