{"id":24,"date":"2023-03-02T19:45:50","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T19:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iottt.org\/?page_id=24"},"modified":"2025-09-15T01:36:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T01:36:20","slug":"executive-committee","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/iottt.org\/index.php\/executive-committee\/","title":{"rendered":"Indian Occupational Therapy Think Tank -Executive Board"},"content":{"rendered":"

Current Term: 2025 – 2028<\/h3>

President: Dr. Karthik Mani, BOT, MSc (Psy), OTD, FACOT, OTR\/L <\/strong><\/p>

\"\"<\/figure>

Dr. Karthik Mani OTD, OTR, FACOT is an Associate Professor and Program Director (Ad Interim) at the University of Texas Medical Branch<\/a>, United States (US). He received his entry-level occupational therapy (OT) education in India and earned his doctoral degree in the US. He possesses administrative, clinical, leadership, research, and scholastic skills and has held various clinical and administrative positions in India and the US for nearly two decades. Dr. Mani\u2019s research interests include \u2018population level health issues\u2019 and \u2018professional issues that affect OT practice & education\u2019. He has presented at several state and national level conferences and published two books, two chapters, and 35+ scholarly works.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

Vice-President: Mrs. Shobana Moorthy, BOT, MSc OT (Sweden), MSc (Psy)<\/strong><\/p>

\"\"<\/figure>

Shobana Devi Moorthy, MSc (OT [Sweden]), MSc (Psy) is the founder of Smart Sensory Kids, a child development centre in Chennai, India. She has been an occupational therapist with clinical, teaching, and administrative experience for over two decades. She has worked across various practice areas (paediatrics, acute care, rehabilitation & geriatrics) and in two different countries (India & Ireland). Her research interests include rehabilitation of children with disabilities and family-centered care. Ms. Moorthy has presented her work nationally and internationally and received awards. She has conducted parental workshops and supervised student interns.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

Secretary: Dr. Lakshmanan Sethuraman, BOT, MOT, PhD<\/strong><\/p>

\"\"<\/figure>

Dr.Lakshmanan Sethuraman is working as a senior occupational therapist at the Centre for Addiction Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore and also the executive editor of the Indian Journal of Occupational Therapy. He has clinical, research, and administrative experience of more than 17 years. His research interests include occupational functioning, Substance use and Harm reduction strategies. He has mentored postgraduate and Ph.D. Scholars and presented his work at various national and international conferences. <\/p><\/div><\/div>

Treasurer: Mr. Murali Krishnan, BOT, MOT<\/strong><\/p>

\"\"<\/figure>

MuraliKrishnan is an active academician and researcher having experience of 16 years with 11 years of teaching post-graduates. He is the Founder and Director of Spandhan Life Skills Enhancement Centre at Chennai. He is an Executive Member of All India Occupational Therapists\u2019 Association and is actively associated with the Indian Federation of Neuro Rehabilitation.  He has more than 136 invited lectures as national and international speaker. He enjoys the knowledge sharing with the students. He is dedicated to grooming the students professionally and personally as good human to the society. His special interests are NeuroSciences,  Life Skills Training, Cognitive and Memory Training.<\/em><\/p><\/div><\/div>

EC Members:<\/strong><\/p>

Ms. Ashwini Rao, BOT, MSc (OT), PG Dip (EBP), OTR<\/strong><\/p>

\"\"<\/figure>

Ashwini Rao is based in Warsaw, Poland and works with international schools in Europe as a consultant and occupational therapist. Previously in her career she worked for over 17 years\u2019 in Ireland as a clinician and practice educator in early intervention, mainstream schools and specialist regional autism settings. She qualified as an OT in India, and subsequently pursued post-graduate diplomas in Ireland in Evidence Based Practice (2019) and Executive Coaching (2022). She obtained her master of science in occupational therapy from UCC, Ireland in 2024. Her specific areas of interest are coaching supports for educators, the role of regulation in wellbeing, and inclusion for neurodiversity in educational settings. <\/p><\/div><\/div>

Ms. Kiruba Pricilla Selvapandian, BOT, MOT<\/strong><\/p>

\"\"<\/figure>

Kiruba Pricilla completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in occupational therapy from SRM University, Chennai. She worked as an Assistant Professor at the SRM College of Occupational Therapy before assuming her current role in the United Kingdom.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/p>

Mr. Manigandan Chockalingam, BOT, MSc<\/strong><\/p>

\"\"<\/figure>

Manigandan Chockalingam is an Occupational Therapy Lecturer at the University of Galway. He specializes in Physical Disability Rehabilitation and teaches Evidence-Based Practice and Standardised Testing. In 1997, he graduated from Christian Medical College Vellore. With over 40 international peer-reviewed publications and several national and international conference presentations to his credit, Mani uses his research experience to encourage others to pursue occupational therapy research. Specifically, he is interested in developing outcome measures for physical rehabilitation, biomedical instrumentation for enhancing function, innovative prosthetics and orthotics, and psychological reactions to physical disability. His research skills include qualitative and quantitative methodologies, including systematic reviews<\/p><\/div><\/div>

Dr. Naresh Babu, BOT, MOT, MSc<\/strong>, PhD<\/strong><\/p>

\"\"<\/figure>

K. Naresh Babu is working as a Principal at Sree Abirami College of Occupational Therapy, Coimbatore, who has more than a decade of experience. He obtained his PhD in Occupational Therapy from Santosh Deemed to be University in 2025. The extra focus he has placed on Sensory Integration Therapy has led him to avail Licensed Certifications in Sensory Integration Therapy. The Goa Citizens Welfare Trust awarded him for \u201cExcellent Contribution towards the Welfare of Special Children\u201d in 2011, and he also won a quiz conducted by the Chennai Branch of All India Occupational Therapist\u2019s Association (CB-AIOTA), Chennai in 2003. He has three research projects and also holds six professional licensed certificates on various aspects of occupational therapy.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

Dr. Sureshkumar Kamalakannan,BOT, MPH, PhD<\/strong><\/p>

\"\"<\/figure>

Associate Professor \u2013 Northumbria University, Co-Director \u2013 Cochrane Affiliate for public health and Disability \u2013 Cochrane India Network. Associate Editor- British Journal of Occupational Therapy<\/p>\n\n

Dr.Sureshkumar has versatile academic research expertise in the areas of Occupational therapy, Public Health Disability, Health Systems and Policy, and Epidemiology. He is a research fellow for the International Centre for Evidence in Disability at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He is an international practitioner member of the Faculty of Public Health in the U.K. He provides technical support to the government disability department of Telangana State. He is passionate about mainstreaming disability within the agenda for health, and is enthusiastic to strengthen or develop inclusive health systems for disability and social care.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

Committe Chairs:<\/strong><\/p>

\"\" Ms. Cheruba Gem, BOT, MBA – Chair, Membership Committee<\/p>

\"\" Ms. Nidhi Dave, M.O.T, M.Sc. (Ap. Psy) – Chair, Education Committee<\/p>

Ms. Dimple Dawar, BOT, PhD(c) – Chair, Research Committee<\/p>

TBD – Chair, Advocacy Committee<\/p>

TBD – Chair, Disciplinary Action Committee<\/p>

TBD – Chair, Social Media Committee<\/p>

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Current Term: 2025 – 2028 President: Dr. Karthik Mani, BOT, MSc (Psy), OTD, FACOT, OTR\/L  Dr. Karthik Mani OTD, OTR, FACOT is an Associate Professor and Program Director (Ad Interim) at the University of Texas Medical Branch, United States (US). He received his entry-level occupational therapy (OT) education in India and earned his doctoral degree in the US. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-24","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iottt.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iottt.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iottt.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iottt.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iottt.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/iottt.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":542,"href":"https:\/\/iottt.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24\/revisions\/542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iottt.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}