Rate My Professor Renuka Roche

Renuka (Ray) Roche is an Associate Professor and Program Director of the Occupational Therapy Program in the School of Health Sciences at Eastern Michigan University. She holds credentials of PhD, MS, OTR/L, and FNAP. Roche has received numerous awards and grants from the university, including Summer Research Awards in 2020 for “A Qualitative Study of Current Rehab Practices for Muscular Dystrophies: Views and Experiences of Rehab Professionals,” in 2021 for a qualitative study on rehab practices for muscular dystrophies, and in 2023 for “Characterizing Occupational Performance and Role Fulfillment Deficits in Post COVID-19 Condition and Participation Restrictions.” She was awarded a Faculty Research and Creative Activity Fellowship in 2024, Faculty Development Committee Program Funding for Framework for Curriculum Design in 2024, Thank-An-Eagle recognition in 2024, and served as Faculty Mentor for the Symposium Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF) Awards in 2025 with student Afnan Mansour.

Her research specializations encompass motor control and auditory-motor adaptation in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD), rehabilitation practices for muscular dystrophies, skeletal muscle physiology and recovery in dysferlin-deficient models, and occupational performance deficits following COVID-19. Key publications include “A hypothesized role for dysregulated bradykinin signaling in COVID-19 respiratory complications” (The FASEB Journal, 2020, co-authored with JA Roche), “Extensive mononuclear infiltration and myogenesis characterize recovery of dysferlin-null skeletal muscle from contraction-induced injuries” (American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology, 2010), “Auditory and visual information do not affect self-paced bilateral finger tapping in children with DCD” (Human Movement Science, 2011), “Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) can adapt to perceptible and subliminal rhythm changes but are more variable” (Human Movement Science, 2016), “Diltiazem improves contractile properties of skeletal muscle in dysferlin-deficient BLAJ mice, but does not reduce contraction-induced muscle damage” (Physiological Reports, 2018), “The effects of concentric and eccentric training in murine models of dysferlin-associated muscular dystrophy” (Muscle & Nerve, 2020), “A qualitative study of current rehab practices for muscular dystrophies” (2020), “Protection against severe illness versus immunity—redefining vaccine effectiveness in the aftermath of COVID-19” (2023), and “Extruded alginate tubes with myogenic potential” (2024). Roche's publications have amassed hundreds of citations, contributing to advancements in occupational therapy, neuromuscular rehabilitation, and pandemic-related health research.