William Ju

A graduate of the department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Dr. Ju’s graduate research involved the examination of cellular and molecular pathways underlying motivation, learning and memory, and neurodegeneration. A post-doctoral fellowship extended these interests, and investigated the roles of receptor trafficking and stabilization in the brain and their influence on health and disease states. After completing his research, Dr. Ju was a sessional lecturer in the Physiology and Cell and Systems Departments at the University of Toronto, before joining the Human Biology Program in 2009. Bill has incorporated the use of his previous research background to teach courses within the Neuroscience as well as the Health and Disease streams.

Student engagement and extending the traditional classroom has been a dominant part of Dr. Ju’s pedagogical philosophy. His current interests focus on the translation of his research work in motivational learning, collaborative learning and use of technology to develop assessment tools to gauge the effectiveness of online lecture delivery and learning; and the intersection between mobile and active learning strategies. He also aims to create innovative forms of “authentic “ (or real-world) assignments to assess skills, concepts and knowledge transfer to students in both online and traditional classrooms.