Biosketch

Ms. Hodsdon joined the staff of the Clinical Center in 1974 and has been chief of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department’s Occupational Therapy Section since 1995. She is a long-term specialist in the clinical care of arthritis, an associate investigator in research and education for multiple projects involving occupational therapy and a retired captain in the U.S. Public Health Service.

Her early research focused on the effects of orthotics on hand-joint deformity. She developed the NIH training curriculum for understanding the role of occupational therapy in rehabilitation and the critical elements for timely referrals for rheumatology fellows of Georgetown University, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and Johns Hopkins University. She also developed the format for the NIH Clinical Center’s Upper Extremity Clinic, which serves all NIH institutes, and then managed the clinic’s administrative and clinical program, including coordination of services between orthopedic surgeons and NIH rheumatologists.

Ms. Hodsdon introduced neurodevelopmental treatment concepts to the Rehabilitation Medicine Department to support the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Child Health and Human Development Institute and coordinated collaborative work between occupational and physical therapy in combining biomechanical and neurodevelopmental concepts.

She independently developed a hand rehabilitation management program, which focuses on the pathomechanics of arthritis and neuromuscular disease. To date, more than 1,000 patients have been treated, helping the staff to evolve innovations for orthotics, treatment assessments and research.

At NIH, Ms. Hodsdon is a board member for the credentialing of new staff therapists in the Rehabilitation Medicine Department; board member of the Friends of the Clinical Center, a nonprofit organization that assists patients in financial crises; and a board member of the Peer Resolution Panel available to evaluate disparate issues involving staff and administration. She also is an active member of the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals.

As a consultant to the institutes, Ms. Hodsdon designed the following inventions: a finger orthotic (commercially available) to control joint stability; a now patented hand device that protects the hand from accidental needle sticks; a device to hold a computerized sensor that measures pruritus responses in patients with chronic liver dysfunction (used by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases); a hand and forearm stabilizer that allows for collection of repeated x-ray data using subtraction radiology (used by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research); and a device to prevent leakage from an external condom catheter.

Honors and Awards

Therapist of the Year Award for leadership and contributions to public health, Commissioned Officers Association, 2006; USPHS Commendation Medal Award, 2001 (also 1990, 1982); Quality of Work Life Award, NIH, 1997; National Achievement Award, American Occupational Therapy Association, 1997; USPHS Unit Commendation Ribbon, 1991; Community Service Award for Outstanding Leadership, Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area, 1978

Selected Publications

BOOKS and BOOK CHAPTERS

Gerber L, Hicks J, Klaiman M, and Thornton B, et al. Rehabilitation in the Management of Cancer: Preserving and Restoring Function; DeVita V, Hellman S, and Rosenberg S (eds). Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. 5th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1997; 2925-2956.

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Thornton B. et al. All Work and No Play; Online Curriculum Case. Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals, October 2004 http://www.rheumatology.org/arhp/education/caseindex.asp?aud=rhp.

Zeuner, K, Shill, Holly, Sohn Y, Molloy F, Thornton B, Dambrosia J, Hallett M. Motor Training as Treatment in Focal Hand Dystonia. Movement Disorders 2004; 20:3, 335-341

Gardner, S, Thornton, B. Prescribing Assistive Devices for Patients with RA. Journal of Musculoskeletal Medicine 2002; 27-36

Adams E, Pucino F, Yarboro C, Hicks J, Thornton B, McGarvey C, Sonies B, Bartlett M, Villalba L, Fleisher T, Plotz P. A Pilot Study: Use of Fludarabine for Refractory Dermatomyositis and Polymyositis, and Examination of Endpoint Measures. Journal of Rheumatology 1999; 26:2,352-360.

Villalba L, Hicks J, Adams E, Sherman J, Gourley M, Leff R, and Thornton B, et al. Treatment of Refractory Myositis: A Randomized Crossover Study of Two New Cytotoxic Regimens; Arthritis and Rheumatism 1998; 41:392-399.

Thornton B, Egan M, Parks B, Hicks, J, Vargo M. Rehabilitation Treatment of Inclusion Body Myositis. Fall issue of the IBMA, Inc. Newsletter, 1994, Harrisonburg, Va. (Patient Educ. Pamphlet)

Bolander M, Gardiner J, Coyle J, Joyce M, Himmel H, Thornton B, Ruttimann U. Detection and Measurement of Simulated Early Rheumatoid Lesions of the Hand During Digital Subtraction Radiography. Invest Radiol; 1990; 25:708-13.

Gerber L, Furst G, Shulman B, Smith C, Thornton B, Liang M, Cullen K, Stevens MB, Gilbert N. Patient Education to Teach Energy Conservation Behaviors to Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Pilot Study. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 1987; 68:442-5.

Thornton BC. Joint Protection and Energy Conservation for Arthritis. The 1978 Summer Issue of the Forum Newsletter, Washington Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation, Washington, D.C. (Educ. Article)