Dr. Heather Shepherd

Assistant Professor

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Biography

Heather Shepherd’s research employs implementation science approaches to understand support mechanisms for adolescents returning to daily living, school, and sports after concussion. She aims to co-create partnerships with individuals and communities to develop programs designed to support these transitions. Her work includes collaborating with educators to co-design return-to-school concussion management protocols, and she is developing a novel peer support program for high school students who have sustained concussions. Shepherd is particularly interested in understanding the injury experiences of athletes, especially those involved in adapted sports and power sports. She utilizes qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches to address research questions in collaboration with community partners. Her literature contributions include research on prevention strategies for modifiable risk factors associated with sport-related concussions in female athletes and social marketing applications in implementation science. Additionally, she has received various research grants to support initiatives aimed at raising concussion awareness among youth in community sports.

Research Interests

Requirements for Western University

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.3
IELTS
Listening
Required:6
Reading
Required:6
Writing
Required:6
Speaking
Required:6
Overall
Required:6
TOEFL
Listening
Required:20
Reading
Required:20
Writing
Required:20
Speaking
Required:20
Total
Required:86
Prerequisites
Four-year degree, honours or the equivalent, in anthropology or equivalent background in social sciences.
Application Checklist
  • Online application
  • Two academic references
  • Sample of written work (15-20 pages)
  • Statement of academic intent
  • Transcripts
  • CV (optional)
Specialization Notes

Streams include Archaeology and Bioarchaeology, and Sociocultural Anthropology.