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Melissa joined Charles Sturt University in 2011 as a member of the lecturing team in occupational therapy. Prior to working at CSU, Melissa worked in a Clinical Research position in brain injury rehabilitation and as an Occupational Therapy Lecturer and Honours Coordinator at the University of Sydney.

Melissa has interests in the areas of occupational performance, occupational analysis and intervention, and working with people who have complex needs following brain impairment including activity limitation dues to cognitive and sensory-motor impairments. Melissa completed her Doctor of Philosophy in 2008, thesis titled "Occupational performance and information processing in adults with agitation following brain injury". Melissa has a strong commitment to post-graduate research students, professional education and training, and mentoring of occupational therapy clinicians.

Teaching

Melissa has contributed to curriculum review of undergraduate and graduate entry masters programmes for occupational therapy. She demonstrates a consistent desire to seek and integrate student feedback as well as ensuring clinical relevance of curriculum content.

Subject Delivery

• OCC201 – Occupational Therapy Processes

Innovations in Teaching

Melissa prepares students for working in clinical based, multidisciplinary teams by creating opportunities for interprofessional learning, understanding roles of different health practitioners and the unique contribution of occupational therapists in multidisciplinary teams. Multi-media and web-based learning materials form a key component to content delivery; ensuring students can access relevant and current best practice information.

Research

Melissa’s research interests derive from the areas of clinical practice that she has worked in for more than 10 years. Research collaborations focus on the following areas of study:

• Information processing following brain injury (1103)
• Occupation based interventions for adults with brain impairment (1103)
• Community integration (1103)
• Upper-limb spasticity management (1103)
• Autonomic nervous system dysfunction following brain injury – paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity (1109)

Current Research Projects

• C Chapparo, H Barden (The University of Sydney) I Baguley, A Walker, J Hummell, J Hunt, J McGregor, S Pearce, M Sproats (Westmead Hospital)   
  Independent living skills: an evaluation of occupational therapy intervention and process    
  
• C Chapparo, H Barden (The University of Sydney) I Baguley (Westmead Hospital)
  Functional assessment of upper-limb spasticity – multicentre clinical study   
  
  Funding Body: IPSEN Australia
• I Baguley, C Boyle (Westmead Hospital) S Meares, J Batchelor (Macquarie University), R Heriseanu, J Middleton, G Weber (Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney)   
  Effects of dual diagnosis, Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), on medical and functional outcomes 5 years post-injury - multicentre clinical study    
  
  Funding Body: Lifetime Care and Support Authority
• I Baguley (Westmead Hospital), G Simpson (Liverpool Hospital), C King, S Browne (Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney)   
  Long term mortality trends following traumatic brain injury – multicentre study   
  
  Funding Body: Lifetime Care and Support Authority

Current Higher Degree Research Students

• Hannah Barden    PhD   
  Functional Assessment of Upper Limb Spasticity
• Matthew Sproats    Masters   
  What is the effect of a cognitive strategy application treatment on upper limb prosthetic use?

Professional & Community Engagement

Melissa is a regular contributor to peer-reviewed journals as an author and reviewer for occupational therapy specific and general rehabilitation journals.

Roles - Journal reviewer

• Australian Occupational Therapy Journal
  
• British Journal of Occupational Therapy
  
• Journal of Trauma Management and Outcomes
  
• Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation  
  
• Brain Injury
  
• Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine