Janessa Drake, PhD
President
Associate Professor
School of Kinesiology and Health Science
York University
Email: jdrake@yorku.ca
Dr. Janessa Drake received her BSc and MSc from the University of Guelph, and her PhD from the University of Waterloo. Before and after her MSc she worked as a Kinesiologist and Ergonomist, both independently and with a health management company that functioned 3rd party to insurers. She performed hundreds of functional abilities evaluations, disability assessments, on-site job analyses, physical demands analyses, return-to-work programs, and work station re-designs. Her first faculty appointment was in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Windsor (Cross-Appointed to Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering), before joining the School of Kinesiology and Health Science at York University in 2009. Her overarching research goal is focused on reducing the incidence and severity of workplace musculoskeletal disorders. Her current research is focused on quantifying and evaluating the thoracic and lumbar spine neuromuscular control and musculoskeletal responses to work-related exposures to understand the spines' role in whole body movement strategies and their adaptations that are protective or causal to the development of injury. She has specific interest in the effects of modifying factors including sex, age, fatigue, and fitness level. She uses analyses of 3D motion, electromyography, force, and magnetic resonance and ultrasound imaging.</span></p>
Stacey Acker, PhD
Secretary
Associate Professor
Department of Kinesiology
University of Waterloo
E-mail: stacey.acker@uwaterloo.ca; secretary@csb-scb.com
Dr. Stacey Acker joined the faculty in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Waterloo in 2011, after completing a postdoctoral fellowship in Rehabilitation Sciences at McMaster University and a PhD in Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Queen's University. Her research aims to develop models of the human knee joint that accurately represent knee joint mechanics throughout the full range of knee joint flexion. In the Biomechanics of Human Mobility Laboratory, her research team aims to reveal the roles of mechanical factors (particularly in the range of knee flexion >120º) in deterioration of the knee joint (especially osteoarthritis), with the aim of preventing mechanically induced damage to the joint.
Scott Brandon, PhD
Treasurer - Member Affairs
Associate Professor
School of Engineering
University of Guelph
Email: scott.brandon@uoguelph.ca
Dr. Scott Brandon's current research focuses on improving the performance and safety of assistive devices for human mobility. he completed his BESc. at Western University, followed by an MSc.Eng. and PhD at Queen's University under the supervision of Dr. Kevin Deluzio. After completing his PhD, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow, first at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (New Brunswick, CAN), then the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is particularly interested in lower-limb joint mechanics with applications including braces, exoskeletons, cerebral palsy, and ACL injuries.
Shawn Robbins, PhD
Communications Officer
Associate Professor
School of Physical and Occupational Therapy
McGill University
Email: shawn.robbins@mcgill.ca
Dr. Shawn Robbins completed his BScPT and PhD at University of Western Ontario in 2001 and 2010 respectively, and he completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Dalhousie University. His research focuses on the neuromuscular and biomechanical factors underlying mobility in patients with orthopaedic health conditions, particularly osteoarthritis. Specifically, he is examining biomechanical mechanisms that underline knee osteoarthritis progression, and the effectiveness of treatments for these patients. He also evaluates the impact of player characteristics, task demands, and equipment design on ice hockey skills.
Lindsey Westover, PhD
Conference Chair (2024)
Assistant Professor
Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering
University of Alberta
Email: lindsey.westover@ualberta.ca
Dr. Westover joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2018. Her research focus is in biomechanics and biomedical engineering. Dr. Westover’s research includes laboratory experimental work, computational modeling, and in vivo experimental work.
Ryan Graham, PhD
Past Conference Co-Chair (2022)
Associate Professor
School of Human Kinetics
Faculty of Health Sciences
University of Ottawa
E-mail: rgraham@uottawa.ca
Ryan B. Graham received his B.Sc. degree in biology, M.Sc. degree in biomechanics and ergonomics, and Ph.D. degree in biomechanics and ergonomics from Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada, in 2005, 2008, and 2012, respectively. He is currently an Associate Professor with the School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, and the University Research Chair of biomechanics and data science for human health and performance. He is also cross-appointed to the Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Biomedical Engineering. His research program blends biomechanics, ergonomics, motor control, and computer science to improve musculoskeletal disorder understanding and prevention; develop and test new technologies and algorithms to objectively score movement quality in clinical, ergonomic, and sport settings; and assess whole-body movement stability, control, and loading during functional movements.
Janie Astephen Wilson, PhD
Past President
Director and Professor
School of Biomedical Engineering
Dalhousie University
E-mail: janiewilson@dal.ca
Dr. Janie Wilson runs a multidisciplinary research program in human movement biomechanics, with a focus on understanding the role of joint-level biomechanics and muscle activity in the initiation, progression and treatment of knee osteoarthritis with arthroplasty surgery. She has specific interest in understanding how female sex and obesity interact with joint kinematics and kinetics in injury and disease, as well as the development and application of mathematical and statistical tools for biomechanics applications. She received her BSCE in mathematics and engineering (mechanical) from Queen's University (2000), followed by an MASc (2002) and then PhD (2007) in biomedical engineering from Dalhousie University (both under the supervision of Dr. Kevin Deluzio). She has worked at the M.E. Muller Institute for Biomechanics in Bern, Switzerland (2003), as well as a postdoctoral fellow at the Sport Science Institute of South Africa and the University of Cape Town (2008, with Dr. Christopher Vaughan). She is the past president of the Canadian Orthopaedic Research Society.
Members-at-Large
Diana De Carvalho, PhD
Associate Professor
Faculty of Medicine
Memorial University of Newfoundland
E-mail: ddecarvalho@mun.ca
Dr. Diana De Carvalho completed her BSc at the University of Guelph, Doctor of Chiropractic at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic college, and MSc and PhD in Kinesiology at the University of Waterloo. She has created the SPine biomechanics and INterventional Ergonomics Laboratory, where her team explores the effects of seated postures on the back, clinical low back pain, and ergonomic/treatment interventions.
Gillian Hatfield, PhD
Director, Associate Professor
School of Kinesiology
University of the Fraser Valley
Email: Gillian.Hatfield@ufv.ca
Gillian holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering (Dalhousie), MSc in Rehabilitation Research (Dalhousie), BSc in Physiotherapy (Dalhousie), and BSc in Biology/Chemistry (Mount Allison). She completed a CIHR Allied Health Professional Postdoctoral Fellowship (UBC) prior to joining the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) in 2016. At UFV, Gillian teaches Introduction to Biomechanics and Applied Biomechanics. Gillian’s research interests lie in biomechanics and muscle activation patterns in clinical populations, such as people with knee osteoarthritis or lower back pain. She is particularly interested in the effect of exercise interventions on biomechanical risk factors for knee osteoarthritis progression. Gillian has served UFV in numerous capacities including as Chair of the Human Research Ethics Board, Chair of the Animal Care Committee, and Chair of Research Advisory Committee. Most recently Gillian has been in the role of Director of the School of Kinesiology since September 2022.
Student Representatives
Olena Klashen
Doctoral Student
School of Human Kinetics
University of Ottawa
E-mail: oklah023@uottawa.ca
Olena Klahsen is a PhD Candidate at the University of Ottawa working under the supervision of Dr. Linda McLean. Olena previously completed an Honors Bachelor of Science (2018) and MSc (2021) at the University of Guelph. Her current research focuses on assessing the impacts of aging on the function of the deep pelvic floor muscles in women through medical imaging and dynamometry. She hopes that her work will inform future research that seeks to improve prevention and management strategies for age-associated pelvic floor disorders such as pelvic organ prolapse.
Jereme Outerleys
Doctoral Student
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Queen's University
E-mail: jereme.outerleys@queensu.ca
Jereme is a PhD Candidate in the Human Mobility Research Lab at Queen’s University whose research focus is on the application of state-of-the-art technologies for the assessment and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. Jereme holds a Masters of Applied Science in Biomedical Engineering and Bachelors of Engineering from Dalhousie University and a Bachelors of Applied Science from Acadia University. Jereme has experience conducting human biomechanics research in academic, clinical and industry settings. Jereme’s research has contributed to our understanding of functional outcomes following total knee replacement, understanding the effect of running footwear on running injury, and the validation and development of motion analysis technologies from wearable sensors to artificial intelligence.