Pola Ham, EdD, OTD, MS, OTR/L, CAPS

Assistant Professor, Occupational Therapy

Department of Occupational Therapy

School of Health Sciences

Pola Ham

Dr. Pola Ham has extensive experience working in various settings with diverse groups of individuals. She was born and raised in Southern California and graduated from UCLA with a BA in Psychology. She received her Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from New York University. She received her Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) from Boston University and her Doctor of Education (EdD) degree from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Ham conducted a needs assessment on factors contributing to low academic performance among first-generation students in higher education and conducted an intervention on improving academic performance among first-generation occupational therapy students through an academic self-regulation program. Dr. Ham was also a Teaching Assistant and one of the student leads for the Writing Clinic at the Johns Hopkins EdD Program. Prior to working as a full-time faculty member at Touro University, she has taught at the LIU Brooklyn and the SUNY Downstate Occupational Therapy Programs. She is an active member of AOTA and NYSOTA and regularly presents at the conferences. Dr. Ham is a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist and helped to develop and supervise the rehabilitation departments in two adult home facilities, as well as provided numerous presentations on various occupational therapy topics to the interdisciplinary team and administration in the adult home facilities.

Areas of Expertise

Adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities; Behavioral issues for adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities; Adult- Autism, Asperger's, Down's Syndrome, learning disorders, developmental delays, ADHD; Physical Disabilities; Neurological Rehabilitation; First-generation students in higher education; Adult education and adult student learning; Academic self-efficacy; Academic self-regulation and motivation; Instructor teaching methods/approaches

Clinical Specialty

  • Neurological Rehabilitation
  • Physical Disabilities
  • Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist
  • Licensed Occupational Therapist

Education

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Doctor of Education (EdD), July 2023
Dissertation: Academic Performance Among First-Generation Students in Occupational Therapy

Boston University Sargent College of Rehabilitation Science, Boston, MA
Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD), May 2017
Doctoral Capstone: Connections: Interventions to Promote Socialization & Engagement Among People with Dementia

New York University, New York, NY
Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MS), January 2015

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), CA
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (BA), June 2010

Recent Publications

Ham, P. (2020, March). Connections: Interventions to promote socialization and engagement among people with dementia. American Occupational Therapy on Annual Conference, Boston, MA.

Ham, P. (2017). Connections: Interventions to promote socialization & engagement among people with dementia (Publication No. 10267356) [Doctoral capstone, Boston University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.

In The News

Academic self-regulation interventions can promote success for all, Inside Higher Ed