Breda Eubank, PhD, CAT(C)
Breda began teaching at Mount Royal in 2009 as a sessional instructor. Over the years, Breda has taken on several different roles that include course development, coordination, and curriculum planning. Breda teaches across the department in the Common Core, Athletic Therapy, and Physical Literacy. In the community, Breda has served as President and Vice-President of the Alberta Athletic Therapists Association, member of the Regional President’s Committee of the Canadian Athletic Therapists Association, and Secretary of the Sport Medicine Council of Alberta. Breda is a member of the Canadian Professional Rodeo Sport Medicine Team. Currently, Breda is engaged with ongoing provincial quality improvement initiatives with the Bone and Joint Health Strategic Clinical Network and the Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute. Breda’s research interests include musculoskeletal health, health services quality improvement, psychometric tool development, consensus methods, economic evaluation, public policy, and rodeo research.
Mark Lafave, PhD, CAT (C)
Mark began at Mount Royal in 1994 as both an instructor in the department and as the Head Athletic Therapist for Cougar Athletics. In service to both these groups, Mark was instrumental in the design and development of the clinic at Mount Royal (Optimal Therapies). Since 1997 Mark has focused primarily on an academic role at MRU. He was part of the inaugural class to become a full professor at MRU in 2012. In 2018, Mark won the MRU career achievement award for research and scholarship. He has focused his research in two main areas: clinical education/SOTL and clinical research focused on knee and shoulders.
Jenelle McAllister, Senior Lecturer
Jenelle completed both a Bachelor’s degree and a Master of Science degree in Kinesiology at the University of Calgary. Her graduate work was focused on health economics, injury prevention, and injury epidemiology. She has an interest in medical education/curriculum development and has completed her PhD coursework in this area, at the University of Calgary. In addition to instructing in the Health & Physical Education Department, Jenelle works clinically as an Athletic Therapist in Optimal Therapy at Mount Royal University and has a special interest and expertise in acute and chronic knee injuries.
Dennis Valdez, PhD, CAT (C)
Dennis started at MRU in 2009. For his master's thesis, he explored biomechanical and performance differences between the preferred and non-preferred legs. For his doctoral dissertation, he investigated the impact of adjusting feedback parameters on knowledge and performance development in athletic therapy students using high-fidelity simulation. His current research interests include chronic pain management and concussions.
Khatija Westbrook, PhD, PT, CAT (C)
Khatija has been a practicing physiotherapist and athletic therapist for more than 25 years. She has taken her passion for elite athletics into working with varsity athletes at three different universities, working with two national teams and at numerous major games, graduate work in sport epidemiology and the classroom. She teaches in Athletic Therapy and Physical Literacy.
Khatija has a concomitant passion for complementary, alternative and integrated medicine. She has taken courses, workshops and seminars in acupuncture, craniosacral therapy, visceral manipulation, cupping, Qi Gong, Reiki and holistic energy healing.
- Erin Sanderson, Administrative Assistant to the Chair
- Gisèle Marcoux, Athletic Therapy Advisor and Practicum Advisor
- Lindsey Wynder, Ecotourism and Outdoor Leadership, Physical Literacy and Sport/Recreation Management Academic Advisor