During the first year of his program, Ezeugwu successfully completed the written and clinical components of the Canadian national exams that permitted him to continue practicing as a physiotherapist. (Photo: Craig Soars)
Moving to a new country, starting a PhD program and becoming a new father within only four months was just part of the journey for Victor Ezeugwu, who is being awarded his PhD in Rehabilitation Science on June 5.
Ezeugwu's interest in rehabilitation medicine developed from a personal connection-one of his eight siblings has a permanent movement disorder.
"I wanted to be involved in finding ways to improve current methods of care and treatment that would really improve the quality of life for people."
After completing his Bachelor of Medical Rehabilitation and spending more than ten years practicing as a physiotherapist at Nigeria's University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, he returned to school to study the correlation between physical endurance and lung function after a stroke.
Wanting to continue his research in stroke recovery, Ezeugwu looked to the United Kingdom, United States and Canada for PhD programs. His search led him to Patricia Manns at the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. The two began speaking over Skype, and in 2012, Ezeugwu received the green light to study in Canada.
"The timing and fit just worked out, and it really made this program the best choice," he said.
He and his wife Julia relocated to Canada in August 2013, and the two of them welcomed the arrival of their daughter, Petra, in December.
During the first year of his program, Ezeugwu successfully completed the written and clinical components of the Canadian national exams that permitted him to continue practicing as a physiotherapist. This led to successive appointments with Capital Care in Edmonton and the Sturgeon Community Hospital in St. Albert, where he has been working while completing his studies.
Becoming a licensed practitioner also qualified him for the prestigious Alberta Innovates Health Solutions Clinician Fellowship Award in 2016, one of the many awards that he has received over the course of his academic career.
Ezeugwu credits the support of his supervisor with helping him balance his numerous responsibilities.
"With Dr. Manns' support and excellent mentorship, I continued to look at ways to motivate stroke survivors to sit less and move more, through strategies that promote light-intensity physical activity while reducing sitting time."
He co-authored a paper with his supervisor on this topic that was featured in an article earlier this year.
"Victor has many strengths, but maybe his greatest is his ability to communicate-both orally and in writing with patients, researchers, and many others," reflected Manns. "I know he would like to continue to work and learn about ways to improve the lives of patients who have chronic conditions."
In February 2018, Ezeugwu was offered a one-year postdoctoral fellowship immediately after his thesis was accepted: a joint position between the Department of Pediatrics and the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sports and Recreation at the University of Alberta. Beyond that, he hopes to find a position in academia where he can continue to focus on research.
But for now, he is looking forward to celebrating this milestone with his family, and looks forward to catching up with a brother and sister who have flown over from Nigeria to join him for the convocation celebrations.
And with his daughter starting kindergarten this year, Ezeugwu and his family have many more milestones to look forward to.