Elizabeth Dean

Dr. Dean’s scholarly work focuses on bridging the ultimate knowledge translation gap between what is known about the causes of and factors contributing to lifestyle-related non-communicable diseases (heart disease, smoking-related conditions, cancer, hypertension and stroke, obesity, diabetes, and osteoporosis) and physical therapy practice. She has particular interest in their epidemiology and cross cultural means of maximizing outcomes of health education and interventions such as physical activity. She conducts research in the Middle East and Asia as well as multicultural Canada, and works with international teams to capacity build with respect to health-focused physical therapy practice. Dr. Dean has conducted extensive work on the management of chronic poliomyelitis based on a model of health and consideration of cultural factors. Currently, she is focusing on effective knowledge translation of existing and new knowledge by physical therapists to meet the priority health care needs of people globally in the 21st century, specifically non-communicable diseases.

Dr. Dean is not currently accepting new incoming graduate students.

See publications by Elizabeth Dean on PubMed

• Leader in health-based physical therapy practice, education and research to prevent, reverse as well as manage lifestyle-related non-communicable diseases
• Invited speaker to over 30 countries (key note addresses, guest lectures, workshops, symposia, and consultancies)
• Professor Dean has served for one year as the Senior for Cardiovascular and Respiratory Team of the Kuwait Dalhousie Project, Kuwait
• Served as Visiting Professor for one year with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
• Currently serving three-year term as Visiting Professor, School of Health, Care and Welfare, Mälardalen University, Sweden
• Currently, Adjunct Professor, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland
• This past year, Key Note addresses included the Centenary of the School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago, New Zealand; the International Conference of Health and Welfare and Co-Production, Mälardalen University, Sweden, co-partnered with Thailand, Ministry of Public Health; and the inaugural Student Physiotherapy Conference Scotland 2014
• With international colleagues, Professor Dean has convened two Physical Therapy Summits on Global Health, with a third Summit planned for Singapore at the World Confederation for Physical Therapy in May 2015 that will focus on the dissemination of health competencies
• Her clinical practice focuses on a health-based approach; she specializes in the care of people with complex health challenges and multiple co-morbidities including those with chronic poliomyelitis