Research
We are immensely proud of all of our students and pleased to share their dissertations here. Since our program began, dissertation committee members have been affiliated with 17 different academic departments within WMU and with more than 40 major universities, hospitals, and governmental and non-governmental healthcare agencies. This national scope and university-wide diversity of advising voices highlights the program's interdisciplinary approach that our students take to their doctoral education.
All doctoral dissertations at WMU are collected in ScholarWorks. You can view them all there, organized by graduation year.
Faculty research
Dr. Kieran J. Fogarty is director of the Ph.D. program and professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy. Fogarty's area of expertise is in interdisciplinary approaches to developing new applied research methods based on the concepts that reflect the fundamental changes that are occurring in our health care delivery systems in the United States. Fogarty is currently participating in numerous collaborations with various agencies to develop data-driven information systems to track outcomes associated with the delivery of evidence-based practices in applied settings.
Dr. Rob Lyerla is a professor in the Ph.D. and physician assistant programs. His area of expertise includes public health surveillance, geospatial analysis of health outcomes, and evaluation of public health programs. He is currently working on new methods for collecting survey data, applying epidemiological methods for identifying community level risk factors for at-risk communities, and studies health in veterans, homeless, and correctional populations.
Dr. Diane Powers Dirette is a professor in the Ph.D. Program and the Department of Occupational Therapy. Her main research interests are focused on treatments for people with acquired brain injuries, specifically in cognitive rehabilitation. Other areas of research include self-awareness, cultural competency, service provision in post-secondary settings for people with disabilities, and the use of compensatory strategies for memory. Dr. Dirette has extensive editorial experience with specific interest in the scholarship of the writing and publication process.