The 2023 ARP Merit Awards

ARP Master Awards

The ARP’s highest honor—the Master Award—went to two ARP members in 2023 for their outstanding contributions to the field of rheumatology: Catherine Backman, PhD, FCAOT, MARP, and Kimberly Kimpton, PT, MARP.

Catherine L. Backman, PhD, FCAOT, MARP, is professor emerita, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada, and senior scientist at Arthritis Research Canada (ARC), Vancouver.

She holds baccalaureate and master’s degrees in occupational therapy from UBC and the University of Washington, Seattle, respectively, and a doctoral degree in healthcare and epidemiology from UBC. She began her career as an occupational therapist in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she developed interests in arthritis care and professional education.

Returning to UBC as an instructor in 1986, she engaged in a variety of teaching and leadership positions: she served as fieldwork coordinator and curriculum chair and led the design and implementation of a new Master of Occupational Therapy degree, activities recognized by the Killam University Teaching Prize in 2005. She was head of UBC’s Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy for four years, ending in December 2015, as well as three terms as head of the Division of Occupational Therapy when it was under the auspices of the School of Rehabilitation Sciences.

Dr. Backman’s research, which is largely based at ARC, focused on the impact of chronic illness on participation in valued life activities, such as arenting and employment, activity disruption and the effect of rehabilitation interventions. A particular scholarly interest is how people experience balance across life roles and occupations—the practical implications of getting on with life despite arthritis.

Dr. Backman connected with arthritis investigators in the U.K. through a Diamond Jubilee International Visiting Fellowship at the University of Southampton awarded in 2017. Her work is widely published in journal articles and book chapters, and presented at scientific conferences. An advocate for patient and public engagement in research, patients have been integral collaborators to identify research questions and approaches since her earliest research grants. In 2008, Dr. Backman received the Outstanding Consumer Inclusion in Research award from ARC’s Arthritis Patient Advisory Board.

An active volunteer for many organizations, Dr. Backman has participated on the Board, Executive and Academic Credentialing Council of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT) and served as president from 2018–20. She served multiple terms as an associate editor of the Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy and was interim co-editor in chief from 2021–22. In 2004, CAOT recognized her contributions to the profession with its highest honor, the Muriel Driver Memorial Lectureship.