Fifteen months off campus and DIESEL has managed to keep busy! As we head into Spring 2021, we have news (hope!) of a slow return to campus in Fall 2021 to boost our spirits. While we all look ahead to getting back in the lab, here's a look back at our pandemic year...
Several new students started with DIESEL in 2020, including new MSc students Jacqueline Kormylo, Jacklyn Kurt, and Kat Webster! They are looking forward to getting on campus and starting their collections as soon as they are able.
We said goodbye to three students in Fall and Winter term and we wish them all well in their future endeavours! Tea Lulic successfully defended her PhD thesis, entitled "Examination of Healthy Neuromuscular Control of the Pectoralis Major Muscle" in Fall 2021. Our MSc student, Daniel Fournier, (who was co-supervised by Stewart McLachlin) successully defended his thesis in January 2021. His work, "Compensatory movement simulation of subacromial impingement syndrome kinematics using an asymptomatic group for rehabilitative shoulder exercises" was the result of a successful grant to explore the use of wearable devices to track rehabilitative exercises. DIESEL also had a course-based MSc student, Jonathan Garcia, who finished his program in December 2020. He was able to complete some of his lab requirements when research was allowed on campus for a brief window in September and October 2020.
Our most senior MSc student successfully proposed her thesis late in the Winter 2021 term. Paula He will focus her work on knee braces, something a little different from our usual shoulder focus! She's hoping to complete her collection and analysis in Spring 2021, and defend later this year.
We are really proud of our DIESEL trainees and their efforts over the past year. Some research has required major pivots from original goals, and timelines have been lengthened. We're looking forward to setting foot again in BMH1404 in Spring 2021, and welcoming back participants soon! Some of our upcoming projects will explore how exoskeletons affect injury risk in occupational settings, and another will examine the physical demands on the shoulder and back when ladder handling (building on our previous work in this area).
Keep your eyes peeled for new studies being added to our website, as we update our publication list with the many accepted papers in 2021!