A graduating Pitt doctoral student balanced motherhood, research and academics to earn her degree

For more than a decade, Katie Mullen worked in hospitals and inpatient rehabilitation units, helping stroke patients regain independence in life’s most difficult moments.

When she began co-teaching a neurorehabilitation course several years ago, Mullen discovered something unexpected: “I absolutely fell in love with teaching,” she said. “I never thought that I would go back to school for my doctorate.”

But after talking it over with her husband, Mullen enrolled in Pitt’s Doctor of Clinical Science in Occupational Therapy program. Now, two and a half years later, she’s turned a goal that once felt unattainable because of time and student loan constraints, into a walk across the stage at Pitt’s winter commencement ceremony.  

Mullen began the program in 2023 while working full time as a research occupational therapist in Pitt’s Vision and Perception Laboratory, where she helps lead studies focused on visuospatial neglect, a condition that involves a lack of awareness or attention to one side of your body or environment and affects nearly 30% of stroke survivors. In the lab, Mullen conducts study visits, delivers interventions, trains student research assistants and ensures research protocols are followed.

Before she even gets there, Mullen’s days often start with helping her three children — a preschooler, an elementary schooler and a middle schooler — get ready for school.

“My day truly does revolve around them,” Mullen said. “Two evenings a week, I was on a Zoom call for an hour and a half, then I’d hop off and get the kids ready for bed, and then from 9-11 p.m. every night I was doing homework.”

Her family made that balancing act possible, Mullen said, with her husband often stepping in for bedtime routines so she could study. Her mother and mother-in-law also helped with child care, and her mother even starred as an actress in the materials for Mullen’s capstone project, a full day of skills training to prepare students for community-based internships, complete with instructional videos and hands-on practice to boost their confidence.

“I have the best family,” Mullen said, adding that her kids were curious and supportive throughout the process. “Sometimes they’d say, ‘Mom, you have homework, too?’”

Mullen credited Pamela Toto, professor in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and director for the clinical doctorate in occupational therapy program, for guiding her through every step of the doctoral journey.

For Toto, Mullen’s success is more than academic — it’s a testament to her energy and creativity.

“She started the program full of joy, and that has not wavered,” Toto said.

Mullen’s capstone project was a standout example of that determination, Toto added. After months of planning and creating videos, tests and confidence-building activities, a massive internet outage struck the day before the event.

“Someone with lesser spirit could have cried or given up,” Toto said. “I expected to have to step in and help, but she didn’t need it. She pivoted. She had a plan B. It worked out perfectly. She remained calm and collected, and the students never knew there was a problem. I don’t know that I would have been as graceful under pressure.” 

Looking forward

Mullen said she hopes her degree will help her connect the divide between academic research and everyday clinical care, a gap she understands more deeply now than ever.

Her doctoral training focused on implementation science, helping clinicians integrate research findings into their daily work. And her clinical background, paired with advanced training in implementation science, has already sharpened Mullen’s ability to translate findings into practice, she said.

But closing the gap isn’t simple. Limited resources, time constraints and the challenge of translating complex evidence into practical steps can all slow the adoption of new knowledge. For Mullen, these challenges underscore why her dual experience as a clinician and researcher matters. 

“I really love understanding how to conduct proper research so you can design studies and quality improvement projects and then implement that research,” Mullen said. “My background in research and clinical occupational therapy has really meshed well with this degree.”

After graduation, Mullen hopes to continue contributing to research and possibly return to the classroom. Regardless, she said she feels like the possibilities are endless. Mullen also said the journey has offered lessons she’ll carry into every role: clinician, researcher, parent and mentor. 

“I’ve always been very confident in my ability to learn,” Mullen said “Anything that I don’t know, I can tackle and learn … I just have to keep moving forward.”

And, according to Toto, “Whoever hires her or has her as part of their leadership team in changing clinical practice is going to be lucky.”

Photography courtesy of Katie Mullen