2009 Award Recipients

Master’s Professional Leadership Award

Recipient: Heather Phipps Department of Integrated Studies in Education

Heather Phipps is a master`s student in second language education. Heather enjoys being involved in student life at McGill and being active in the community. In the past year, she worked as a research assistant for a project on multicultural Canadian picture books. As part of this research project, she participated in conferences in Ottawa and Newfoundland. In addition, she helped to coordinate a faculty dinner and social for the Department of Integrated Studies in Education. Heather`s research interests include multilingualism, language education and literacy. Spending time in nature, hiking, travelling and reading are among Heather`s favourite leisure activities.

Master’s Research Excellence Award

Recipient: Martin Picard Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education

Martin completed his Bachelor First Class Honours in Physiology at McGill University in 2007, after which he started Masters work in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education at McGill, studying cellular bioenergetics in muscles of animals and humans. This work involved the development of new research techniques useful to the field of muscle research. He recently fast-tracked to the PhD program under Dr. Taivassalo’ supervision and currently holds a Doctoral Canada Graduate Scholarship from NSERC and is a CIHR-Psychosocial Oncology Research Training (PORT) fellow. Martin’s PhD thesis is directed at understanding how mitochondrial function in skeletal muscles is affected by (1) genetically inherited mutations, and (2) high-dose chemotherapy-induced damage to mitochondrial DNA after cancer treatment. Martin’s interest also relates to the psychosocial factors related to impaired exercise capacity and his projects will investigate the association of impaired muscle function on quality of life in these disease conditions. In addition, Martin received a 3-year training (2006-2009) in holistic medicine and is an active member of the National Association of Naturopaths. He is also interested in theory research that seeks to explore the different aspects (bio-psycho-social) of health and disease, which can contribute to a global/holistic perspective of health.

Doctoral Awards for Research and Professional Excellence

Recipient: Anna Bonnel Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology

Anna Bonnel is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University, specializing in School and Applied Child Psychology, and is a member of the McGill Youth Study (MYST) Team. Her research is focused on auditory processing among persons with autism spectrum disorders and is supervised by Dr. Jake Burack and Dr. Laurent Mottron at Hopital Rivière-des-Prairies. Specifically, Anna is interested in how persons with autism process simple and complex sounds in comparison to typically developing individuals. Anna is also interested in the rare musical ability known as absolute pitch among persons with autism. Her research has been funded by the Fonds Québécois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies, a training grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, McGill Majors fellowships, and the Centre de Recherche Fernand Seguin. Anna is a graduate of the Autism Research training (ART) program. She is currently preparing her thesis defense.

Recipient: Lori Kloda School of Information Studies

Lorie Kloda received her MLIS from McGill in 2001, and works as a librarian at the McGill Life Sciences Library. In 2006, she enrolled as a PhD student in the School of Information Studies. Her FQRSC-funded doctoral research explores the information needs of health professionals in the context of evidence-based patient care. Lorie’s other research interests include information literacy instruction, academic integrity, and health literacy and she has published papers on these topics as well as presented at professional and scholarly conferences. Between 2003 and 2005, Lorie was instructor for the graduate-level course Online Information Retrieval in the School of Information Studies at McGill and she continues to provide guest lectures in several courses. She currently serves as an Associate Editor for the open access journal Evidence Based Library and Information Practice.

2008 Award Recipients

Master’s Professional Leadership Award

Recipient: Marie-Lou Riberdy School of Information Studies

Although Marie-Lou Riberdy is currently doing a Masters of Information Studies (MLIS) in the librarianship stream, she has undertaken a club that involves all streams (archives, librarianship, and knowledge management); she is the president of BASIS (Bilingual Aspirations of the School of Information Studies). She believes in the importance of having activities to increase bilingualism (French/English) in her program because all interactions and readings are traditionally done in English. Furthermore, she has been a mentor to incoming MLIS students.

As for personal development, she is the Vice President of Public Relations for Toastmaster’s Club Excellence (public speaking club allowing advance members only) and she also finds time to do baladi dancing. Additionally, she is a part-time reference librarian at Concordia University, where she gains invaluable experience: what is theoretically easy in class is not always practically applicable. Marie-Lou Riberdy demonstrates leadership by improving not only her own professional life but also SIS (School of Information Studies) students’ quality of life by advising them and creating occasions to increase bilingualism.

Master’s Research Excellence Award

Recipient: Elizabeth Roberts Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology

Elizabeth Roberts recently completed her M.A. in the Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology and will be continuing as a PhD student in the School / Applied Child Psychology program. She is a member of the Heath Research Team, supervised by Dr. Nancy Heath. Her primary research interests include the academic and general self-perceptions of children and adolescents with learning disabilities (LD). This includes but is not limited to the existence and development of self-perceptions, their relation to other facets of well-being, and their interaction with instructional feedback. In addition to research work, Elizabeth work in the community with children and adolescents with LD through outreach programs, a highly rewarding and enjoyable experience.

Doctoral Awards for Research and Professional Excellence

Recipient: Nancy Miodrag Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology

Nancy Miodrag, M.A., is a fourth year doctoral student at McGill University in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology specializing in Human Development. For the past 3 years, she has worked as a Research Associate for the National Early Intervention Research Initiative, headed by the principle investigator Dr. Ingrid Sladeczek, and co-investigator Mr. Daniel Amar from Yaldei Developmental Centre. Under the supervision of Dr. Sladeczek and with the support of the Fonds Quebecois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture, Nancy is investigating the predictors of psychological wellbeing, stress, and coping in parents of children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder and Down syndrome. Other areas of research interest include human rights related to sexuality for persons with intellectual/developmental disabilities and issues surrounding diagnosis, assessment, and service delivery for children with global developmental delay. She has also presented at numerous national conferences and taught courses on learning difficulties and exceptional students in the Faculty of Education at McGill.

Recipient: Emily Blake Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology

Emily Blake is completing her Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. She holds an M.A. in Counselling Psychology from McGill University, and a B.A. Honors Psychology from the University of Western Ontario. She is actively involved in the research conducted by the McGill Psychotherapy Process Research Group (MPPRG) and oversees projects examining the use of therapist technique in psychotherapy. Her research interests include psychotherapy process, depression, cognitive errors, coping, defense mechanisms, and psychosis.

2007 Award Recipients

Master’s Professional Leadership Award

Recipient: Tamara Beach Department of Integrated Studies in Education

Tamara is a teacher with the Lester B. Pearson School Board. Her subject areas include: Catholic Religious Instruction, Moral Education and Ethics and Religious Culture. Recently Tamara was selected as a Facilitator for the New Ethics and Religious Culture Program training offered through the Ministry of Education and McGill University. This past year, Tamara helped to organize a Peaceful School’s International ceremony. She contributes to school life by leading, organizing and participating in numerous extra-curricular activities. As a result of her keen interest in school athletics, Tamara coached a Junior Girls’ Volleyball Team and a Junior and Senior Girls’ Badminton Team.

Tamara is active within the community. She has been a volunteer for the Missing Children’s Network since 2002 and is a Catechist for her local parish. For workshops and conferences and leisure activities, Tamara enjoys travelling across the continent.

Master’s Research Excellence Award

Recipient: Ashleigh Yule Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology

Ashleigh Yule is a Master’s Candidate in the School/Applied Child Psychology program in the department of Educational and Counselling Psychology. Her research interests include early intervention, educational strategies, and behavioural supports for children with developmental delays. Through her studies and upon graduation, Ashleigh intends to make meaningful contributions to children with developmental delays and their families. In addition to the EGSS Research Excellence Fellowship, Ashleigh is the recipient of several other fellowships, including a 2006-07 Recruitment Excellence Fellowship from McGill University and a 2007-08 Canadian Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). In addition to her academic endeavours, Ashleigh is passionate about food, baking, Oscar season, Calgary, her husband Isaac, and their little baby growing in her tummy (due February 8, 2008)!

Doctoral Award for Research and Professional Excellence

Recipient: Kerri Staples Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education

Kerri Staples is a doctoral student in Kinesiology and Physical Education specializing in adapted physical activity. My research interests include motor control and cognition as they pertain to motor development of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). For my dissertation I am completing a longitudinal study exploring movement skill development and motor planning of children with ASD to understand more about the processes involved during the acquisition and execution of movement skills. It is my hope that this increased understanding will facilitate the development of early interventions within the realm of motor development for children with ASD.

For the past 6 years, I have worked as an instructor and supervisor at an adapted gym and swim program teaching children with ASD fundamental movement skills. I have also worked as an educator both privately and within the education system providing individualized instruction. I am currently completing my third and final year as a trainee in an Autism Research Training program funded through a CIHR initiative.