Jay works as an instructional designer at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. He is also in the process of completing a doctorate (Ed.D) in Education Technology from the University of Calgary. Jay's previous research focused on the use of technology for e-learning environments such as podcasts. His current and future research will focus on how the human brain functions during learning activities using new 3D models of anatomical structures and functional MRI. This research will hopefully produce a clearer picture of what cognitive load looks like in an active brain during learning. 

Before joining the CRIPT team, Victoria Roach successfully completed her Bachelors in Biomedical Biology with Honors from Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario. Growing up in Northern Ontario, she developed a passion for photography which has since grown into a keen interest in medical imaging and technology. She is presently working towards her Doctorate in Clinical Anatomy at the University of Western Ontario under the supervision of  Dr. Tim Wilson PhD and Dr. Roy Eagleson, PhD. Her research is centered around the development and analysis of cutting edge training tools which employ 3-D technology to enhance skill acquisition in surgeons. Victoria’s previous work in the CRIPT has included the design and evaluation of  Avatar inspired 3-D videographic techniques to acquire surgical suite footage and incorporate it into an accessible e-learning module.

Sonya Van Nuland is a Clinical Anatomy Masters Candidate at Western University.  Before joining the team at Western, she completed a BSc at the University of Guelph in Biomedical Sciences.  Sonya is currently exploring the effects of competition on the academic performance of undergraduate students.  Through the use of a web-based classroom response system, Sonya will investigate if competition among peers in a tournament setting motivates students to familiarize themselves with lecture material, and as a result, perform better on exams.  Sonya will also be investigating whether individual knowledge of tournament rank in the ERS influences student scholarly motivation and study habits prior to examination.  It is through this research that Sonya hopes to determine when and where competition in beneficial in education.

Prior to starting his MSc. in Clinical Anatomy, Jeremy Roth completed a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree from Western and received a postgraduate certificate in International Project Management at Humber College. His research focus is in 3D histology education. He has created a 3D model of a renal corpuscle from real histological sections and is planning to build an e-learning tool with that model.

Benjamin is a Clinical Anatomy Master’s student investigating the three dimensional movement of fibular abduction in a below knee amputation.  Using OsiriX, a medical imaging program, Benjamin is reconstructing computer tomography scans into a 3D model of the tibia and fibula to measure the proximal angle at which the two bones articulate.

Steve graduated with a BSc from Western in 2009 majoring in both Physiology and Psychology. After many years of hitting the books he took a hiatus from his academic career to pursue a more well-rounded education in life. From late 2009 to early 2011 he travelled around the world soaking up the culture and testing his worldly survival skills in places like Australia and Southeast Asia. Returning to Western unbitten by snakes, spiders, and centipedes he re-entered academia in the fall of 2011 as a Master of Clinical Anatomy student. Currently he is working on developing a dimensional model of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) articular disc to be used as a structural scaffold for tissue bioengineering of prosthetic replacement constructs. It is hoped that this will help researchers in the field reconstruct an accurately shaped organic replacement that can be surgically implanted in patients with severe temporomandibular disorder (TMD) alleviating their discomfort and pain, while restoring normal function to the joint.

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