Dr. Maureen Markle-Reid to retire after 30 years at McMaster University | Dr. Brenda Vrkljan to take on co-lead role at  McMaster Collaborative for Health and Aging

Dr. Maureen Markle-Reid leaves a legacy for future generations of researchers in aging and health 

With heartfelt congratulations, staff, trainees, and researchers at the McMaster Collaborative would like to wish Dr. Maureen Markle-Reid the very best on her upcoming retirement, which begins January 2, 2023. We are grateful for her contributions and dedication, as co-scientific lead of the McMaster Collaborative for Health and Aging for the past three years, in addition to her 30 years of service at the School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences and McMaster University. 

In 2013, Maureen co-founded and has been the co-scientific director of the Aging, Community and Health Research Unit (ACHRU). Markle-Reid also co-founded the McMaster Collaborative for Health and Aging in 2019 in partnership with the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA), establishing the first Ontario SPOR SUPPORT Unit (OSSU) research unit dedicated to advancing patient-oriented research focused on health and aging. 

Since its inception, Markle-Reid has brought her combined expertise in aging research, complex health interventions, and patient engagement to the Collaborative. At McMaster, she supervised or co-supervised 22 post-doctoral fellows and graduate students — many of whom have gone on to secure faculty positions, CIHR grants, and post-doctoral fellowships. “I have learned so much from my students and I am so proud of them,” says Markle-Reid. “The opportunity to mentor and support trainees and other researchers through my various roles in the School of Nursing, ACHRU and the Collaborative has been the highlight of my career.” 

An internationally recognized scholar in the area of health and economic evaluations of complex health interventions, Markle-Reid became the first Canada Research Chair at McMaster’s School of Nursing (Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Person-Centred Interventions for Older Adults with Multimorbidity and their Family Caregivers, 2012 to 2022) and authored 116 peer-reviewed papers and secured a total of $27.6 million in peer-reviewed grant funding. 

Her pioneering research has involved designing, testing, and scaling up numerous impactful patient-centered interventions that have transformed health care services for older adults with multimorbidity and their family caregivers. She has led numerous national and international collaborations and advised governments in Ontario and beyond regarding the implementation and evaluation of different models of home and community care service delivery for older adults 

Working together with patient partners has been one of Markle-Reid’s most fulfilling opportunities in her career: “I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with patient and public research partners. The lived experience that they bring is invaluable and has enriched the research. I’m so thankful for the time and energy that they have so generously given to our research over the years.” 

Markle-Reid is looking forward to spending time with her family, traveling, and continuing her journey of lifelong learning. She can continue to be reached by email at mreid@mcmaster.ca.  

Read more: Maureen Markle-Reid leaves a legacy of excellence in research and mentorship

Dr. Brenda Vrkljan, incoming scientific co-lead, will continue to advance the Collaborative’s community-partnered approach in aging and health research 

The Collaborative is excited to share that Dr. Brenda Vrkljan, professor, School of Rehabilitation Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, will assume the role of scientific co-lead at the McMaster Collaborative for Health and Aging.  

As a trained occupational therapist with 15+ years at McMaster, Vrkljan is a recognized leader in developing creative ways to partner with older adults in both research and teaching. Since 2020, she has led the engagement of older adult and caregiver partners at the Collaborative, which has grown to an eight-member team. This team has both informed and transformed research undertaken by trainees and researchers within and beyond the Collaborative. They have shared their insights regarding the translation of systematic reviews and highlighted key issues to policymakers where the integration of equity, diversity, and inclusion and Indigenous reconciliation within home, hospital and community care remain at the forefront. Under Vrkljan’s leadership, this group is highly committed to ensuring today’s health system understands and considers the needs of Canada’s aging population so that it is ready for tomorrow’s challenges. 

“I want to thank Maureen for welcoming me, and the other older adult and caregiver partners, to the Collaborative and establishing our great working relationship,” expresses older adult partner, Penelope Petrie, who has been a member of the Collaborative since it was formed. “Brenda has a long history of working with older adults and caregivers in her research and is a great mentor for facilitating our contributions to ensure that we are meaningfully engaged, as partners, throughout the project. We are excited to continue under her enthusiastic leadership.” 

An accomplished academic leader, Vrkljan has been awarded a YWCA Women of Distinction for business, education and mentorship. She has also received the Faculty of Health Sciences award for graduate student supervision and McMaster’s Community Engagement Award for cross-disciplinary teaching innovations involving community partners. 

Vrkljan, who currently co-chairs the Faculty of Health Sciences’ Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigenous Reconciliation Advisory Committee, is deeply committed to inclusive principles and practices within her research, teaching, and service within and beyond the university. We look forward to leveraging her extensive knowledge of employing community engagement principles within the Collaborative. 

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Brenda Vrkljan to this new role. She can be reached at vrkljan@mcmaster.ca. 

We would also like to express our sincere gratitude and thanks to Dr. Rebecca Ganann, who will continue in her role as scientific co-lead of the Collaborative. Her expertise in the role of patients as partners in health research and policy development has been and continues to be instrumental in the success of the Collaborative. Drs. Vrkljan and Gannan will work closely together to advance the Collaborative’s mission and vision.  

For more information about the Collaborative and how you can work in partnership with older adults and caregivers to improve the health and well-being of older Canadians, visit collaborative-aging.mcmaster.ca. You can also follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn and see our latest videos on YouTube. 

Questions related to this transition, or any other inquiries can be directed to Dr. Soo Chan Carusone, managing director at the McMaster Collaborative for Health and Aging at chansy@mcmaster.ca. 

The McMaster Collaborative for Health and Aging provides tools and support for researchers and health care decision-makers, as they embark on their journey of partnering for better health and health care for Canadians as they age. The Collaborative is a part of the Ontario SPOR SUPPORT Unit (OSSU)’s network of 14 health research centres across the province that provides scientific knowledge and supports high-quality patient-partnered research with the goal of improving health and the health system.  

Funding is provided by the Ontario (SPOR) SUPPORT Unit, which is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Province of Ontario and partner Ontario hospital foundations and institutes. 

Led by Dr. Brenda Vrkljan and Dr. Rebecca Ganann, the Collaborative is also a partner of the McMaster Institute on Research and Aging (MIRA) and part of the university’s dynamic network of research excellence on aging.