Melissa Northwood joins the Collaborative’s leadership council as co-lead for Complex Health Interventions for Older Adults 

The Collaborative welcomes Melissa Northwood to our leadership council as co-lead of our area of focus entitled Complex Health Interventions for Older Adults. This area supports the co-design, implementation, evaluation, scale and spread of integrated, complex older adult-centred health interventions. Brenda Vrkljan, co-scientific lead, emphasized the many strengths Melissa brings to the Collaborative’s team of researchers, “We are so pleased to have Melissa join our team at this critical time where her strategic and community-driven approaches involving older adults and caregivers are both needed and warranted if we are to improve their experiences within the health system.”  

Melissa Northwood, RN, PhD, GNC(C), is an assistant professor at the School of Nursing, McMaster University, and an applied health researcher who conducts collaborative research with older adults alongside health and social care partners to improve the well-being of older adults, the culture of clinical practice, and the development of a learning health system. Her aim is to create highly relevant evidence that can be mobilized to foster integration and address complexity across health and social sectors. Melissa’s research expertise and extensive clinical experience informs her program of research. Prior to joining the School of Nursing in November 2020, she practiced in acute, post-acute, outpatient, and home and community care settings with a focus on older adults with multiple chronic conditions. 

“I was inspired to join the Collaborative so I could learn from this great network of patient partners and researchers. I am committed to the Collaborative’s work in the focus area of complex interventions and figuring out how to scale up these interventions in our health care system.”
— Melissa Northwood, co-lead, Complex Health Interventions for Older Adults

With the retirement of Maureen Markle-Reid, Melissa joins Diana Sherifali and Kathryn Fisher to co-lead this area of focus at the Collaborative. 

Melissa’s hidden talent is quilting, which she learned from her mother, but all crafting has been on hold of late as she spends time with her beloved senior rescue dogs, Sugar and Spice.