Meet the Trainees
McCaig Institute Trainees (MSc and PhD students)
Roz Alfred, PhD (Kallos)
Jillian Beveridge, B.Kin. (Kinesiology with a specialization in Sport Rehabilitation), Acadia University
Current Position: PhD Candidate
Current Supervisor: Cy Frank
Current Research: My thesis work focuses on characterizing relationships that may exist between the structure of articular cartilage within the knee joint, and the joint’s movement patterns (kinematics). By collecting kinematics both before and after injury, we hope to indentify how various injuries affect these structure-function relationships, and what it is about the nature of the perturbation that might lead to early-onset osteoarthritis.
Helen Buie PhD (Boyd)
Graham Campbell, PhD (Boyd)
Jane Desrochers, B.Sc. (Mechanical Engineering), University of Calgary; M.Sc (Biomedical Engineering), University of Calgary
Current Position: PhD Candidate
Current Supervisor: John Matyas
Current Research: Nano/micromechancis of cartilage in health and disease; function microscopy of connective tissues (Atomic Forc, Polarized light and confocal microscopy)
Charlene Downey, B.Sc. (Cell Biology, minor Kinesiology) Simon Fraser University
Current Position: PhD Student
Current Supervisor: Frank R Jirik
Current Research: Genetic mouse models of lung cancer
Helen Dry, MSc (Sen)
Jack Fu, MSc (Anglin)
Anne Guttman, PhD (Bertram)
Bryan J. Heard, B.Sc., (Biology, Computer Science/Mathematics), St. Mary’s University
Current position: M.Sc. Student, Medical Science
Current Supervisor: Nigel Shrive
Current Research: Relating mechanical and biological data in the study of secondary osteoarthritis
Karen Ho, MSc (Anglin)
Kyla Huebner, BSc (Kinesiology) University of Western Ontario; MSc (Human Anatomy and Cell Science), University of Manitba
Current Position: PhD Student
Current Supervisors: Cy Frank and Nigel Shrive
Current Research: Post-surgical inflammation in the knee and it’s role in the development of joint degeneration
Extra: Teaching human anatomy
Josh Kutcher, BSc (Physiology), University of Calgary
Current Position: MSc Student
Current Supervisors: Cy Frank and David Hart
Current Research Focus: Stems Cells and Knee Repair
Peter Kublik, PhD student
Erika Kristensen, B.Sc. (Eng)
Current Position: PhD Candidate, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Current Supervisor: Steven Boyd
Current Research Focus: Erika’s current work assesses the effects of growth hormone on the development of bone micro-architecture and craniofacial shape
Sarah L Manske, B.Sc (Kinesiology) Simon Fraser University; M.Sc. (Experimental Medicine) University of British Columbia
Current Position: PhD Candidate
Current Supervisor: Ron Zernicke and Steven Boyd
Current Research: Bone adaptation to mechanical load. Specifically, I’m interested in how muscle activity influences bone adaptation.
Joanna Moser, B.Sc. (Biological Sciences with Distinction), University of Calgary
Current Position: PhD Candidate
Current Supervisor: Marvin J Fritzler
Current Research: The study of GW182, a novel autoangigen in neuronal cells in the central nervous system tissues; the investigation of the presence and location of GW bodies in the central nervous system
Extra: Medical Science Graduate Student Association (MDSC-SA) Chair 2009-2010 MDSC Department Graduate Education Committee Student Representative
Kelsey M. Mountain, B.M.Sc, Honours (Medical Biophysics), University of Western Ontario
Current position: Ph.D. Candidate, Biomedical Engineering
Current Supervisor: John Matyas
Current Research: three-dimensional collagen organization of articular cartilage, osteoarthritis, magnetic resonance imaging, polarized light microscopy
Extra: McCaig Student Representative 2008-09
Kyle Nishiyama, B.Comp
Current Position: PhD Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering (Biomedical)
Current Supervisor: Steven Boyd
Current Research Focus: Kyle’s work focuses on assessing the age- and sex-specific change in cortical porosity and determining the functional significance of cortical porosity on bone strength
Trish E. Parsons, B.Sc., Honors (Biological Anthropology, with Distinction), Penn State University
Current position: Ph.D Candidate, Medical Science and Biological Anthropology
Current Supervisor: Benedikt Hallgrímsson
Current Research: Craniofacial and skeletal development; primate and human evolution of the skull; contrast-enhanced micro-computed tomography
Extra: McCaig Student Representative 2008-09
Josh Rosvold, B.Sc. (Mechanical Engineering) University of Calgary
Current Position: PhD Student
Current Supervisor: Nigel Shrive
Current Research: Developing a system to determine in-vivo ligament loads by reproducing in-vivo motion on a robotic testing system.
Eric J. Schmidt, B.A. (Anthropology) Penn State University; M.Sc. (Organismal Biology and Anatomy) University of Chicago
Current Position: PhD student
Current Supervisor: Benedikt Hallgrimsson
Current Research: Evaluating the relative roles of facial prominence outgrowth versus prominence fusion and consolidation during upper jaw development in normal and cleft lip-prone mouse strains
Katrina Schnakenberg, MSc (Boyd)
Ganesh Swamy, MD University of Ottowa, Orthopedics FRCS ’02, Spine Surgery University of Ottowa, University of Calgary and University of California at San Francisco
Current Position: PhD Candidate
Current Supervisors: John Matyas, Christopher Hunter, Paul Salo and Jeff Duncan
Current Research: Orthopedic basic science; My research focus is the biology of the intervertebral disc, specifically working with disc injury models in knockout mice, with the help of Dr. Frank Jirik. I hope to combine research training with my clinical background, and become a true clinician-scientist, seeking to understand the role of the intervertebral disc in spinal health and disease
Jaymi Taiani, BSc (Biological Engineering), Dalhousie University; MSc (Chemical Engineering/Biomedical Engineering), University of Calgary
Current Position: PhD Candidate
Current Supervisors: John Matyas and Derrick Rancourt
Current Research: Using stem cells to enhance bone fracture repair and exploring the influence of soluble factors, extracellular matrix and mechanical loading on stem cell differentiation into skeletal cell types
Janet Tapper, Dip (Physiotherapy), New Zealand; BSc (Mechanical Engineering), McGill University
Current Position: MD/PhD Candidate
Current Supervsiors: Nigel Shrive and Ron Zernicke
Current Research Focus: Dynamic in vivo 3D kinematics in an ovine stifle joint model of osteoarthritis
