Introduction to the Team

Dr Tanya Rihtman

Occupational Therapy Programme Lead

I studied occupational therapy in Jerusalem, graduating over 20 years ago. Since then, I have been very lucky to have had wonderful opportunities to combine research, teaching and clinical practice as a paediatric occupational therapist.

As the programme lead, I hold responsibility for maintaining oversight of the delivery of all occupational therapy programmes. I lead on the BSc ‘Foundations for Occupational Therapy’ and the MSc ‘Perspectives on Occupation, Health and Wellbeing’ modules, and contribute to teaching on modules related to paediatric occupational therapy and leadership and management. Additionally, I supervise research students undertaking projects from BSc to doctoral level.

I am currently the chair of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists ‘Play in Occupational Therapy’ practice development guideline group.

Dr Gail Eva

Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

Placement Lead

I am a specialist in cancer and palliative care rehabilitation, and I teach and do research in these areas. I'm a co-investigator on the NIHR SURECAN study.

Vicky Gilbert and I are the leads for placement education, and I teach on a number of modules in the curriculum. I am interested in the intersection between disability and life-limiting illness and how people are enabled to live well towards the end of life.

Dr Margaret Hanson

Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

I trained as an OT in Ireland and then worked in Canada for a number of years. I am part time, working two days a week, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I lead the Structure and Function module where you will learn about Anatomy and Physiology.

I also teach research methods as my background is in Epidemiology and Statistics which I studied in my Masters degree at Trinity College, Dublin. I did my doctoral studies on Health Professional Education. I look forward to working with you over the next few years.

Dr Farzaneh Yazdani

Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

I work part time with the occupational therapy programme. I mostly present lectures and lead seminars related to paediatric occupational therapy, advanced application of theories and models, cultural and global perspectives in OT as well as advanced therapeutic reasoning. I also lead the dissertation module. I am currently leading several research projects about fundamental concepts of OT such as occupational balance, occupational participation and engagement, as well as therapeutic use of self.

Ka Yan Hess

Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

Subject Coordinator for the BSc Occupational Therapy (pre registration) programme

I am currently involved with teaching in a range of modules across different years of the OT program. My background is in community elderly rehab and acute mental health with working age adults. I am interested in clinical reasoning, spirituality, people from minority / marginalised groups and cultural influences on occupational therapy practice around the world. I look forward to working with you.

Vicky Gilbert

Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

Placement Lead

I co-lead the placement team to prepare you for practice and to support you when you are out in the clinical field. I have a background in physical healthcare. I have most recently worked in a spinal cord injury rehabilitation centre and completed my MSc in spinal cord injury rehabilitation and management. I look forward to working with you.

Dr Liana Nagy

Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

Subject Coordinator for the MSc Occupational Therapy (pre registration) programme

I teach on several Occupational Therapy undergraduate and master modules. My background is Paediatric Occupational Therapy and I am interested in improving child health. The focus of my PhD was on ethnic differences in sedentary behaviour among primary school age children. Connected to my studies, I am interested in behaviour change interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour and increase physical activity in children.

Samita Kirve

Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

Recruitment and Admissions Lead

I qualified as an OT in India and worked there for 10 years. Since moving to the UK in 2006, I have worked in different NHS and Social care settings as well as developed my career further in academia. I completed my Masters in Dementia Studies in 2014 and am now pursuing my PhD. My research interests are Dementia, Mental health and inclusivity & sustainability in higher education. I would be teaching on different modules in BSc and MSc programmes. I look forward to working with you together.

Dr Kevin Cordingley

Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

Recruitment and Admissions Lead

I recently moved to Oxford Brookes University as a senior lecturer in occupational therapy and co-lead for admissions. I fell into occupational therapy by chance, having gained a post as an occupational therapy assistant in an acute mental health service. Here, I found my space in the working world and was lucky enough to gain a place and complete a part-time programme in 1993. Upon qualification I worked in a day service for adults with mental health needs, followed by physical practice with older people. I then worked in a day service in mental health for older people and then mental health work rehabilitation and forensic mental health. I did further study whilst in practice and completed my MSc in 2002. I moved into higher education in 2004 and in 2016, I completed my PhD on knowledge used and created by occupational therapists in their practice in various forensic settings. I look forward to working with you to help you develop as occupational therapists, in what I hope you will find to be a rewarding career.

Rachel Bloodworth-Strong

Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

I trained as an Occupational Therapist at Brunel University in 1999 after a first degree in Modern Languages at Oxford University. I have since worked in a variety of fields including Trauma, Intermediate Care, Acute and Community Mental Health with Adults and Older Adults, Learning Disability, Adult Social Care and Mental health Supported Housing. I currently work for Oxfordshire County Council as an Occupational Therapist and alongside this as an Approved Mental Health Professional. I gained a Masters Degree in Advanced Mental Health Practice, focussing on the value of Occupational Therapy in compulsory Mental Health practice.

Susan Allen

Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

I am a Senior Lecturer within the Occupational Therapy team at Oxford Brookes. I lead on the BSC Foundations for Practice and the MSC Leadership and Management Interprofessional module. I am fortunate to have spent over 30 years having working with children and their families across 3 continents and am passionate about the role of occupational therapy in transforming lives. I lead BSc OCCT4011 Foundations in Occupational Therapy and MSc OCCT7007 Leadership and Management in Healthcare and contribute to teaching of neuroanatomy, paediatrics and research. I support undergraduate and post graduate research at BSc and MSc level. My own research interests include the impact of neurodevelopmental and sensory processing differences and how as occupational therapists we can best enable participation in everyday life for children and their families. My current work is focused on developing a group coaching intervention for mothers of children with sensory processing differences.

Melanie Diggle

Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

I joined Oxford Brookes University as a Lecturer in Occupational Therapy (OT) at the end of 2021. My role includes teaching on modules across the BSc and MSc (pre-reg) Occupational Therapy programmes here at Brookes. As part of my role I am also the Simulation Education Lead for OT and assist in the co-ordination and organisation of our OT equipment that we use for educational purposes. Since qualifying as an OT in 2011, I have worked clinically with adults and older people in a range of physical settings in both the United Kingdom and overseas in Singapore. My background is within the management of long-term conditions, with a particular focus on those that are life limiting. Subsequently, I have a specialist clinical interest in Palliative and End of Life Care. I teach on modules across BSc and MSc (pre-reg) Occupational Therapy programmes and supervise dissertation projects. I am currently undertaking a PhD here at Oxford Brookes University. My thesis title is: “Bereaved caregivers’ experiences of end of life care for people with Advanced Heart Failure: An interpretative phenomenological analysis”. Additionally, I am an active member of the Supportive Cancer Care and Long-Term Conditions Research Group here at Brookes.

Report abuse