Dr. Linda Miller, Vice-Provost (Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies)

In 1994, she was appointed to the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at The University of Western Ontario, and subsequently moved to Westerns’ School of Occupational Therapy.  As a member of the School of Occupational Therapy, Dr. Miller held a number of administrative roles, including Graduate Chair for the School of Occupational Therapy and Co-Chair of the Doctoral Program in Rehabilitation Sciences. In 2003, she was appointed the Faculty of Health Sciences’ Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs.  She served as Associate Dean for five years before assuming the role of Vice-Provost—Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in 2008.

As a researcher in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr. Miller’s program of research has develop to include three major areas:  1) refining measurement through the use of large samples and multiple variables, using large survey databases and modeling methods, 2) improving our understanding of health conditions by examining the measurement of health constructs, and 3) refining measurement through improving our understanding of the factors that affect measurement.  Consistent with these interests, Dr. Miller’s research has evolved to embrace the measurement of many health and rehabilitation phenomena, including clinical competencies, cognitive abilities, language, and occupational participation, with a particular focus on pediatric populations. Her collaborative work has led to the development of a model of evidence based practice that poses a novel perspective of the sources of evidence; this work has evolved to include critical evaluation of the research methods and designs common in health research. She has also contributed to interdisciplinary studies using large, national survey databases to investigate the role of health in the psychosocial and academic development of children.