Dr. Lara Cooke

Biography

Lara Cooke was appointed Head of the Section of Neurology in 2019. She is a neurologist who completed her medical, residency, and fellowship training at the University of Calgary, and has a Master’s degree in Physiology from the University of Western Ontario. Her subspecialty interest lies in headache medicine. Lara completed her graduate training in Medical Education at the Cumming School of Medicine, and focuses her efforts on medical education leadership throughout her fifteen-year career. She has served as the Assistant Dean of Faculty Development at the Cumming School of Medicine, where she built the Teaching Scholars in Medicine Program within the Office of Faculty Development. She subsequently held various educational leadership roles in Calgary, including Program Director of the Neurology Residency and Associate Dean of Continuing Medical Education and Professional Development at the Cumming School of Medicine. Lara has led the Calgary Office of the Physician Learning Program and is the current chair of the Provincial Steering Committee. Since 2002, she has worked nationally and internationally as a Clinician Educator in the Office of Education at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, co-authoring the CanMEDS Communicator Role for CanMEDS 2005. Additionally, she has been involved in faculty development initiatives, including the Competence by Design initiative.

Research Interests