Sophia Werden Abrams is a speech-language pathologist and doctoral trainee in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University’s Aging Swallow Research Lab. Sophia’s research, funded by the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada, is focused on investigating how to improve hydration and health for long-term care residents with dementia and swallowing impairments. Sophia is passionate about clinically meaningful research where interdisciplinary collaboration and partnerships with patients and families are central. 

Dr. Muhammad Ali is currently working as an epidemiologist and is a part-time PhD student at McMaster University under the supervision of Dr. Parminder Raina in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact. Muhammad is actively involved in the various projects associated with the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA), and McMaster Evidence Review & Synthesis Team (MERST). He has comprehensive knowledge and skills in the field of clinical and evidence-based medicine, epidemiology and biostatistics and is proficient in performing various statistical analyses such as meta-analysis, meta-regression, regression, survival analysis, decision-analytic modelling, Monte Carlo simulations and sensitivity analyses. He has also authored/co-authored numerous publications in peer-reviewed high-impact journals.

Jana Bataineh, HBSc., MPH, is a combined MClSc/PhD student at Western University pursuing a PhD in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and a Master of Clinical Science in Audiology. Jana is passionate about improving health outcomes by centering the patient voice to facilitate health system improvement. Her research seeks to explore how team-based primary care can facilitate improved health outcomes for patients living with age-related hearing loss. Since starting in the program, she has had the privilege of working alongside clinicians, students, and academics as part of the Team Primary Care Project, a nationally funded project examining how interprofessional primary care can be implemented in Canada. In the future, Jana hopes to work as a clinician researcher, facilitating and implementing health system transformation.

Deedee Begin is a dual-degree student in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University. In this program, Dee is enrolled in the PhD in Rehabilitation Science and Master of Science in Occupational Therapy programs. For her doctoral thesis, Dee is focusing her work on exploring how different people view and think about risk and safety in acute care settings, as these concepts relate to care and discharge planning for older adults. Dee is interested in improving health care services to better meet the needs of older adult populations. As a firm believer in the saying “Nothing about us without us,” Dee is dedicated to using collaborative approaches in research. Before starting graduate studies, Dee worked in various clinical settings as an Athletic Therapist and Strength and Conditioning Coach.

Helana Marie Boutros is a Coptic Christian indigenous woman currently pursuing a PhD in McMaster’s Health and Society stream. Her research thesis intersects at spiritual health, community health, intergenerational Coptic women’s well-being, diasporic lived experiences, indigeneity and the Coptic Orthodox Tradition. Outside of her thesis, Helana holds two research positions – at Wilfrid Laurier University and ICES seconded to the Métis Nation of Ontario – where she does work pertaining to the health of Black older adults and Métis health and wellness. When she isn’t working, Helana often spends time with her Coptic community, reading, painting, hiking or writing poetry.

Rebecca Correia is a fourth-year PhD candidate studying health research methodology in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact at McMaster University. She conducts health services and aging research using epidemiological methods under the supervision of Dr. Andrew Costa. Rebecca’s dissertation is focused on establishing markers of quality primary care for older adults and understanding the practice of family physicians with additional competence in care of the elderly. As a Collaborative trainee engagement fund recipient, Rebecca will engage older adults in planning and conducting a study to understand older patients’ needs and preferences for high-quality primary care.

Cassandra D’Amore is a PhD candidate in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University. Her work focuses on understanding physical activity behaviour and its uptake in older adults. She is interested in strategies to maintain mobility and autonomy in the aging population. Cassandra is passionate about including older adult voices in research and creating opportunities for trainees to build capacity in community engagement. Before starting graduate studies, She worked in clinical rehabilitation settings as a registered massage therapist with an undergraduate degree in kinesiology.

Constance Dupuis has a background in community development and feminist political ecology. Her PhD research focused on aging and learning from contexts where care across generations intersects with care for place/environment. She is passionate about community-based research and is keen to learn from/with hopeful possibilities for radical care.

Meghan Gilfoyle is a doctoral student based at the University of Limerick in the School of Medicine under the supervision of Dr. Jon Salsberg and co-supervisor Professor Anne MacFarlane. Her PhD involves using a trust lens to inform a social network theory of participatory health research, by defining, measuring and influencing trust in research partnerships. Her previous academic and work experience has had a public health and health systems focus, with specific areas of expertise in cancer prevention and screening, epidemiology, statistical analysis of population health data, evidence-informed public health practice, and knowledge translation. Meghan has a keen interest in engaging public and patient groups in health research in a meaningful and respectful manner. For instance, she has previously worked with entrepreneurs to identify how to best engage people with dementia in the design, testing, and commercialization of an information communication technology. As a Canadian researcher completing her PhD in Ireland, Meghan looks forward to innovative research collaborations as well as networking opportunities within an international context.

Stephanie Lucchese is a registered nurse and PhD student in the School of Nursing at McMaster University. She is a certified psychiatric and mental health nurse and has extensive clinical experience working as an advanced practice nurse, clinical nurse specialist in mental health and addictions. Stephanie holds a research appointment at Unity Health Toronto – Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute as a practice based researcher. She is passionate about aging research and exploring ways to improve health service delivery for clients who have a mental illness. In addition, Stephanie has experience working as a research assistant on the following topics: intimate partner violence, immigrant health and global health. She is currently a research assistant for the Strengthening a Palliative Approach in Long-term Care (SPA-LTC) team led by Dr. Sharon Kaasalainen. 

Maggie MacNeil’s background as a policy analyst in the Minister of State for Seniors Support Unit, Employment and Social Development Canada has informed her research interests in health and social issues relevant to older people. Maggie’s postdoctoral fellowship is focused on evaluating a community co-design initiative with older people and community health and social service providers.

Bridget Marsdin (she/her) returned to McMaster University after several years of working in community organizations dedicated to social justice. She has extensive frontline experience in sexual health, HIV/AIDS, STBBI (sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections), reproductive justice, trauma, sexual violence, gender-based violence, harm reduction and community-based research. She is currently a PhD student in the School of Social Work at McMaster University, where she is involved in several community-based initiatives. Bridget’s doctoral study focuses on community participatory research with Six Nations of the Grand River to explore Haudenosaunee cultural responses to sexual health and wellbeing. 

Alexandra Mayhew is a postdoctoral fellow at McMaster University in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact. Her postdoctoral work focuses on understanding the impact of adiposity measured as visceral adipose tissue and subcutaneous adipose tissue on healthy aging. Dr. Mayhew has extensive experience using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. She has worked on projects on a wide range of topics including sarcopenia, physical function, dementia, disability, nutrition, menopause, and chronic cough. 

Y V Raghava Neelapala is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University. His thesis focusses on exploring and validating pain phenotypes in people with early-stage knee osteoarthritis under the supervision of Dr. Lisa Carlesso. As a recipient of McMaster Collaborative for Health and Aging Partnership in Research Fellowship, Raghava will engage older adults with early-stage knee osteoarthritis to understand their perspectives on phenotyping research. As a physiotherapist by background, he has worked as a teaching faculty member in the Department of Physiotherapy, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India, prior to his PhD studies.

Kenny Noguchi is a PhD candidate in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University. Kenny completed his undergraduate degree in kinesiology and master’s degree in rehabilitation science, also at McMaster University. Kenny is passionate about exercise and improving health outcomes in people living with stroke and older adults. Specifically, his doctoral thesis is examining the impacts of resistance exercise training on physical function in people with stroke. He is also interested in and passionate about mentorship and trainee development, particularly in his roles as co-chair of both the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging Trainee Network Executive Committee and School of Rehabilitation Science Student Council.

Dr. Isabel B. Rodrigues is a postdoctoral fellow at the GERAS Centre for Aging Research within the Department of Medicine at McMaster University. She completed her doctoral training at the University of Waterloo where she specialized in the aging, health, and wellbeing program. Her research focuses on designing interventions to improve mobility and quality of life among older adults living with osteoporosis and frailty using a collaborative, user-centric approach. Her goal is to help older adults successfully “age in a place” rather than “age in place”. She is an implementation scientist with skills in knowledge mobilization, clinical practice guidelines, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, qualitative description, randomized controlled trials, and tool development. She is also a member of the Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) Evidence Alliance and a trainee member at the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA). 

Stephanie Saunders is a current MScPT/PhD student at McMaster University in rehabilitation sciences, where her PhD work examines fall risk in community dwelling older adults. She is interested in determining how to best maintain older adults’ independence to prevent and attenuate mobility-related hospitalizations. Prior to starting her dual-degree program, she worked as a research coordinator in Palliative Care at Mount Sinai Hospital’s Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care. She also completed her master’s degree in human kinetics at the University of Ottawa and worked as a kinesiologist after completing a kinesiology and political science undergraduate degree. Her research interests tie together emphasizing the importance of physical movement with undertaking creative knowledge translation efforts to improve quality of life. 

Kylie Teggart is a certified oncology RN and a PhD student in the School of Nursing at McMaster University. Kylie is passionate about supporting optimal outcomes for individuals living with cancer through evidence-informed nursing practice and supportive care. Her doctoral research aims to partner with nurses, patients, and their caregivers in the experience-based co-design of strategies to better manage common and distressing cancer-related symptoms. Kylie is a trainee and research assistant in the Aging, Community and Health Research Unit (ACHRU) under the supervision of Dr. Rebecca Ganann.

Jeonghwa You is a PhD student in the Health Policy Program at McMaster University. Her research interests are in the engagement of older adults in health policymaking that affects their health. Her thesis is specifically on ‘why’ and ‘how’ governments conduct public engagement in health policymaking related to seniors’ health. Before beginning her PhD study, she worked at South Korea’s National Health Insurance Service in conjunction with various stakeholders (government, healthcare providers, public representatives, and academic experts) on the annual price negotiations of medical fee schedules. Jeonghwa holds a master’s degree in public health from King’s College London, United Kingdom.

Dr. Marie-Lee Yous is a registered nurse and postdoctoral fellow in the School of Nursing at McMaster University. Her supervisor is Dr. Sharon Kaasalainen. She is also a volunteer with her local Alzheimer Society. Her research interest is supporting persons living with dementia, care partners, and healthcare providers. She has interest in co-designing interventions with care partners to support the quality of life of care partners and persons living with dementia in the community and long-term care. Her collaborations extend beyond McMaster University and include Western University and the University of British Columbia.