Ben Mortenson

Dr. Ben Mortenson is head of the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and former Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) New Investigator. He is also an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and is a principal investigator at ICORD and the Centre for Aging SMART. He completed his Bachelor of Science in occupational therapy at the University of Alberta, followed by his Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in rehabilitation science at UBC. He completed his post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Montreal, funded by a CIHR grant, and a post-doctoral fellowship at SFU, funded by a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship Award.

Dr. Mortenson’s research is focused on aging, social participation, outcome measurement and assistive technology. His studies include four main overlapping populations: individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), assistive technology users, residents of residential care facilities and both formal and informal caregivers. His work on aging with SCI is relevant to a growing population and his research on wheeled mobility and social participation is applicable to individuals with a wide variety of diagnoses including SCI. Given the issue of caregiver burnout, his findings may help find ways to improve the quality of their lives and help those they assist remain in their homes. By gaining a better understanding of the implications of assistive technology training and interventions, Dr. Mortenson hopes to increase the social participation of individuals who use these devices and to enable them to do activities that give meaning to their lives. In 2021, he received the Award for Innovative Practice from the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists.