Occupational Therapy Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
Advanced Rehabilitation Research and Training (ARRT) Program on Equitable Employment
We are excited to offer a two-year postdoctoral fellowship for candidates who have earned their Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD). Fellows in our program will receive individualized mentorship and training through a full program of research, from grant writing to dissemination. By leveraging the expertise of occupational therapists, this experience will produce capable researchers while addressing knowledge gaps and disparities in employment for people with disabilities.
OT's Value in Employment Research
An OT’s awareness of the interaction between occupation and task, occupational roles, activity analysis, disease effects, occupational health, safety, and assistive technology, places them in a unique position to contribute to new knowledge regarding equitable employment for people with disabilities in evolving work paradigms. Given its focus on diverse productive roles, occupational therapy is well-suited to address non-traditional work models, such as freelancing, micro-entrepreneurship, and emerging gig and sharing economies.
Program Duration and Location
Postdoctoral Fellows will be appointed for two years, allowing enough time to foster a program of research and participate fully in a federal proposal process.
Though some work can be hybrid/remote, it is highly preferred that fellows relocate to/reside in the Atlanta, GA area.
Program Structure
Mentorship will be provided throughout the program, with one project faculty member established per fellow following identification of an independent research project. We will utilize the principles of instructional design to train fellows within each phase of the program: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of research initiatives.
- Classroom and formal training: Participation in courses, seminars, and workshops developed by the project faculty, from faculty within CIDI, and others that match the fellow’s research interests
- Didactic and informal training: Weekly meetings with mentors, other fellows, faculty, and graduate students
- Independent research and proposal development: Design, implementation, and dissemination of a research project with guidance from mentors
- Collaborative research: Involvement in additional research projects at CIDI and the broader Georgia Tech community
- Career development and networking: Development of career goals, peer support networks, and opportunities to exercise team management and leadership styles within a scientific research environment
Program Benefits
- $58,000 annual stipend, scheduled to increase by 2% each year
- Health, vision, and dental insurance
- Paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
- Personal workstation, laptop, and desk area
- Paid travel to present and attend a regional or national conference
- Access to learning and career development resources through Georgia Tech libraries and the Office of Postdoctoral Services
Partnerships and Opportunities for Collaboration
The Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation at Georgia Tech is a global leader in disability advocacy, accessibility services, and research. It houses departments including Braille, Captioning and Described Media, Assistive Technology, E-text, and Digital Accessibility and Usability Experience. Some past and current research initiatives include:
- Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Workplace Accommodations (Work RERC)
- Work ACCESS
- Assistive Technology Network: A Community of Practice on Assistive Technology (AT Network)
- Field Initiated Project on Contingent Employment (FIP-CE)
Fellows will have opportunities to learn from and collaborate with experts from these departments, as well as the many external organizations CIDI partners with, such as:
- Shepherd Center
- The Rhonda Weiss Center for Accessible IDEA Data
- Center for the Visually Impaired (CVI)
- Georgia Centers for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (GCDHH)
- Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA)
- Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE)
- And more!
Principal Investigators and Advisors
Nathan W. Moon, PhD, serves as Principal Investigator for the ARRT project. He will support in recruitment of fellows and provide direct supervision and guidance for ARRT fellows. Dr. Moon is a Principal Research Scientist at Georgia Tech and the Director of Research of the Center for Advanced Communications Policy (CACP). His primary research interests include accessible education, information and communications technology access, workplace accommodations and employment of people with disabilities, disability and technology policy, and program evaluation. Dr. Moon has authored or co-authored two books, three book chapters, and over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Moon also has significant instructional experience and currently serves as a Research Faculty Teaching Fellow and Provost Teaching and Learning Fellow at Georgia Tech, which will help support the ARRT in its didactic and formal instructional missions.
Frances H. Harris, PhD, is an anthropologist and Research Scientist at CIDI. She currently serves as Co-PI for the ARRT project. Her previous work has focused on wheeled mobility outcomes, the social and physical barriers confronting persons with disabilities’ full participation in society, barriers to voting rights, and both defining and measuring “participation” to better understand its impact in outcomes studies in rehabilitation research. Currently, she leads two projects that examine the employment experiences of people with physical disabilities living and working in marginalized communities throughout the United States, and the impact of assistive technology on those employment experiences. Before working at Georgia Tech, she led a cost-outcomes research project at Helen Hayes Hospital, an acute rehabilitation hospital in New York. Fran received her PhD from the New School for Social Research, and most recently, a Graduate Certificate in Social Justice from Harvard University
Rachel Scarboro, OTD, OTR/L, is an Occupational Therapist at the Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation at Georgia Tech. She received her Doctor of Occupational Therapy from the University of Florida in 2022. In addition to supporting Tools for Life, the Assistive Technology Act Program for the State of Georgia, Dr. Scarboro also has undertaken research to support the development of multiple projects at CIDI. As an advanced occupational therapist and researcher, she will support translational efforts to provide research experiences to ARRT fellows.
Application Process
Eligibility Criteria:
- Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or hold legal admission as a permanent resident
- Applicants must be a graduate of a doctoral-level educational program, with preference given to occupational therapy doctorates
- Applicants must have completed their doctoral degree requirements prior to starting the program, but may apply while earning a degree
- Applicants with the ability to relocate to Atlanta, Georgia to undertake a residency on the Georgia Tech campus, is preferred
Encouragement of Employment of Individuals with Disabilities:
Recruitment of under-represented groups, especially persons with disabilities, is a major priority of Georgia Tech’s Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation. All recruitment efforts are fully accessible and reflect the Institute’s and CIDI’s commitment to diversity. Openings are posted in accessible formats in locations visited by minority and historically underrepresented groups. CIDI’s staff and this project’s staff include those with motor, sensory, or learning disabilities. As our mission states, CIDI is committed to promotion of technological innovation and the development of user-centered research, products, and services for individuals with disabilities.
Reasonable accommodations are provided to self-identified candidates with disabilities who meet the academic and technical standards requisite to admission or participation in the program of study. CIDI possesses the expertise and resources to provide Braille materials, electronic-text, real-time captioning services, and captioned and described media. Thus, CIDI can provide accessible materials for all recruitment, interview and selection, and fellowship needs.
Encouragement of Employment of Underrepresented Groups:
Our ARRT project is dedicated to furthering opportunities for all. Georgia Tech does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or veteran’s status. Georgia Tech’s Office of Institute Diversity leads our diversity management program to further campus programs on initiatives and policies designed to assure that Georgia Tech recruits and retains individuals who reflect the demographics of the region.
In addition, to become more representative of a rapidly diversifying world, Georgia Tech is aggressively recruiting under-represented populations. Georgia Tech is rated among the top five universities in the nation for the graduation of under-represented minorities in engineering, technology, computer science and mathematics. Staff included on this project and within our Center serve as representatives of Georgia Tech’s LGBTQIA Resource Center and many have completed Safe Space, Georgia Tech’s LGBTQIA Ally Training Program.
Submitting an Application:
Eligible individuals interested in the postdoctoral fellowship opportunity are encouraged to submit an online application, to be completed through this Qualtrics link, or you can copy and paste it into your browser: https://gatech.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6sfgpe8kvlJ3pl4
- The following supporting materials and documents are requested for upload within the online application:
- A cover letter explaining your interest in the position and how you meet the qualifications for the ARRT program (in Word or PDF format)
- Current curriculum vitae (CV) or Resume (in Word or PDF format)
- A writing sample or paper, whether published or unpublished, that best represents your work
- Three References (name and email) to be contacted for short-listed candidates
Individuals requesting assistance or accommodation to complete the online application, or those with questions related to the fellowship program, may contact
Dr. Rachel Scarboro for more information at rachel.scarboro@gatfl.gatech.edu . Please include the subject line “Employment ARRT.”
Selection Criteria:
Screening of completed applicant files will be conducted on a rolling basis, with the initial prospective start date of Summer/Fall 2025. Future start dates will occur on a rolling basis for additional applicants.
Those with the strongest record of scholarship, intellectual ability, professional integrity, and potential for development as employment researchers in advanced disability fields will be invited to interview with members of the project faculty acting as a selection committee. Each candidate's potential for becoming an independent researcher will be independently evaluated by members of the project team.