McMaster trainee, Marfy Abousifein, joins Collaborative to support inclusive aging research and partnerships 

The Collaborative welcomed Marfy Abousifein, bachelor of health sciences student at McMaster University, earlier this year after being awarded a McMaster Institute for Research on Aging Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship for her work evaluating older adult and caregiver partnership within the Collaborative.  

Marfy is president of the Canadian Association on Gerontology, McMaster Student Connection (CAG-MSC), a group addressing ageism and fostering connections between generations through a variety of events and projects at McMaster University and in the Hamilton community. Earlier this year, CAG-MSC held a community-engaged Beauty Within campaign, and iCAN Campaign, partnering with some of our Collaborative older adult and caregiver partners.  

Through the iCan Campaign, CAG-MSC is also creating a platform for older adult empowerment that demonstrates that age does not hinder one’s contributions to society. Older adults were interviewed and shared artistic and symbolic pieces to showcase their passions. The iCAN Campaign will be on display later this year and into 2024. 

With a strong interest in promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion in health research, Marfy will continue working with the Collaborative this fall, embarking on a second MacPherson Student Partners Program project to plan an event for trainees to discuss their research with older adults and caregivers in addition to launching a virtual resource hub for those interested or already engaged in patient-oriented research.  

Marfy will be presenting a poster with her preliminary findings from her recent MIRA-funded research project evaluating partnership within the Collaborative on November 1, at the 2023 MIRA & Labarge Knowledge Exchange event