Meet the Stroke Team
Our team is comprised of Scientists and Clinicians with the expertise to conduct multidisciplinary and integrative clinical research in stroke.
Primary Investigator
Sean Dukelow, MD PhD FRCPC
Dr. Sean Dukelow is a clinician-scientist at the University of Calgary and Foothills Medical Centre. He earned his dual medical degree and doctorate from the University of Western Ontario, and went on to complete a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency at Queen's University.
Currently, his research interests include the use of robotics to assess and treat sensory and motor deficits in stroke patients. He is part of many collaborative teams of researchers, therapists, and physicians.
Research Staff
Mark Piitz, BSc
Email: Mark.Piitz@albertahealthservices.ca
Mark is a graduate from the University of Calgary. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Natural Science in 2012. Mark has worked previously as a physiotherapist aide, and has worked as a researcher for the PRIMP project for Alberta Health Services. Currently he works as the lab manager for the Dukelow Neuro Robot Lab. Mark's roles in the lab include assisting in robotic assessments, study recruitment, and database management.
Alexandra McKinnon, BSc
Email: alexandra.mckinnon@ucalgary.ca
Alex was born in Calgary and completed her BSc in Biological Psychology and Applied Ethics at the University of Victoria. Throughout her degree, she had a keen interest in exploring the relationships between neuroanatomy, genetics, and psychological well-being. While working with community organizations such as the Victoria Brain Injury Society, NEED2: Suicide Prevention, Education & Support, and with the local Health Authority, Alex was able to pursue these interests and develop a passion for understanding brain development.
Trainees
Matthew Chilvers, PhD
Email: matthew.chilvers@ucalgary.ca
Matt is a postdoctoral associate in the Dukelow lab, and originally hails from the UK. He moved to Calgary to obtain his PhD, focusing on bettering our understanding of the grey and white matter correlates of proprioception. As a post-doc, he continues to be interested by the importance of proprioception, it’s recovery after stroke and exploring the potential for targeted therapeutic interventions for proprioceptive impairments. When not in the lab, Matt can likely be found out on the golf course, playing cricket, running, biking or hiking in the mountains. If he’s not doing something active, he’s probably at home watching a game on TV and spending time with his family and two cats.
Deepthi Rajasekhar, PhD
Email: deepthi.rajasheka1@ucalgary.ca
Dr. Deepthi Rajashekar is currently a Postdoctoral fellow. She holds a PhD from the University of Calgary in Medical Image Analysis and Machine Learning. Her training focused on investigating the neural correlates of acute ischemic stroke and their utility in predicting long-term clinical outcomes of patients, for use in precision medicine. Dr. Rajashekar continues to be passionate about studying the neuromechanisms of recovery and aims to implement rehabilitative technology that improves patient-centric care.
Trevor Low, BSc(Hons), MD/PhD Candidate (Neuroscience)
Email: talow@ucalgary.ca
Trevor is a born and raised Calgarian. In 2011, Trevor participated in the Heritage Youth Researcher Summer (HYRS) program where he studied neural plasticity in rodents. In his Bachelor of Neuroscience at the University of Calgary, Trevor’s undergraduate research and honours thesis examined the neurological underpinnings of delayed concussion recovery using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The summer prior to joining Dr. Dukelow’s team, Trevor completed a medical imaging internship at the Luxembourg Institute of Health. Through these experiences, Trevor developed a passion for neuroplasticity following brain injury. Trevor’s current research examines the combined effects of transcranial magnetic brain stimulation and intensive speech therapy on language recovery after stroke.
Lydia Kuhl, BSc, PhD Candidate (Neuroscience)
Email: lydia.kuhl@ucalgary.ca
Originally from Waterloo, Ontario, Lydia moved to Ottawa in 2015 to begin her undergraduate degree in biomedical sciences at the University of Ottawa. During her time there, she skated hundreds of kilometers on the Rideau Canal, ate a lot of Beavertails, and worked in Dr. Dale Corbett’s lab where she fell in love with neuroplasticity and stroke recovery research. Her honours thesis examined biomarkers for post-stroke neuroplasticity using a rodent model. Now, she’s shifted gears into clinical research with the Dukelow Neuro Robot Lab, where she’s examining the impact of eye movements on proprioception post-stroke.