Alexandra is a first-year student at CMCC and one of the class representatives for Year 1. She completed her Bachelors of Kinesiology at The University of Toronto in 2017. Alex then helped to open and run a multidisciplinary clinic for the last 2.5 years until she began her chiropractic education at CMCC. She is small but mighty and despite Dr. Gold's disbelief, she competes in both powerlifting and running competitions. Alex is both nervous and excited to share her personal story and how similar feelings can be related to our time here at CMCC and in life. Listen along to a story about imposter syndrome and what it means (or doesn't mean) to be extraordinary.
Dr. Carole Smith is the clinic director, chiropractor, medical acupuncture provider and doula at YOUR HEALTH Wellness Centre in Oakville, Ontario. She graduated with clinic honours from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC) in Toronto, where she is now on faculty, and completed continuing education with the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association. She is also certified in contemporary medical acupuncture (McMaster University), Webster certified and a CAPPA-trained Doula.
Before attending CMCC, she received her Bachelor of Arts from Simon Fraser University, majoring in psychology with a focus on children with autism. She worked for 12 years as an IBI therapist for children with autism, both privately and at Erinoak Halton and Peel, and a year interning at the Muki Baum Children's Centre in Toronto doing chiropractic and rehabilitation for the dual-diagnosis students at the center. She is currently working on completing her Master of Education from the University of British Columbia.
As an accomplished bagpipe player, she has competed in various bagpipe competitions across North American and Scotland, including winning two World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.
After graduation from the Faculty of Medicine at Ain Shams University in Egypt, Dr. Bassaly joined the Physiology Department and earned her Masters in Basic Medical Sciences, (Major Physiology and Minor Biochemistry) and Ph.D. in Physiology. She has extensive experience in teaching Human Physiology and Pathophysiology to undergraduate and graduate students of Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Dentistry, and Nursing Schools. With years of academic teaching to students with many diverse scientific and non-scientific backgrounds, Dr. Bassaly served on the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee of the Physiology Department at Ain Shams University and helped with the development of course content, teaching materials and handouts. She supervised Masters and Ph.D. theses’ candidates and mentored many new faculties. She also worked as a Medical Consultant at Novartis Pharmaceutical Company in Cairo, Egypt. Dr. Bassaly joined CMCC in 2016 as the instructor and course coordinator of PH 2204 “Systems Physiology''. She also co-teaches other courses, such as PA 2205 “Microbiology and Infectious Disease”, in addition to different labs. Dr. Bassaly is the chair of the Physiology/Biochemistry and Pathology/Immunology Departments at CMCC.
Dr. Carol-Ann Weis practices at 2 busy interprofessional clinics in downtown Toronto. She graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Physical Education (1992) and a Master of Science in Exercise Physiology (1997). In 2008, she graduated from Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College. In addition to her private practice, Carol Ann is an Assistant Professor at CMCC where she lectures and conducts research on pregnancy and postpartum-related back pain and is a resource clinician in the student clinic. She has a number of peer-reviewed articles and has presented her research at national and international conferences. She is also co-author of The Athletic Mom-to-Be: Training your way into pregnancy and motherhood.
Dr. David Wickes has been the President of the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College since 2014. He previously served as the Dean of the University of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic, the first university-based chiropractic program in the United States, and also as an executive administrator at the University of Western States and the National University of Health Sciences. A 1977 graduate from National, he completed a residency in chiropractic family practice, and specialized in the diagnosis and management of chronic disorders. He has a master’s degree in education and human development. He is known for his work in simulation-based training and assessment, accreditation, curriculum design, and educational technology.
Dr. Pat Vellner is a recent graduate from CMCC in the class of 2019. He is also a competitive CrossFit Athlete who has competed at the CrossFit Games 5 times, finishing on the podium 3 times. Dr. Vellner now lives and practices on Vancouver Island, while still traveling the world (until recently) to compete in CrossFit. He joins us to talk about his experience at CMCC being a DC student while also simultaneously juggling a career in athletics. He discusses some of the challenges and the skills he developed that allowed him to be successful and adjust to his extreme schedule.
