Joan Toglia

  • Professor Emerita, Occupational Therapy
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Joan Toglia PhD, OTR/L

Dr. Joan Toglia has a proven record of leadership, academic integrity and extensive scholarship.  She has over 25 years of experience as an educator and previously served as founding Program Director of the Graduate Program in Occupational Therapy at Mercy University.  As Dean Emerita of the School of Health and Natural Sciences, she oversaw 8 undergraduate and 5 graduate programs, including over 80 faculty and 3,000 students across the Dobbs Ferry and Bronx campuses.  Dr. Toglia is currently serving as Project Director of a five-year grant from the US Department of Education, on Advancing Curricular Change to Enhance Student Success (ACCESS).

Professionally, Dr. Toglia is recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in the rehabilitation of persons with cognitive and perceptual deficits as a result of acquired brain injury or neurological conditions.  Dr. Toglia has presented over 300 workshops and lectures throughout the US, and the world including Canada, Israel, Hong Kong, Argentina, Chile, South Africa, Sweden, and the Netherlands. She has authored or co-authored over 80 publications in the area of cognitive rehabilitation including journal articles, book chapters, books, and assessment tools. In 2013 Dr. Toglia was named a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association in recognition of her contributions to cognitive rehabilitation theory and practice.  She also holds an appointment as Adjunct Clinical Professor of Cognitive Science in Rehabilitation Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College.

Teachers College, Columbia University

Ph.D. Measurement and Evaluation, Department of Human Development

Columbia University

M.Phil. Measurement and Evaluation, Department of Human Development

Columbia University

M.A. Educational Psychology, Human Cognition and Learning

New York University

B.S. Occupational Therapy

Project Director (10/1/20 – 9/30/25), HSI, Title V grant, US Department of Education titled Advancing Curricular Change to Enhance Student Success (ACCESS). Awarded $3,000,000 over 5 years.

Co- Investigator (9/19- 9/21) for Project entitled “Strategy-based cognitive intervention for Parkinson disease: A pilot randomized”.  R21 -  BMIO Behavioral Medicine, Interventions and Outcomes Study Section; National Institute On Aging of the National Institutes of Health. 

Co-Investigator    (2012 - present).   Project entitled "Analysis of Stroke Rehabilitation Functional Outcomes"   Supported by the Peter Jay Sharpe Foundation Grant, awarded to the New York Presbyterian - Weill Cornell, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, New York. 

Co-Investigator and mentor (2020 - present). Strategy Training for Cognitive Dysfunction in Inpatient Stroke Rehabilitation.  New York Presbyterian - Weill Cornell, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, New York. 

List of Published Works in ORCID:  ORCID LINK or Google Scholar

2017    Outstanding Educator of the Year; Education Update

2015    New York Occupational Therapy Association Certificate of Merit for Contributions to Neurorehabilitation and Higher Education.

2014    Distinguished Lecturer, University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse, WI

2013    Named to the AOTA Roster of Fellows Award at the American Occupational Therapy Association Conference, San Diego, CA.

2010    Distinguished Lecturer, University of Illinois at Chicago

2001    Recognition of Achievement Award from American Occupational Therapy Association for Leadership in Cognitive Rehabilitation Theory and Practice