PhD Students

Beata Batorowicz
Beata graduated from the University of Western Ontario (UWO) with a B.Sc. degree in Occupational Therapy. In 2004, she completed M.Sc. at UWO. Her thesis focused on children who used adaptive technology for writing and explored relationships among children's independence, performance, and methods of accessing technology.  Beata has practiced clinically as an occupational therapist for 11 years, providing community-based services and working with children who have little or no functional speech. She was also a clinical services leader of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), seating/mobility, and adaptive technology services at the Thames Valley Children's Centre in London. Between 2006 and 2009, Beata has been a lecturer at UWO in the School of Occupational Therapy and Health Sciences. Beata is a doctoral student in the Rehabilitation Science PhD program at McMaster. Her research focuses on language and communicative competence, participation, and quality of life of children who are non-verbal and use AAC. She is interested in application of augmentative communication strategies to enable children's community and social participation. Beata's PhD supervisor is Dr. Cheryl Missiuna, and her committee members include Dr. Gillian King and Dr. Peter Rosenbaum.

Laura Brunton
Laura graduated from Brock University with an Honours Bachelor of Kinesiology in 2007. Since then she has completed her Masters of Science at the University of Western Ontario under the supervision of Dr. Doreen Bartlett. Her Master's thesis centered on determining the validation, reliability, responsiveness and sensitivity-to-change of two abbreviated versions of the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-66) for children with cerebral palsy. Laura is currently in a combined PhD/Master's of Physical Therapy program at the University of Western Ontario. Her current research focus is understanding and measuring physical fatigue in adolescents and young adults with cerebral palsy.

Briano Di Rezze
Briano has an undergraduate degree in Human Biology from the University of Toronto and graduated from McMaster University in 2003 with an MSc in Occupational Therapy. His work experience in occupational therapy is primarily in the area of pediatrics, having worked with children across disability groups in both pre-school and school-aged populations. As a clinician, Briano was involved in clinical research in addition to his practice. His research interests are in current and emerging research methodology within rehabilitation intervention research. Briano is entering his final year of the doctoral program at McMaster University in Rehabilitation Science. The focus of his research is in developing a generic measure to evaluate intervention fidelity of paediatric occupational therapists and physiotherapists. This measure will be tested within a large randomized controlled trial conducted through CanChild and aims to be applicable for other paediatric interventions in the future. Briano is supported by his PhD supervisor Dr. Mary Law and by his committee members Prof. Nancy Pollock, Dr. Jan Willem Gorter, and Dr. Kevin Eva.

Matt Freeman
Matt graduated from McMaster University in 2002 with a BA and MA in political science.  Matt is currently pursuing his PhD in Rehabilitation Science under the supervision of Dr. Jan Willem Gorter after many years of serving as "community faculty" and tutor in McMaster's Occupational Therapy Programme.  Matt has also served as an advisor on the development of CanChild's Youth KIT (including the development of its websites and informational videos) and as a research assistant for Debra Stewart.  Matt's research interests include understanding how adolescents and young adults with cerebral palsy (CP) experience the transition to adulthood.  More specifically, Matt thesis will be examining the information needs of individuals with CP and their families during the transition to adulthood, and the most effective ways of delivering that information during this transitional phase.

Susan Guenther
Susan graduated in 2001 with a double Specialist BSc in Psychology and Exceptionality in Human Learning from the University of Toronto at Mississauga. She then pursued a Masters in Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto, Class of 2004. Susan practiced as an entry level clinician in School Health Support as well as wheelchair prescription in a children's rehabilitation setting. In 2006 she accepted a position as a Living and Life Skills Educator with youth as they transitioned into adulthood. Her Masters research explored the lived experiences of disabled university students and how navigating their accommodations affected their student roles. Susan continued work on this research project with her former supervisor, Prof. Barry Trentham, until 2007. She relocated to McMaster University, working as a Research Project Coordinator with Prof. Deb Stewart on transitions research and began her doctoral studies in the Rehabilitation Science PhD program at McMaster University in 2008. Susan's thesis topic explores how disability is understood within rehabilitation science and rehabilitation providers' attitudes and perceptions on disability. She works with her PhD supervisor, Dr. Peter Rosenbaum, and her committee members are Prof. Deb Stewart and Dr. Seanne Wilkins.

Danielle Levac
Danielle graduated from the University of Ottawa in 2001 with a BSc degree in Physiotherapy. She has worked as a physiotherapist in pediatric acute care, rehabilitation, and school health support settings. In 2007, she completed a MSc in Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University, exploring recovery patterns in children and youth with acquired brain injury (ABI). Danielle is currently a PhD candidate in the Rehabilitation Science program at McMaster. The focus of her research is on the use of commercial virtual reality technology (specifically, the Nintendo Wii & WiiFit) to promote motor learning within physiotherapy interventions for children and youth with ABI. Her PhD supervisor is Dr. Cheryl Missiuna, and her committee members are Dr. Virginia Wright, Dr. Laurie Wishart, and Prof. Carol DeMatteo. Danielle has been granted a Doctoral Training award from the Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program .

Tram Nguyen
Tram is a PhD student in the Rehabilitation Science program at McMaster working under the supervision of Dr. Jan Willem Gorter.  She graduated from McMaster University with an Honours Bachelor degree in Science in 2006. After graduation, she worked as a teaching assistant for the Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences and a research assistant for the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Health Sciences.  In addition to her work at McMaster University, she also taught SAT and TOEFL in London, England, and Seoul, South Korea.  Driven by a passion for education, research, and teaching, she began a Masters in Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University in 2008 under the guidance of Professor Sue Baptiste, developing a language assessment for internationally educated occupational therapists. Upon completion of her Masters in 2010, the McMaster Assessment of Comprehension and Communication for Internationally-educated Occupational Therapists (MACC) was created.  Currently, the focus of her PhD research is on facilitating the transition of youth with disabilities as they move from pediatric to adult-oriented health care.

Lisa Rivard
Lisa graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physiotherapy from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. She has worked in a variety of pediatric clinical settings with infants and young children and has held several research positions including coordinating a funded clinical research project, providing research support to several funded grants and most recently as the Project Coordinator for a multi-province 3 year CIHR-funded knowledge translation study at CanChild. In 2005, Lisa completed a Master of Science (Rehabilitation Science) degree at McMaster University, investigating teachers' perceptions of the motor difficulties of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD).  Lisa entered the PhD program in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University in September 2010 and is supervised by Dr. Cheryl Missiuna. Lisa's PhD research will explore the role of attentional processes in motor learning in children with DCD.