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Linn Wakeford, PhD, OT/L, and associate professor in the Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, has received an Innovation Grant in the amount of $26,000 from the Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) for her interdisciplinary project, AH:SPIRE (Allied Health: Strategies to Promote, Inspire, Recruit, and Educate). The broad goal of AH:SPIRE is to address the need for greater workforce diversity in the field of health sciences. The primary aim of the project is to develop, test, and use educational materials and resources that will increase awareness of and interest in health sciences professions of occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT), and speech-language pathology (SLP) among elementary, middle school, and high school students of minority, low income, and/or rural backgrounds. The division is housed in the Department of Allied Health Sciences.