Dragana Krpalek, PhD, OTR/L

Dr. Krpalek is passionate about occupational therapy and contributing to the profession through research and training of students. She graduated as a Doctor in Philosophy in 2012 from the University of Queensland, Australia. Since then her appreciation and love for research has continued to grow. Dr. Krpalek's clinical and research interests are in lifestyle medicine and she coordinates research courses for the program. Students are guided through the process of obtaining ethical clearance, gathering and analyzing data and presenting their findings. She also works with doctorate and PhD students, serving as an advisor as they shape their research projects. Dr. Krpalek’s other teaching area involves instruction in functional neuroscience and trends in neuroscience. She is fascinated with the human brain, its capacity to connect, learn and adapt. She enjoys travelling and as a result has provided occupational therapy services in the USA, Australia, and Haiti. Her current work focus is in primary care and health promotion. Dr. Krpalek’s personal career objective is to deliver occupational therapy services to vulnerable individuals with limited access to health resources. Academically, her objective is to continue contributing research evidence to the evolving profession and to deliver courses in a way that will motivate, and inspire students for the future.