Cherie Blackwell, OTD, OTR/L, CHT

Cherie Blackwell, OTD, OTR/L, CHT is a Assistant Professor in the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program at St. Ambrose University. She also practices at MercyOne Genesis Physical Therapy, where she treats adults with orthopedic and neurological conditions. Dr. Blackwell has been an occupational therapy practitioner since 1998 and has experience across a variety of practice settings, including acute inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient hand therapy, outpatient neurological rehabilitation, and work hardening. She earned her post-professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in 2021 and has been a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) since 2006. At St. Ambrose University, Dr. Blackwell teaches courses in intervention and movement sciences, with content areas including upper extremity rehabilitation, orthotic design and fabrication, physical agent modalities, and motor and sensory function. She also mentors doctoral student research and capstone projects in hand therapy, upper extremity neurorehabilitation, occupational health, and lifestyle medicine. She is passionate about integrating evidence-based clinical practice with innovative educational experiences that prepare occupational therapy students for contemporary hand therapy practice.