Chair's Message

Welcome to the Department of Physical Therapy. 

It is an honour to be appointed as Interim Chair of the Department of Physical Therapy for the next two years, effective March 1, 2026. 

I have spent several years working as a physical therapist and joined the department as a faculty member in 2014. Since then, I have spent much of my career as a researcher developing innovative approaches to restoring movement, function and participation for individuals living with complex neurological disease, with a particular interest in spinal cord injury. 

In addition to my role as Interim Chair, I am a Senior Scientist and Associate Lead with the Neural Engineering and Therapeutics Team at KITE, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute–University Health Network, and a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Multi-morbidity and Complex Rehabilitation.   

The next two years will be an exciting time for physical therapy. Our department is expanding our Master of Science in Physical Therapy to the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus, with students set to attend the Scarborough campus starting this fall. 

This expansion will lead to more trained physical therapists entering the health care sector in the coming years – a move that will help meet the growing demand for physical therapists in Canada. 

Our department is uniquely positioned as a leader in physical therapy education through our partnerships with some of the world’s best, most innovative hospitals and through our award-winning faculty members, who are leaders in education scholarship and rehabilitation sciences research. 

As physical therapists continue to play a bigger role in our health care system, our department has an exciting opportunity to adapt our curriculum to ensure our graduates are prepared to enter a world of technology-driven clinical care.  

I am looking forward to supporting our faculty members, as well as our staff members, students and clinical and research partners who contribute to our success as a leader in physical therapy education and research, nationally and internationally. 

Kristin Musselman, BSc, BScPT, MSc, PhD
Interim Chair