Andrea Garcia, OTD, MSW, OTR/L, specialist professor of occupational therapy, and Jacqueline Daniel ’24, OTD, authored chapter one of the textbook, “The Neuroscience of Everyday Life: An Applied Guide for Health Sciences Students” (Routledge Publishing, 2025).
“This faculty-alumna collaboration exemplifies the strong mentorship and scholarship that define our department,” said John R. Patro Jr., OTD, OTR/L, CPAM, ACUE, PNAP, chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy and director of the OTD program. “Dr. Garcia and Dr. Daniel’s work demonstrates how our faculty actively engage students in scholarship that advances both the profession and their own professional growth. I am incredibly proud to see this kind of faculty-student partnership making a meaningful impact in the field.”
The textbook covers key principles of neuroscience and explores how they may manifest in the everyday lives of people with neurological conditions. Each chapter begins with the story of a person or family, including a description of what they want to do in their everyday life, before presenting the neuroscientific principles that underlie this person’s situation. A wide range of topics are covered, from conditions such as Parkinson’s, dementia, MS, and autism, to conditions resulting from traumatic events such as spinal cord injuries, stroke, and chronic pain.
Garcia and Daniel’s chapter, “Alex Wants to Put on Make‑up and Has Bell’s Palsy: Neuroscience Facilitates Our Understanding of Self‑care Routines,” is part of Unit 1: Sensorimotor Systems.