Scott Brandon, PhD
President
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.
Michel Ladouceur, PhD
Secretary
Associate Professor
School of Health and Human Performance
Dalhousie University
E-mail: michel.ladouceur@dal.ca; secretary@csb-scb.com
Michel Ladouceur is an Assistant Professor in the School of Health and Human Performance at Dalhousie University.
Gillian Hatfield, PhD
Treasurer - Member Affairs
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.
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
Past 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.
Lori Ann Vallis, PhD
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer
Professor
Department of Human Health & Nutritional Sciences
University of Guelph
Email: lvallis@uoguelph.ca
Dr. Lori Ann Vallis completed her undergraduate honors degree (Dr. Gordon Robertson) and Master's degree (Dr. Heidi Sveistrup) at the University of Ottawa and PhD in Biomechanics at the University of Waterloo (Dr. Aftab Patla). Her Post-Doctoral Fellowship was at the Université Laval / Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale (CIRRIS) with Dr. Bradford McFadyen. She joined the Department of Human Health & Nutritional Sciences at the University of Guelph in 2002 and is currently a Full Professor, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in biomechanics within the Human Kinetics and Biomedical Sciences programs. Lori’s basic science research program broadly examines the role cognition in the control of locomotion, with a special interest in changes that occur in visuo-locomotor across the lifespan, from childhood to older adulthood. She is also part of the long-term Guelph Family Health Study, which is exploring new ways to help families establish healthy habits for eating, activity, physical sleep and screen time, and the Family Stress study, a collaborative study between UGuelph and McMaster University focused on learning now stress affects children’s health.
Janessa Drake, PhD
Past 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.
World of Congress of Biomechanics Liaisons
Walter Herzog, PhD
WCB Liaison (2026)
Professor
Kinesiology, Medicine, Engineering, and Veterinary Medicine
University of Calgary
E-mail: wherzog@ucalgary.ca
Walter Herzog did his undergraduate training in Physical Education at the Federal Technical Institute in Zurich, Switzerland (1979), completed his doctoral research in Biomechanics at the University of Iowa (USA) in 1985, and completed postdoctoral fellowships in Neuroscience and Biomechanics in Calgary, Canada in 1987. Currently, he is a Professor of Biomechanics with appointments in Kinesiology, Medicine, Engineering, and Veterinary Medicine, holds the Dr. Benno Nigg Chair in Biomechanics, Mobility and Longevity. He was the Canada Research Chair for Cellular and Molecular Biomechanics from 2001 to 2022 and the Killam Memorial Chair for Inter-Disciplinary Research from 2011 to 2021 at the University of Calgary. His research interests are in musculoskeletal biomechanics with emphasis on mechanisms of muscle contraction focusing on the role of the structural protein titin, and the biomechanics of joints focusing on mechanisms of onset and progression of osteoarthritis. Dr. Herzog is the recipient of the Borelli Award from the American Society of Biomechanics, the Career Award from the Canadian Society for Biomechanics, the Dyson Award from the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports, the Muybridge Award from the International Society of Biomechanics, and received the Killam Prize in Engineering from the Canada Council for the Arts for his contributions to biomedical research. He is the past president of the International, American and Canadian Societies for Biomechanics. He was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada in 2013.
Andrew Laing, PhD
WCB Liasion (2026)
Associate Professor
Kinesiology and Health Sciences
University of Waterloo
E-mail: actlaing@uwaterloo.ca
Andrew Laing completed his BSc and MSc in Kinesiology at the University of Waterloo (focussed on occupational biomechanics), his PhD in hip fracture biomechanics at Simon Fraser University, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University in British Columbia focused on injury biomechanics and aging. His general field of interest is musculoskeletal biomechanics related to human health, mobility, and injury prevention, and the role that advanced age has on these relationships. His laboratory uses paradigms including human volunteers, cadaveric tissue testing, mechanical test surrogates, and computational modeling. Laing has long-standing involvement with CSB having previously served as Member-At-Large, Secretary, and President.
Members-at-Large
Michelle Cardoso, PhD
Assistant Professor
École de kinésiologie et de loisir CEPS Louis-J.-Robichaud
Université de Moncton
E-mail: michelle.cardoso@umoncton.ca
Dr. Michelle Cardoso is an expert in human factors and ergonomics. She held the position of Assistant Professor in Kinesiology at UdeM from July 2018 until 2024. Recently, she received tenure as Associate Professor, effective July 1, 2024. Dr. Cardoso is an early-career researcher focused on understanding human-system interactions in workplace settings to optimize well-being, productivity, and performance. Her research specialty is human factors/ergonomics, and she has over 15 years of experience collaborating with various industrial partners nationally and internationally. Over the years, Dr. Cardoso has addressed ergonomic challenges in diverse fields, including industrial lifters, bus drivers, police officers, truck drivers, office workers and general seat designs. Dr. Cardoso's current focus is on healthcare and ergonomics.
Shawn Beaudette, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Kinesiology
Brock University
Email: sbeaudette@brocku.ca
Dr. Shawn Beaudette completed his undergraduate (BScH) graduate studies (MSc & PhD) at the University of Guelph (Dr. Stephen Brown), and later a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Ottawa (Dr. Ryan Graham). He joined the Department of Kinesiology at Brock University in 2019 and is also an affiliate member of the Yousef Haj-Ahmad Department of Engineering at Brock University. Shawn’s research program integrates aspects of biomechanics, neurophysiology, and data science to understand how spine movement is controlled with a focus on the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of low back disorders. In addition to his basic/mechanistic research, his applied research projects span rehabilitation, high-performance, and ergonomic domains.
Student Representatives
Daniel Cousins
Doctoral Student
Faculty of Applied Health Sciences
Brock University
E-mail: Dc15eq@brocku.ca
Daniel is a PhD Candidate in the Neruomechanics and Ergonomics, and the Electromyography Labs at Brock University under Drs. Michael Holmes and David Gabriel. Daniel completed his Bachelor of Kinesiology (2020) and MSc (2022) at Brock University. His current research focus is on individual forearm muscle contribution to hand and wrist actions. He hopes his work can be used to better understand restoring function to the hand and in design of neural controlled prostheses.
Dhairya Desai
MSc Student
University of Calgary
E-mail: dhairya.desai@ucalgary.ca
Dhairya Desai is an MSc student at the University of Calgary, studying the effects of obesity on cardiovascular function and structure in a rat model under the supervision of Dr. Walter Herzog. He completed a Bachelor of Science at the University of Calgary in 2024, where his undergraduate research focused on muscle mechanics, specifically exploring titin's role within myofibrils. Building on his background in muscle physiology, Dhairya’s current work aims to uncover how obesity influences cardiovascular health, with the goal of informing targeted prevention and intervention strategies for obesity-related cardiovascular diseases.