Physical Therapy welcomes new professor and department head

Dr. Christina W.Y. Hui-Chan has been approved by the UI Board of Trustees as professor and head of the Department of Physical Therapy in the College of Applied Health Sciences. Prof. Hui-Chan comes to UIC from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where she served as chair professor and head of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences for 10 years. She will begin at UIC in September 2008.

Prof. Hui-Chan is an excellent addition to the college as it rolls out the recently approved PhD in Kinesiology, Nutrition and Rehabilitation. A pioneer in neuro-rehabilitation, Prof. Hui-Chan has played a pivotal role in the development of rehabilitation sciences in both Canada and China. She initiated and launched Canada’s first PhD program in rehabilitation sciences at McGill University (1988). She also accepted the first cohort of PhD students in rehabilitation sciences in Hong Kong (1995), and started China’s first master’s degree program in physical therapy (2004), both at HKPU.

Prof. Hui-Chan’s current research interests focus on merging the best of Chinese therapeutics with western rehabilitation practice. Her studies on stroke rehabilitation and Tai Chi have attracted international media attention. Her publications can be found in highly ranked, indexed journals such as Stroke, Brain Research and Neuroscience Letters, just to name a few. She has given many invited addresses on five continents.

Prof. Hui-Chan earned a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy (1969), a master’s degree in physiology (1974) and a doctorate in physiology (1979) from McGill University in Montreal. She began her teaching career at McGill and was named director of its School of Physical and Occupational Therapy in 1986, a position she held before moving to Hong Kong.