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Â鶹´«Ã½ announces the appointment of Dr. Bernadette Murphy as Acting Dean of the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS), effective January 1.

Bernadette graduated from Queen’s University in 1985 and the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in 1989. She completed her Master of Science (1992) and PhD (1998) in Human Neurophysiology at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. She was a facul­ty member in the Department of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Auckland from 1999 to 2007, where she established a Master of Science in Exercise Rehabilitation program.

In January 2008, she returned to Canada and led efforts to establish the Kinesiology program in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Â鶹´«Ã½ University. From 2016 to 2018, she was Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Health Sciences, and in 2018 was named Associate Dean, SGPS. She also served as Interim Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences from March 2019 to June 2020.

Bernadette is the Director of Â鶹´«Ã½’s Human Neuro­physiology and Rehabilitation Laboratory. The overall theme of her research is neural plasticity (adaptation) in humans, investigating how technology use and accompanying altered postures and fatigue may lead to maladaptive neuroplasticity. She also investigates the role of physical interventions in aiding the re-establishment of appropriate neuromuscular connections once plasticity has become maladaptive. She has won several awards at international conferences and in 2014 was the recipient of Â鶹´«Ã½ University’s Research Excellence Award (Senior category).

Dr. Bernadette Murphy takes over the SGPS reins from Dr. Langis Roy who was recently appointed Â鶹´«Ã½’s new Deputy Provost. The university welcomes Professor Murphy to her new role as SGPS positions itself for further success and growth as a leading graduate and postdoctoral studies destination.