Faculy of Health Sciences

picsture of Michelle mottola and the healthy eating and exercise kit

Michelle Mottola (right) and Stephanie-May Ruchat (post-doctoral fellow) show off a new kit being distributed to families at the French-language preschool La Rimambelle. This innovative kit promotes healthy eating and exercise. Read more about this exciting program.

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2006 News Archive

Leslie Bisbee
(1953-2006)

Dear Colleagues and Friends

It is with great sadness that the School of Physical Therapy announces the passing of Professor Leslie Bisbee BScPT, MClSc; Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education (ACCE) within the School of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, and University of Western Ontario 2001-2006. Professor Bisbee linked with Clinical Instructors in clinics and facilities located both locally and internationally to organize over 350 clinical placements per year for students enrolled in the Masters of Physical Therapy program. She also represented Western well as committee member of College of Physiotherapists of Ontario and National Association of Clinical Educators in Physiotherapy.
Leslie recently celebrated with Western's PT class of 1976 - 30 years as an Alumni of Western's PT program and member of the Physical Therapy profession. She tirelessly promoted the profession of Physical Therapy in all her previous professional roles as a supervising Physical Therapist, hospital administrator, and university lecturer.
Leslie's valiant approach to her struggles with breast cancer over the past 3 years was further demonstration of her tenacity, pride, and dignity.

Leslie died Saturday November 11, 2006 in her home in Alymer surrounded by her friends & family - husband Vern Robert Shaw, and 3 daughters Ainslie, Blaire, and Marissa. At Leslie's request, there will be no funeral service. Condolences may be sent to Leslie's family at her home address 46964 Brouwer's RR#5 Alymer, Ontario. N5H 2R4. As many of you know, a bursary entitled "The Leslie A Bisbee Clinical Experience Bursary" was established to honour of Leslie's contribution to Western and the profession of Physical Therapy. For more information about this bursary please view the School of Physical Therapy website (click here) . Donations to this bursary would be greatly appreciated.
On behalf of all staff and faculty and students in the School of Physical Therapy - Leslie we will miss you and we have all benefited greatly from your life.

Occupational Therapy Grad Explores Future North of 60

World traveler and OT grad Janna MacLachlan plans to call Iqaluit home but says tools and skills she developed at Western will serve her well for the rest of her working days.

read the Western News article (pg 12)

Rural Health Brown Bag Lunch Series

The Chair in Rural Women’s Health Research and the Faculty of Health Sciences are pleased to invite undergraduate, graduate students and faculty to the first Rural Health Brown Bag Lunch event.

The inaugural Brown Bag Lunch will take place on Monday, November 27, 2006.

for more information click here

Faculty of Health Sciences professor advances to next round of TVO competition

Bachelor of Health Sciences assistant professor Dr. Ken Kirkwood has advanced to the Top 30 in TVO's "The 2007 Best Lecturer Competition".

Watch a video of Dr. Kirkwood's lecture and read more

Distinguished University Professorship

The School of Nursing's Dr. Heather Laschinger receives a Distinguished University Professorship
Award.

read the article

Congratulations!

The 2005-06 Faculty of Health Sciences Teaching award of Excellence was recently awarded to Professor Kathy Obright. Professor Obright (left) is a member of the Physical Therapy faculty and is pictured with Dr. Jayne Garland(right) at a reception held on October 18.

Haylor to step down after season; Marshall to be head coach in 2007

Western's football team will have a pair of coaching talents on the sideline this season as the Mustangs announced the signing of alumnus Greg Marshall as offensive coach, joining long-time head coach Larry Haylor.

Read the full story here.

Craig Boydell steps down as head coach of Mustang Basketball

Boydell, who was named the CIS coach of the year in 1999 after leading Western to the first of four consecutive trips to the CIS National Championships, finishes his 14-year career at Western as the all-time leader in wins by a men's basketball coach with a record of 327-122. Assistant Coach, Bradley Campbell is named as the new head coach for the Mustangs.

Read the full story here.

Kinesiology student says disorder can cause serious health problems for female athletes

Kinesiology doctoral student Jane Rumball's study which was published in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine indicates that combination of disordered eating, amenorrhea and osteoporosis, can cause serious health risks for female athletes. Jane, also a member of Canada's National Women's Rowing Team, feels that awareness can prevent later disability and disease.

Physical Education guru tells graduates to find a life purpose

Dr. Earle Zeigler, who received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in recognition of his multiple roles in the university community as a coach, mentor, administrator, athlete and academic leader, urged graduates to take what they find in the world and make it better. Earle Zeigler's career in physical education and kinesiology has spanned more than 65 years.

Dr. Earle Zeigler's convocation address

Download or play the mp3 file.
Read the transcript.

Health Sciences professor & Western researchers receive $3M from SSHRC

Occupational Therapy professor Debbie Rudman's research project, "Shaping the modern retiree - A comparative discourse analysis of print media and individual's narratives" is one of the 36 Western projects to receive nearly $3 million from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

Physical Education/ Kinesiology Alumni to honour Jack Fairs and Earle Zeigler

Join us for a Physical Education and Kinesiology alumni reception as we pay tribute and celebrate the awarding of Honorary Degrees to Jack Fairs (LL.D., 2005) and Earle Zeigler (LL.D., 2006).

Honorary degree for Earle Zeigler

Earle F. Zeigler will be conferred with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree Friday, June 16 at 3:30 p.m. Zeigler is in his 65th year of service in the fields of kinesiology and physical education and has authored over 400 published works. More than 100 graduate students have taken Master's and Ph.D. work under his supervision and his astounding dedication and service to professional societies and associations is admired by all.

Read the full story here.

Learning research from the inside out

The R. Samuel McLaughlin Foundation Exercise & Pregnancy Laboratory is operated by Michelle Mottola, Associate Professor of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health Sciences and Anatomy & Cell Biology in the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Michelle is one of North America's top researchers investigating the effects of exercise during pregnancy and was responsible for developing the exercise and pregnancy guidelines distributed by Health Canada and the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology.

Read the full story here.

Grits vow to ensure nursing jobs

The Ontario government's vow to give full-time jobs to all nursing graduates starting next year -- an election year -- prompted skepticism and hope in London yesterday.

Read the full story featuring Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Nursing Professor Dr. Heather Laschinger.

Weese, Lawrence-Pitt to chair United Way campaign

Western's Dean of Health Sciences, Jim Weese, will join Director of Advancement Services Rosemary Lawrence-Pitt to co-chair the 2006 United Way Campaign as the university looks to once again be the city's top donor.

Read the full story here.

Why Do Some Who Suffer From Mental Illness Become Attached To Their Psychiatric Label?

Dr. Louis Charland, Western philosophy professor who is also joint-appointed professor of health sciences and cross-appointed professor of psychiatry. will be conducting further investigation into how people suffering from mental illness become attached to the psychiatric label used to diagnose their illness.

Read the full Media Release featuring Dr. Louis Charland's research.

Drowned in Sound from iPod to Lawnmower

London, ON - Recent findings have shown that earbud-style headphones commonly associated with MP3 players like the iPod are contributing to hearing loss, but our noisy jobs, noisy machines and noisy lives are also causing many to not notice their hearing slipping away.

Read the full Media Release featuring Dr. Meg Cheesman.

New Research and Scholarship Brochure

Take a look at our latest brochure highlighting the scholarly activity of faculty and staff in the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Download the brochure (PDF).

Rehabilitation Sciences Students Claim International Prize

Graduate students from the Doctoral Program in Rehabilitation Sciences are the 2006 recipients of the Student Award offered by the Journal of Interprofessional Care.

Rebuilding Rwanda health care

As part of the Rebuilding Rwanda Health Care project, teachers from the Kigali Health Institute (KHI) are visiting Western to get a better understanding of the university’s clinical programs in Nursing and determine their suitability at KHI. From left, Desiré Kamanzi (Chair of Nursing), Laetitia Kakana (teacher) and Imelda Bagamaki (Dean of Nursing) check out Carl, a simulated patient mannequin used in Western’s clinical education suite in the Arthur and Sonia Labatt Health Sciences Building. With them is Carroll Iwasiw from Western’s School of Nursing.

New graduate program in the works

The Faculty of Health Sciences is in the process of introducing a new graduate program: Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, which will offer both master's and doctoral level programs. Dr. Jan Polgar will be Chair of this new program.

Is there a doctor on the court?

Four years ago, Karenina Aguilar was lacing up her sneakers at London's John Paul II Catholic Secondary School, where she was putting up points on the basketball court - and putting up straight A's in the classroom.

Hearing the results of research

Western reasearchers, including Communication Sciences and Disorders Professor Susan Scollie, have their ears to the ground when it comes to early detection of infant hearing problems, which has become a growing priority in Canada. Scollie leads a project evaluating a prototype signal processor for children's digital hearing aids.