Villafranca, Alexander (Dr.)
More About Alexander
Dr. Villafranca has a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology, a master’s degree in medical rehabilitation, a PhD in bioethics, and numerous postgraduate certificates and diplomas in areas ranging from pedagogy to neuro-ethics.
Early in his career, he worked as a Canadian Inter-University Sport strength and conditioning coach at the University of Manitoba. As a private strength coach, Dr. Villafranca trained one Canadian record holder and one Manitoba record holder in the bench press.
Dr. Villafranca then transitioned to being a research associate at the University of Manitoba, where he studied human factors in the operating room. As part of this effort, he has published invited reviews and papers on the topic of disruptive behavior in the perioperative context. He also spear-headed the largest international survey examining the issue. He has presented his work at conferences across North America, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and the Middle East, and has received awards for both academics and research.
The impact of his research has been substantial. His 22 papers have been cited over 1000 times and his articles have gained attention on social media (with some having Altmetric scores in the 97th percentile of more than 20 million ranked studies), and by traditional media outlets, including the Canadian Broadcast Company, CTV news, the Winnipeg Free Press, and the LA times.
As an athlete, Dr. Villafranca competed at a national level in the sport of powerlifting, and at a regionally level as a weightlifter. As a junior lifter, he once held a Manitoba record in the Squat.
Degrees: BESS, MSc., PhD.
Select postgraduate certificates: Certificate in higher education teaching (Manitoba); Diploma in Neuro-ethics (Anahuac), TEFL (Toronto), Ethics teacher’s training (UNESCO).
Select intensive courses: Clinical bioethics (Harvard); Bioethics (Georgetown); Course in teaching evidence based practice (McMaster).
Professional designations: Emergency medical responder (Red cross), Sports medicine council of Alberta course conductor.