Lori DeMott, OTD, OTR/L, CHT

Lori DeMott, OTD, OTR/L, CHT, is an Assistant Professor on the Clinical Tenure Track in the Department of Occupational Science and Therapy at Grand Valley State University. A Certified Hand Therapist since 1991, her clinical and academic experience includes hand therapy, orthosis fabrication, orthopedic and upper-extremity rehabilitation, and applied functional anatomy. She teaches research design and methodology, clinical assessment, outcome measurement, and clinical reasoning, with an emphasis on using impairment-level findings to guide occupation-centered intervention planning. Dr. DeMott’s clinical research examines muscle activation and interventions designed to improve dynamic stability of the thumb carpometacarpal joint, including targeted exercises to support hand function. Her scholarship of teaching and learning addresses graduate student preparation in pain neuroscience education and the use of 3D printing in adaptive-device education. Her teaching also connects motor and sensory performance with functional use and occupational participation. She has authored peer-reviewed publications and textbook chapters in hand therapy, occupational therapy education, functional anatomy, orthoses, and implementation science. She contributes to the hand therapy profession through research, education, and professional service.