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. Since 2006, 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.

Angela Conti-Becker
Angela graduated from King's University College in 1996 with an Honors BA in Sociology.  In 1996, she enrolled in the MA program in Sociology at the University of Western Ontario to undertake advanced study in social inequality.  Between 1998 and 2004, Angela worked as a community-based researcher for several organizations in London, Ontario including the London Economic Development Corporation, the Ontario Early Years Centres, Literacy Link South Central, and Thames Valley Children's Centre (TVCC).  Through her work at TVCC, Angela became interested in learning more about the experiences of children with disabilities and their families.  She enrolled in the Doctoral Program in Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Western Ontario in 2005 to pursue this interest. Angela is currently finishing her doctoral dissertation, an ethnographic study of one community-based recreation setting that is perceived as offering an environment that supports children of all abilities.  Her PhD supervisors are Dr. Doreen Bartlett and Dr. Marilyn Kertoy and her committee members are Dr. Anne Kinsella and Dr. Mary Law.

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 research. Briano is currently a second year doctoral student in the Rehabilitation Science PhD program at McMaster. The focus of his research is in developing a measure to evaluate treatment fidelity of pediatric occupational therapists and physiotherapists. This measure will be utilized within a large randomized controlled trial being conducted through CanChild (The Focus on Function Study). 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.

Samantha Doralp
Samantha is currently completing her doctorate in the Rehabilitation Sciences program at The University of Western Ontario. Her PhD research, in the motor development lab under the supervision of Dr. Doreen Bartlett, concerns the affordances in early motor development in healthy full-term infants. Her interests are in explaining the high degree of variability observed in early motor development, with a focus on personal and environmental determinants between the ages of 4 and 10 months of age. In 2005, she completed her MSc in Neuroscience at The University of Western Ontario, investigating the influence of cholinergic drugs on a neural model of memory in the hippocampus.

Nora Fayed 
Nora is a third year PhD student working under the supervision of Dr. Peter Rosenbaum. She is an occupational therapist with clinical experience in driver rehabilitation, and feeding and swallowing in children from Bloorview Kids Rehab in Toronto. Ms Fayed has also worked as a research occupational therapist for children with mild motor problems and young men with Asperger's syndrome. Her main research interests are focused on quality of life in children with epilepsy and content validity in quality of life measurement. In addition to her ongoing commitments at McMaster, Ms. Fayed is fulfilling a fellowship role in the World Health Organization Health International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Research Branch in Munich, Germany where she is learning about methods for assessing content validity in health and quality of life research.

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 Levac 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 doctoral student in the Rehabilitation Science PhD 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.