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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

Elita Partosoedarso
PhD

Senior Teaching Professor

Faculty of Health Sciences

Contact information

Shawenjigewining Hall - Room 416
North Oshawa
2000 Simcoe Street North
Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5

905.721.8668

elita.partosoedarso@ontariotechu.ca

Research topics

  • Teaching and learning
  • Educational technologies and innovations
  • Open educational resources
  • Pharmacology

Research and expertise

  • Background and interests

    Dr. Elita Partosoedarso earned her PhD in Neurogastroenterology and Pharmacology from the Department of Medicine, University of Adelaide in South Australia in 1999. She did her post-doctoral work at Louisiana State University (New Orleans, Louisiana) with Dr. Pamela Hornby and Dr. Patrick Abrahams investigating the central control of the upper gastrointestinal tract, with particular emphasis on the lower esophageal sphincter and cannabinoids. She spent a year as an Assistant Professor, before moving to Holburn Biomedical Corporation (Bowmanville, Ontario) as a Scientist.

    Dr. Partosoedarso started teaching in the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2006 where she quickly became interested in the art and science of teaching. She enrolled in a Master of Education in 2009 at Ontario Tech University, which she completed in 2012. Her research project focused on the use of clicker technology in large undergraduate classes.

    Since Dr. Partosoedarso started teaching at Ontario Tech University, her research interests have evolved to encompass aspects of how students learn with digital technologies. Two areas of research focus on the affordances of these digital technology tools in lowering transactional distance in both large face-to-face classes as well as in fully online programs. She also enjoys learning how to use new programs and gadgets and loves incorporating them into her teaching. 

  • Publications
    • Partosoedarso, E., Robertson, L. (2012). The impact of audience response systems (or clickers), when used in combination with a pedagogical strategy, in a large introductory human physiology course. Edulearn 12 proceedings,  6551-6559;.
    • Cao, X, Ball, AJ, Partosoedarso, ER, Burmeister Massachusetts, Hornby PJ. (2007). Functional effects and characteristics of cecum-projecting neurons in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus of rats. Auton Neurosci, 131(1-2), 1-8; and
    • Stead RH, Colley EC, Wang B, Partosoedarso E, Lin J, Stanisz A, Hillsley K. (2006). Vagal influences over mast cells. Auton Neurosci. 125(1-2), 53-61.
  • Research collaborators
    • Francois Desjardins, PhD
    • Lorayne Robertson, PhD
    • Maurice DiGuiseppe, PhD
    • Roland van Oostveen, PhD
    • Wendy Stanyon, PhD
  • Grants
    • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Hornby, PJ and Partosoedarso, ER. Vagal Gastric Motor Control in Mice (R21DK57390).
      •  2002 to June 2003, $100,000
    • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Hornby, PJ and Partosoedarso, ER. CNS Autonomic Pathways And Gastrointestinal Function (R01 DK42714).
      • 2002 to June 2003, $127,548
    • Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development. Partosoedarso, ER. 2002 Foundation grant.
      • May 2002 to May 2004, $75,000
  • Education

    PhD in Neurogastroenterology and Pharmacology, University of Adelaide in South Australia, 1999