The 2011 Physiotherapy Foundation of Canada Awards provide a tremendous opportunity to recognize the best and brightest in our profession and to celebrate excellence and outstanding service in education, clinical practice and research.

Awards winners were announced at an awards luncheon and ceremony held July 17, during the CPA Congress 2011 in Whistler, B.C. From 110 applications submitted, 17 research awards -- amounting to over $78,000 in grants – were presented by PFC President Dr. Dina Brooks and Dr. Mindy Levin, Chair of the PFC Scientific Awards Committee.

Photo courtesy of Tourism Whistler

Alberta Research Award
Awarded: $5,000

Mark Hall, University of Alberta
Development and administration of an instrument to assess
physiotherapists’ attitudes towards clinical education in Canada;
a mixed methods study.

Alun Morgan Memorial Research Award in Orthopaedic Physiotherapy
Awarded: $5,000

Shawn Robbins, Dalhousie University
Examining neuromuscular changes with valgus brace wear
in patients with secondary knee osteoarthritis.

Ann Collins Whitmore Memorial Scholarship AwardS
Awarded: $4,000

Stéphanie Thibault-Gagnon, Queen’s University
Ultrasound imaging: an innovative tool for investigating pelvic
floor muscle dysfunction in women with sexual pain disorders

B.E. Schnurr Memorial Fund Research Grant
Awarded: $3,000

Susan Luz Armijo-Olivo, University of Alberta
This project will identify how to design randomized trials in PT
so they provide the most accurate information about the
effectiveness of different PT interventions.

The Canadian Academy of Manipulative Physiotherapy (CAMPT) Founders Award
Awarded: $5,000

Lisa Carlesso, McMaster University
Validation of manual stress tests of the craniovertebral region
using X-ray fluoroscopy.

Community Rehab Research Grant for Community-based Physiotherapy Projects
Awarded: $5,000

Doreen Bartlett, University of Western Ontario
Measuring postural control in young children with cerebral palsy
and understanding its associations with the gross motor
function measure.

Constance Beattie Memorial Fund Bursary Program
Awarded: $1,500 ($750 per recipient)

Tyson Plesuk,University of Alberta
Level 3 upper quadrant course (Orthopaedic Division).

Erika Mayall,University of British Columbia
Discover physio – the series.

The Dominion Physiotherapy Research Scholarship
Awarded: $4,000

Allison Ezzat, University of British Columbia
Improving rheumatoid arthritis care: can community-based physiotherapists
reliably identify joint inflammation in people with rheumatoid arthritis?

Heart and stroke foundation Scholarship in Physiotherapy Research
Awarded: PhD Candidate – $5,000 / Masters Candidate – $4,000

Charla Gray, Queen’s University
Reliability of sit-to-stand measures and effect of therapeutic strategies
on these measures in healthy older adults and people with stroke.

Gayatri Aravind, McGill University
Obstacle circumvention in individuals with
visuo-spatial neglect (VSN).

Ontario Physiotherapy Association Kim Wolny Research Grant
Awarded: $10,000

Denise Connelly, University of Western Ontario
Exploring the emerging role of physiotherapy in self-care chronic disease
management and wellness promotion for older adults living at home.

OrthoCanada Research Award in Neck and Back Rehabilitation and Core Stability
Awarded: $5,000

Eric Parent, University of Alberta
Can pain location changes predict clinical outcomes of treatments
for non-specific low back pain?

Physiotherapy association of british columbia Research Grant
Awarded: $5,000

Pat Camp, University of British Columbia
Validation of the deMorton Mobility Index (DEMM) in hospitalized
patients with an acute exacerbation of COPD

Neurosciences division/PFC Joint Award for Physiotherapy Research in the Neurosciences
Awarded: $3,000

Kara Patterson, University of Western Ontario
Establishing a link between gait asymmetry and increased
loading of the non-paaretic limb in individuals post-stroke

PFC Research Grants
Awarded: $4,000

Mary-Ann Dalzell, McGill University
A randomized controlled trial on the effects of a progressive
exercise program on the time course to recovery.

Seniors’ Health Division Research Grant in Older Adult Health
Awarded: $4,500

Susan Muir, Parkwood Hospital, St. Joseph’s Health Care London
Quantitative and clinical measurements of balance function
in community-swelling older adults with Alzheimer’s disease