PEOPLE

Director: Dr. Chris Dennison, PhD PEng

Dennison@uvic.ca

Dr. Dennison is the director of the Biomechanics and Instrumentation Laboratory. He is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Director of the Biomedical Engineering program. In 2021 Dr. Dennison moved from the University of Alberta, where he was the director of the Biomedical Engineering undergraduate program, to the University of Victoria and established the Biomechanics and Instrumentation Laboratory (BaIL). Dr. Dennison's major research interests are in the area of biomechanics and biomedical instrumentation and focuses on understanding mechanisms of traumatic injury in contexts spanning civilian life, sports and defence. Dr. Dennison is a former Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Biomedical Instrumentation, a member of the scientific review committee of the International Research Council on the Biomechanics of Injury, a committee member of ASTM International and a past recipient of numerous awards, including a Discovery Award from the Banting Research Foundation.

Our Team

Dr. Paris Vakiel, Postdoctoral Researcher

Dr. Paris Vakiel obtained her PhD from the University of Calgary in 2019 in the area of knee biomechanics specifically changes in mechanical stress following ligament injury and its effects on articular cartilage health. Her current focus is on head and neck kinematics and understanding the biomechanical differences between the female and male response to head impacts, PPE test methods and human surrogate development and testing.

Aaron Brice, Master's student

Aaron’s primary research focuses on the influence of body mass, and body orientation, in head first impacts during free fall events for the improvement of helmet certification tests.

Aaron grew up around manufacturing and racing motorcycles. after completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta in mechanical engineering in 2015 he continued to pursue manufacturing using conventional and additive methods for the remanufacturing of construction and forestry equipment. He then transitioned to working on well optimization/automation systems for the oil and gas sector. In 2020, his interest in understanding how the protective gear he used while racing (and crashing) motorcycles is developed drew him to a masters degree. He has since traded the motorcycle racing for endurance sport and the island life. Today you can find him doing “casual” bike rides, competing in triathlons, spending time with his dog, or setting off copious amounts of fireworks.

Ashton Martin, Master's student

Ashton received his BSc in Mechanical Engineering with a Specialization in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Alberta in 2020 and is now pursuing a thesis-based MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta. When Ashton began engineering school in 2015, he quickly began working with Dr. Dennison as an undergraduate student on various head and neck injury projects. After graduating, he continued his work in the lab and began his own thesis research investigating the effects of changing the resting intracranial pressure (ICP) of an artificial surrogate headform and if these changes affect the kinematic and pressure response of the headform to blunt impacts.

Hossein Korani, PhD student

Hossein joined the biomechanics and instrumentation lab in 2023. He received his BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology and his MSc in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Tehran. His primary research focus is in innovative methods of measuring head kinematics in sports. he is also interested in the areas of bioengineering, applied mechanics and artificial Intelligence. He enjoys the cinema, comedy shows, backpacking, learning new languages, and drinking copious amounts of tea!

Emi George, Co-op student

Emi is a 3rd year Biomedical Engineering Student with a keen interest in the mechanical aspects of medical device development. Her co-op projects include the development of an innovative auto-injecting medical devices and impact testing of CFL helmets. This is her second term with the biomechanics and instrumentations laboratory.

Jag Dhaliwal, Co-op student

Jag is a dedicated Biomedical Engineering student at the University of Victoria, with a passion for pushing the boundaries of science and technology. In his coop with the Biomechanics and Instrumentation lab, he'll apply his knowledge to real-world challenges and assist graduate students with their work. When He's not in the lab or studying, you'll find him in the gym or reading science fiction in the Engineering lab wing lobby.

Mobina Rafieipour, Co-op student

Mobina is a fourth-year biomedical engineering student with a specialization in the electrical stream. Her project is focused on the electronics section of the Naloxone auto-injector device. She had an unwavering passion in applying theoretical knowledge to enhance healthcare solutions and improve individuals' quality of life. When not immersed in her work, Mobina spends her time strolling along the coastline, indulging in fiction, and experimenting with healthy cake recipes and innovative coffee blends

Past Members

PhD

Kevin Montero Adanty (University of Alberta)
Yizhao Li (University of Alberta)
Maria Belen Ortiz Garcia (University of Alberta)
Paris Vakiel (University of Calgary)
Brooklynn Knowles (University of Alberta)
Amirali Toosi (University of Alberta)

Master's

Robert Chauvet (University of Alberta)
Lindsey Agnew (University of Alberta)
Gabriella Wynn (University of Alberta)
Kathryn Houg (University of Alberta)
Samantha Macgillivray (University of Alberta)
Manju Sivam (University of Alberta)
Megan Ogle (University of Alberta)
Austin Azar (University of Alberta)
Kapil Bhagavathula (University of Alberta)
Henry Yu (University of Alberta)
Robert Calyn Butz (University of Alberta)

Co-op students

University of Victoria

Alan Smith
Catherine Wong
Katharine Barret
Regan Casey
Ian McDonald
Jack Walmsley
Eric Pettapiece
Kristof Szojka

University of Alberta

Olivia Tronchin
Julia Shore
Lowell McAllister
George Felobes
Ashton Martin
Solbee Seo
Dorsa Nahid
Ashton Martin
Raymond Guan
Tyler Weiss
Kirsti Bell
Samantha MacGillivray
Saad Navaid
Felix Leong
Prashant Nundloll
Henry Yu
Austin Azar
Shaan Muhammad
Grayson Henderson
Katherine Evans
Robert Calyn Butz
Jake Hadfield
Henry Yu