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Krzysztof Adamczyk has been the Information Technology Manager for the DFM since 2006. He has been an integral part of the DFM since 2004 and joined McMaster University 2003. He has a 4 year Honors BSc double major in Business Computing and Administrative Studies from the University of Winnipeg. He is skilled in the application of computing into different business situations, particularly e-health. He has a multitude of experience in medical record system implementation and technology, not just in the academic family practice setting, but in regular community practices as well. He has led the gowth of the DFM IT sector in Stonechurch in 2006, Niagara in 2008, Burlington in 2014, Downtown Hamilton in 2015 and Stonechurch again in 2016. His expertise in the implementation and maintenance of the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) is extensive. He has successfully managed and supported the whole Department’s EMRs in multiple clinical sites for more than 10 years, together with his team of enterprise technology level staff. He has specialist knowledge in OSCAR and its deployment and implementation, as well as general medical systems administration. Other areas of expertise are complex systems networking, and High Performance Team leadership for special project management. He also holds specialist certification in ITIL Fundation and ORACLE MySQL Cluster Computing.

He enjoys teaching and regularly accepts IT and Engineering students as interns and for practicums from Universities all over Ontario since 2006. He was an invited expert to Bandah Aceh, Indonesia, where he devised and taught a Workshop on the Implementation and Functioning of the OSCAR EMR in Syiah Kuala University in 2015.

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Dr. Angeles is a Research Associate/Asst. Professor (part time) in the Department of Family Medicine in McMaster University. He is a member of the Vulnerable Individuals in Primary care (VIP) Research Lab and has worked in the Department of Family Medicine since 2009. Prior to coming to Canada, he was a physician in the Philippines, Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies in a University Medical School, and a public health officer (Epidemiology/Environmental Health) with 7 years of teaching (medical school and graduate school). He completed his PhD in Health Research Methodologies at McMaster University. He is a Co-Principal Investigator in global health research programs in the Philippines and Thailand that are funded by the Canadian Institutes in Health Research (CIHR) and Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD). He is also Co-Investigator in community paramedicine and vulnerable population research grants in Canada.

Special Interests: Global Health, Community Paramedicine.

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Neha has been a part of McMaster since 2011 working in DFM since 2014 on the iGAP study. She is a trained physiotherapist and her research interests are in the care of the elderly.

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Alisha started working at DFM in June 2022 and has thoroughly enjoyed her time since. She is coordinating a few projects that aim to improve health outcomes of people who use drugs by mitigating the harms associated with drug use. Alisha’s interest in harm reduction began during her time working in McGill University residences when safer sex and drug use were prioritized over punitive approaches. Alisha is excited to be conducting research that uses mixed methods designs and participatory action approaches to work with service users. Outside of work hours, you can find her biking, hiking, or climbing in Hamilton.

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Kyle Auton began working for McMaster University in 2022 for the Department of Family Medicine.

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Nirosha Balakumar joined our department in September 2021 as our new EDI and Anti-Racism Partner. This is a new role to DFM and in partnership with the Equity and Inclusion Office. Nirosha is a recent graduate of Cambridge University, having pursued an MPhil in Education, Globalization, and International Development as a McKenzie King Scholar and Marty Memorial Fellow. Her research sought to understand a sense of belonging for racialized immigrant youth in white, Eurocentric educational spaces, with a specific case study based on an African and Caribbean high school mentorship program she co-founded in Kingston, Ontario. Prior to her graduate studies, Nirosha completed her BAH in Global Development Studies and Gender Studies at Queen’s University. Nirosha has held roles at Queen’s University’s Human Rights and Equity Office as an International Education Content Specialist, as well as with the City of Toronto, the Urban Alliance on Race Relations and the University Health Network in the areas of anti-oppression and anti-racism. Having worked in the non-profit sector for organizations such as Plan International Canada, CAMFED Canada, as well as with the United Nations Kosovo Team, Nirosha is committed to integrating intersectional global perspectives that challenge Eurocentric norms. Nirosha is also a spoken word artist and TEDx speaker who highly values the integration of art and advocacy as an approach to decolonizing education. She also takes great pride in her mixed cultural identity as a Tamil and Indo-Trinidadian woman and values the opportunity to bring her whole self into her work.

Special Interests: Anti-racism & anti-oppression, art and advocacy, community resilience, culturally relative and responsive pedagogy, decolonizing education & research methods, storytelling/narrative research, mentorship.

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Erin Beaulieu has worked for the Department of Family Medicine since March 2019. Prior to joining McMaster University, Erin worked as a Registered Dietitian in public health and supporting local food policy and programs in the provincial government. As a Knowledge Translation (KT) Specialist with the department, she assists research projects with planning, creating, and implementing KT and communications activities. Erin holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Human Nutrition and a Masters of Public Health in Community Nutrition. When she’s not at work, Erin enjoys cooking, cycling, and doing yoga.

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Jill has spent the past 20 years working as a Physiotherapist, Manager, Director and Consultant in multidisciplinary healthcare settings, in private and public sectors, in Canada and internationally. Jill has worked with the Department since 2013, and has enjoyed the challenge of developing her new role as Clinic Director at McMaster Family Practice.

Jill lives in Brantford with her husband and two boys. She enjoys volunteering with local groups and charities and sits on several different Boards, assisting in managing several different fundraising events. She and a small team raise thousands of dollars for cancer research each year as a special hobby. Other interests include spending time with family and friends, traveling, renovating old homes, reading and her book clubs.

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Alyssa has been a staff member with McMaster University since January 2014. After completing the Health Office Administration Program at Conestoga College, she started as an Education Program Associate at the Waterloo Regional Campus. In March 2016, she transferred to the Education Team of the McMaster Family Medicine Department in Hamilton. Between 2017-2020 she completed two back to back career growth opportunities as a Medical Secretary II with the Department of Pediatrics. In March 2020, she came to her current position as a Medical Secretary II in Patient Services at McMaster Family Practice. In this role she thrives with every opportunity to help her fellow staff members, faculty, and patients to the best of her abilities. In her spare time, Alyssa enjoys spending time with family and friends, but also enjoys her down time with a good movie or TV series and a hot beverage, or participating in alternative fitness classes for women. She is due to welcome her first child in May 2022 and is very excited to become a mom!

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Tracey Carr is the Executive Director of the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University, a capacity in which she provides leadership in the strategic and operational direction of education, research, clinical services and eHealth innovations of the Department. Tracey is a Registered Nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Business Administration in Health Services Management from McMaster.

In her career, Tracey has collaborated effectively with diverse stakeholders and demonstrated skill in facilitating changes in process across systems, academic institutions and health care organizations. She was a founding member of the Senior Executive Team of the Trillium Gift of Life Network, an agency established by the Province of Ontario to promote and facilitate increased organ and tissue donation. As Administrative Director of McMaster’s School of Nursing, she was instrumental in strengthening collaboration within the Nursing Education Consortium comprised of McMaster University, Mohawk College and Conestoga College.

Since joining the Department of Family Medicine in 2010, Tracey’s leadership has been integral to its success through a time of great expansion in both education and research, and substantial changes in the local health system. In addition to optimizing the Department’s infrastructure and strengthening operations across all domains and sites, she has been a key leader in Health TAPESTRY and local care integration initiatives (e.g. Health Links and more recently the Hamilton Health Team). Tracey brings a strong voice and skill-set in digital health to system transformation opportunities, and is the Department’s primary liaison with industry partners collaborating on Family Medicine’s digital health innovations. These include:

• OSCAR, one of the most highly-adopted EMRs in Canada;
• CP@Clinic and CP@Home, technologies supporting the clinically proven Community Paramedicine Program led by Dr. Gina Agarwal;
• TaperMD, a tool supporting the proven approach of deprescribing led by Dr. Dee Mangin;
• kindredPHR, a platform designed to enable each person to have their own customizable space within an expanding digital health ecosystem in which they can connect the people and information that matter most to their health from their perspective; and
• FAST (Flu Automated Surveillance Tool), a tool integrated with OSCAR to facilitate capture of flu surveillance data that has been proven to mirror actual incidence of flu in the community.

Tracey believes passionately in the transformative potential of people working together for a common purpose. Her professional background in health and business administration, her leadership experience, and her skill in conceptualizing and implementing solutions to health and health system needs, together, enable her to make vital contributions to our Department, University and community.

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Rebecca works as a Research Assistant with Health TAPESTRY. Her role is focused on the evaluation of the project. She received a Master’s of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Waterloo. Rebecca’s research interests are in primary care, in particular the improvement of health care delivery and collaborative team-based care.

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Laura Cleghorn has conducted research about the organization and delivery of health care in Ontario for over 15 years in the areas of home care, primary care, and cancer care, often focused on improving access to care for marginalized populations. Since 2016, Laura has been with the Department of Family Medicine in a role that supports the faculty and staff of the Research Enterprise to engage in high-quality research. Laura is also interested in cultivating a workplace culture that encourages personal and professional growth. When not at work, Laura can be found in arenas in the greater Hamilton area, enjoying her kids’ hockey and figure skating activities. Laura’s second favourite past-time is walking her dog in Cootes Paradise, in all seasons.

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Sarah Collier works with the People, Culture & Wellness team where she plans, evaluates, and continuously improves all human resources and labour relations activities for a diverse group of staff and faculty within the Department of Family Medicine.

As a true HR generalist, Sarah has the opportunity to provide great service and make an impact in a number of different areas – some of which include: employee relations; recruitment, selection and orientation; training and development; health and safety; human resources planning; and organizational development and culture.

Sarah received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from McMaster University, and has a postgraduate certificate in Human Resources Management. She is a member of the Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario, and is a Certified Human Resources Professional.

When she’s not thinking about ways she can contribute to the overall HR strategy of the Department, she’s playing crokinole, going out and about, and collecting wonderful slices of happiness.

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As a Program Manager, Julie Datta provides operational oversight to the Health TAPESTRY program and is the primary liaison for implementation sites across Ontario. Julie brings over ten years’ experience in health promotion, project management, volunteer engagement, and community development to the Health TAPESTRY team. Prior to joining the Department of Family Medicine in 2017, Julie was a Program Manager at the Canadian Cancer Society, where she oversaw the delivery of a peer-education program promoting cancer screening within under-served communities across Ontario. Julie was also a Health Promoter at the Halton Region Health Department where she implemented and evaluated health promotion strategies to achieve chronic disease prevention. Julie is a Registered Social Worker, and holds a Bachelor of Social Work from York University and a Master of Social Work from the University of Waterloo. She is a member of the Burlington Civic Chorale Singers, is an avid dragonboat racer, and has a lifetime goal of visiting all of Canada’s National Parks (so far she has visited 15 of them).

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Mara is a Research Assistant for the COVID@home and COPD project. She is a graduate of a B. A (Hons.) in Psychology, as well as the Certificate of Sexual and Gender Diversity at Queen’s University. She has acquired over four years of research experience, predominantly focused on psychopathology and interpersonal relationships. Mara is excited to work in the Department of Family Medicine and hopes to one day bridge the gap between primary care and mental healthcare.

Special interests

Women’s Health
Social Determinants of Health
Psychiatry/Psychology/Mental Health
Social Relationships

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Stephanie has worked with the Department of Family Medicine since 2018. She received a Master’s in Public Health from Queen’s University. In her current role, Stephanie works as a Research Assistant with the CAMH-McMaster Collaborative and Health TAPESTRY. In her primary role with Health TAPESTRY, Stephanie helps with the implementation and evaluation of the project, which aims to improve the health of older adults with multiple chronic conditions through community engagement and increased connections with primary care.

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Asiana is a Research Assistant working on various medical education research projects in the Department of Family Medicine. She recently completed her MSc in eHealth (Health Informatics) and her Honours BSc in Life Sciences at McMaster University. Her research interests include health system innovation, with a specific interest in researching the implementation of digital health interventions to improve access to primary care services for vulnerable populations.

Special Interests: Research Interests: Health System Innovation, Medical Education, Virtual Care.

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Dawn Elston has been fortunate to work in research at McMaster University since 1988. Dawn’s research interests reflect a diverse range of positions in the social and health sciences. Between 1988 to 1998, Dawn worked in a basic science lab studying hunger and satiety in an animal model of inflammatory bowel disease. Moving from the social sciences into the health sciences, Dawn has worked on projects studying quality of life following treatment for prostate cancer, smoking cessation in patients with PVD, nursing undergraduate education, risk factors associated with hospital-acquired infections, cardiovascular disease in patients living with HIV and most recently Advance Care Planning in primary care. Dawn completed her Masters degree in 2013 focusing on gender and social determinants of health, specifically HIV stigma in women living with HIV. Dawn’s professional capacity is supported by her love of animals, friends, family and commitment to community.

Special Interests

Women’s Health
Social Determinants of Health
Advance Care Planning

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Special Interests: Internal medicine, endocrinology, rheumatology, nephrology.

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Special Interests

Addictions and Mental Health

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As the Managing Director, Research Enterprise, Pam Forsyth provides strategic oversight, financial management and operational planning to the Department’s research initiatives.

Pam’s expertise is in planning and evaluating strategic health initiatives, facilitating systems change and managing teams to maximize their potential. She has held senior management positions in health promotion, health communications and knowledge translation. Before joining McMaster DFM, Pam was the Managing Director of the National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools, a federally funded organization with a mandate for building capacity for Knowledge Translation in Public Health across Canada. Prior to that, Pam Managed the Community Relations Division with Halton Region and the Health Promotion and Communications program with the Halton Region Health Department.

Pam is a Registered Dietitian and holds a Master’s degree in Health Promotion from the University of Toronto.

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Karla Freeman has been with the Department of Family Medicine since 2014, and is now working as a Clinical Research Coordinator with the TAPER-P project. Her interests include research in primary care, community pharmacy practice, and care of the elderly.

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Jennifer has worked for the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster Family Practice since 2000 and has been in the role of Clinical Site Coordinator at McMaster Family Practice since 2015. Jennifer provides lead hand supervision with day-to-day clinic operations and issues related to clinic staffing and care delivery in the clinic. Jennifer completed her Human Resources Management Diploma at McMaster University in 2012. In 2015, Jennifer was awarded the Chair’s Award for Excellence in Service from the Department of Family Medicine. Jennifer loves camping, playing baseball and travelling with her husband Mike.

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Jessica Gaber is a Research/Program Coordinator in Department projects that focus on promoting healthy individual behaviour change or large-scale systemic change, or both. She is skilled in developing, implementing, and evaluating health interventions, particularly using qualitative methods. Jessica is a Registered Social Worker with a Master of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University and experience in three sides of social work practice: research, community development, and clinical work. She’s most interested in projects that can bring voices to populations in need and support communities in making change where change is needed. Before joining the Department, she worked in research at the Offord Centre for Child Studies (Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neuroscience), as well as in crisis intervention, mental health counselling, and community mental health both at home and in western Africa. She is always looking at the next best way her skills can be used to create positive change. Beyond work, she enjoys writing fiction, aiming to grow a vegetable garden better than the year before, and playing piano and ukulele.

Special Interests: Mental health, Prison health, Chronic illnesses, Refugee and immigrant health, Global health, Elder health.

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Sue has over 25 years of administrative experience at McMaster University. Her current role as a Senior Education Program Associate involves coordination of the undergraduate clerkship program. Sue is a dedicated administrative professional who enjoys meeting new people and learning new skills. In addition to having a strong work ethic, Sue likes to bring a fun, light-hearted approach to her interactions with others.

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Special Interests: prenatal care, well baby care.

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Ashlinder Gill is a Research Coordinator for the Department of Family Medicine, and Division of Palliative Care. She facilitates the implementation and evaluation of projects for faculty, palliative medicine residents, and the Dr. Joshua Shadd – Pallium Canada Research Hub. She has worked in health research since 2010, where her initial interest in palliative care began while completing her undergraduate studies at the University of Waterloo, and co-operative education placements with the Palliative Care Consult Team at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. To advance her research training, she completed her graduate studies at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (University of Toronto), and was a trainee with the Health System Performance Research Network. During this time, Ashlinder conducted patient and caregiver interviews, and focus groups for multiple team grants, and ministry-funded projects. The primary aim of these projects were to better understand the challenges experienced by community-dwelling older adults with multimorbidity, and how to best deliver primary care services, and home care. Ashlinder began working at McMaster in 2020, as a Research Coordinator with the Health information Research Unit (Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence & Impact), and continues to support her role in Health Knowledge Refinery projects, and PLUS platforms.

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Dr. Jeffrey Graham is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University. He completed a PhD in Exercise and Health Psychology at McMaster University in the Department of Kinesiology. His research focused on understanding how self-control, self-regulation, and social-cognitive factors modify the performance of physical exercise. His current research is examining the impact of physical activity on executive functioning and self-regulation in children with and without neurodevelopmental disorders.

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I have been with the Department of Family Medicine since July 2013, starting as the Accounting Assistant for OSCAR EMR Inc. I am now working within the Finance Team and my portfolio consists of DFM Education and the Stonechurch Family Health Centre. I love dogs, reading and jigsaw puzzles.

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Patricia Habran-Dietrich joined McMaster in 2013, as an administrative assistant for the Aging, Community and Health Research Unit (ACHRU), within the School of Nursing. In mid- 2014, Patricia joined the Department of Family Medicine as part of the HOPE program. Since 2015 she has been a member of the Research Enterprise, providing direct support to Drs. Dee Mangin and Michelle Howard in their research administrative tasks, as well as broadly supporting the staff of the research team.
Her broad interests include travel, reading and meeting people from diverse backgrounds.

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Abe Hafid is a Statistical Analyst at the Department of Family Medicine. Prior to joining the department, Abe completed his graduate studies at McMaster University. His research interests include end-of-life health services research using population-level health administrative data.

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Julie has an educational and professional background in social work, she spent the beginning years of her career working as a Behaviour Support Worker, assisting with difficult discharges from hospital to community settings and managing complex behaviours primarily associated to diagnosed dementias within the parameters of an acute care environment. She has spent the past few years working within retirement living communities, as an Assisted Living/Memory Care Manager where she led a diverse team of nursing staff throughout the pandemic. Outside of her professional life, she is a self-published fiction author of two novels and spends a lot of time studying as she is also pursuing her MSW on a part-time/online basis. She is passionate about learning and is very excited about making an impact in her role with William Osler and McMaster University.

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Special Interests

Information Technology
music
Art
Graphic Design
Photography
Industrial Design
Instruments
Sculpturing

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Natalie has worked for the Department of Family Medicine since 2015. She has been with the University since 2004 working in various areas including Research finance, Administration and the Faculty of Engineering. She loves various activities during her free time including stained glass, reading and lots of walks with her dog Jaxxon.

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Amelia started working as a Research Assistant with the Vulnerable Individuals in Primary Care (VIP) Research Lab in 2022 after working with the team on projects as an undergraduate and master’s student. She is a Master of Public Health (MPH) graduate from McMaster University and deeply interested in community-based initiatives and programs that improve health and wellbeing of underserved populations. When not working, you can find Amelia outside hiking/biking/skiing/canoeing/playing ultimate frisbee or inside cooking up a storm.

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Christie has worked with the Department of Family Medicine for over 10 years, and mostly recently joined the VIP Research Lab as a Research Coordinator in 2022. Prior to this, Christie worked on CATCH Study, as part of the Infant and Child Health Lab. Her areas of interest are physical health and fitness in children, and health promotion among vulnerable populations.

Christie graduated from McMaster University in 2008, with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology. She is involved with the CP@clinic program, as well as the CHAP-P, ECHEC, and the Social Housing Cohort studies within the VIP Research Lab.

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Jennifer has been a McMaster employee since 2002 and came to join the DFM in the fall of 2015, as part of the MUSIC (McMaster University Sentinel Information and Collaboration) team operating as a Primary Care Research Network. She has a background in Information Science and has applied that to Evidence-based Medicine literature delivery projects and services. More recent training in Health Informatics has had her interest peaked in leveraging primary care data to answer questions about how best to deliver quality care. Toward this work she is currently surveying the data collected in OSCAR for its fit of use and strategizing toward better data capture and data quality improvement initiatives. Jennifer lives in Dundas, Ontario with her husband and daughter and newly rescued dog.

Special Interests

Gardening
Outdoor Recreation (hiking
canoeing
biking)
Canadian music

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Jennifer has worked for the Department of Family Medicine since 2000, holding a number of roles and most recently has taken on the role of Manager, Faculty Relations. Jennifer has a keen interest in relationship building and, along with her team, has developed a variety of relationship management tools to provide excellent customer service to our vast number of faculty.

Born and raised in Hamilton, Jennifer attended McMaster University, receiving a BA in English. She loves to read, get outside, and spend time with her family (including chihuahua, Lily).

Special Interests: Project Management, Visual Artist

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Steven Ma holds a BSc from McMaster University and an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

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Christine has been with DFM for several years now, supporting the residency program as a whole, including support to Dr. Sarah Kinzie (PG Program Director). Being a part of the Education Team is a great fit for Christine, who likes to put her organizational skills to use with respect to planning, communication and maintaining information related to various tasks/events that occur within the program. When not at work, Christine enjoys spending time with her dog, tackling projects at home and catching up with friends and family.

For general inquires related to the residency program, please contact fm-pg@mcmaster.ca.

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Francine Marzanek has worked in the Department of Family Medicine since 2009. Prior to this, she worked in public health and education for over 10 years with a focus on heart health and population based community health promotion strategies. As a Research Coordinator, she has been involved with planning, implementing, and evaluating multiple health promotion studies, including the Truckers Research for Innovative Health Promotion Programs. Francine has research interests related to cardiovascular health promotion and chronic disease prevention in the community.

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Initial background in both biological and social anthropology, but welcomed to McMaster medical school in 2001. Residency in family medicine at Toronto Western Hospital from 2004-2006 with various locum and clinic experience from 2006-2012. Working as a full time comprehensive family physician in Cambridge as part of a family health since 2012. Ongoing involvement in teaching medical students and residents since 2007 at both the University of Toronto and McMaster University. Broad areas of interest as a quintessential generalist, including in human learning, anthropology, psychology, sociology, nutrition, exercise. Avidly involved in fitness (running, cycling, weight and circuit training), and devourer of social science books.

Special Interests: Women’s health, psychology, anthropology.

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Monica Molinaro is a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Family Medicine exploring patient and health care provider experiences of health inequity in primary care. Monica completed her PhD in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences from Western University, her Master of Science in Kinesiology from Wilfrid Laurier University, and her Honours Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences from McMaster University.

Her research interests include using qualitative methodologies to explore patient, health care provider, and caregiver experiences of providing and receiving care. Her specific expertise, developed during her PhD, lies in using critical narrative methodologies, as well as moral distress as an analytic lens, to explore health care providers’ experiences of caregiving.

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nn6iQkgAAAAJ&hl=en

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Janelle has been part of the Department of Family Medicine since April 2020 and holds an MSc in Rehabilitation Science. Prior to joining McMaster University, Janelle was a Research Analyst in the public and private sectors. She has conducted and supported qualitative research related to rehabilitation in populations with neurological diagnoses and has special interests in patient-centered healthcare and the evolution of equity, diversity and inclusion in academic & medical institutions. As Research Coordinator for Meredith Vanstone, Janelle mainly supports projects focused on : (1) decision-making and perspectives around cannabis use during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and (2) patient engagement in health research and policy. Janelle is also a member of the DFM`s Anti-Racism Collaborative, the Co-Founder & Executive Director of a peer networking and mentorship group for women in research spaces, and provides mentorship to undergraduate students.

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Michael Panza is a Research Assistant in the Division of Palliative Care. I began my post-secondary education at the University of Guelph in Human Kinetics before transferring to Laurentian University to study sport psychology. I completed a MSc at the Pennsylvania State University in the Kinesiology department. My thesis focused on the potential role of youth sport in promoting mental health. The thesis included a systematic review/meta-analysis and a mixed methods study evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of a peer-based mental health literacy intervention. I currently work as a Research Assistant at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, contributing to various medical education projects. I am grateful for the opportunity and excited to grow professionally and personally through this position.

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Melissa Pirrie is a Health System Impact Fellow with the Vulnerable Individuals in Primary Care (VIP) Research Lab, supervised by Dr. Gina Agarwal and Deputy Chief Richard Ferron (Niagara Emergency Medical Services). Melissa Pirrie has worked in health research since 2005, starting as an undergraduate research assistant with the Offord Centre for Child Studies. After completing a BSc in Kinesiology (McMaster University), she obtained an MA in Applied Health Sciences (Brock University), and recently completed a PhD in Health Studies and Gerontology (University of Waterloo). Melissa was a CIHR training fellow in Population Interventions for Chronic Disease Prevention (PICDP) from 2010 to 2012, and currently holds a two-year CIHR Health System Impact Fellowship. Her primary interest is social epidemiology and the individual, contextual, and policy factors that influence the health and aging of vulnerable populations. Her PhD dissertation examined school programs, policies, and resources associated with youth physical activity in a large cohort of Canadian students using multilevel modelling. At the same time, she has been actively involved in social housing research, developing a better understanding of the unique needs of this population and the role that community paramedicine can play in improving healthcare access and health outcomes. Her goal is to create the evidence-base to inform health system change that can improve the health and aging trajectories of vulnerable populations.

Special Interests: Research interests include population health, health equity, health systems, social epidemiology, vulnerable populations, chronic disease prevention, long-term care, and the trajectory of aging for different populations.

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Mikayla started working as a Research Assistant in the Department of Family Medicine in 2021. She completed an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Health Studies in 2017 at the University of Toronto and graduated with a Master’s of Science in Epidemiology from the University of Guelph in 2020. She is interested in population health, and the prevalence and prevention of chronic diseases in vulnerable populations.

As a research assistant, Mikayla is involved in a variety of projects including assisting with grant writing, developing knowledge translation materials, and tasks associated with the CP@clinic program.

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Marina works on numerous projects in the Department of Family Medicine. Currently, she is working on TAPER, CRISM-KT, C-CHANGE, IPCA, and LEAP with Drs. Dee Mangin, Fiona Kouyoumdjian, Meredith Vanstone, Danielle O’Toole, and Allison Baker. Marina’s educational background is in psychology, education, and research. She is especially interested in mental health issues for special populations such as immigrants, children of immigrants, and those experiencing/have experienced incarceration. Marina’s hobbies include rock climbing, cooking, true crime podcasts, and spending time with her two dogs.

Special Interests: Medical education, evaluation research, mental health, substance use/misuse, prison health, counselling.

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Dr. Jennifer Salerno’s research interests include chronic disease epidemiology and the application of epidemiology methods to trial research, population and public health, and health services research. She holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Toronto, MSc in Community Health and Epidemiology from Queen’s University, and Honours BSc from McMaster University’s Biology and Pharmacology Co-operative Program. She completed fellowship training at both the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute in the area of traumatic brain injury epidemiology and the U.S. National Institutes of Health (National Cancer Institute’s Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch) in the area of breast cancer epidemiology. Her previous research interests included studying the epidemiology of brain injuries and related vascular dementias, and specifically, examining the etiology of cognitive function in aging populations using molecular/biochemical methods and advanced statistical models. She previously worked for several years as a clinical epidemiologist in the Government of Ontario (MOHLTC and Health Quality Ontario) where she performed several health technology assessments, systematic reviews and meta-analyses. She also developed cancer clinical practice guidelines supporting Cancer Care Ontario’s Cancer Imaging Program through McMaster’s Program in Evidence-Based Care, Department of Oncology.

Currently, at McMaster University, she is a Research Associate for the Department of Family Medicine. She is involved in the TAPER research study (TAPER: Team Approach to Polypharmacy Evaluation and Reduction) which aims to reduce multiple medication use and the harmful effects of polypharmacy among older adults. She is also involved with the Primary Care Research Collaborative (PCRC) in the Department of Family Medicine by providing clinical faculty teaching and mentoring initiatives and opportunities and developing the patient/public/community advisory group for the PCRC. She currently teaches in the health research methodology program in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact at McMaster and is currently the Vice Chair of the American College of Epidemiology (ACE) Ethics Committee. She has held numerous leadership positions in ACE and more recently, she is involved with the International Epidemiological Association as the North American Regional Councillor.

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Special Interests: 3rd year nursing student at McMaster Used to be a National figure skater Played the flute in an orchestra.

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Michelle completed the Radio and Television broadcasting program at Conestoga College and after 10 years in radio, decided it was time for a change. She moved on to the Ontario Public Service where she was an Administrative Coordinator with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for 4 years. She joined the Family Medicine Team in August 2019 as the Research Administrative Coordinator. In her personal time, Michelle enjoys reading, shopping and being in the kitchen trying out new recipes.

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Jeff is a research coordinator for TAPER and POPLAR. Prior to joining the Department of Family Medicine in 2019, he has been involved in research coordination and management at the University of Waterloo, the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), and Washington University in St. Louis, where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. In these positions, Jeff has enjoyed working with people across the lifespan and clinical continuum.

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Danielle is a graduate from Western University and an Honors graduate from Mohawk College. She has a diverse portfolio working in administration since 2010 and has been with McMaster Family Practice since 2019. When she is not working as a Medical Secretary, she is usually enjoying spending time hiking or camping with her family & rescue dog.

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Kim Tucker joined the Department of Family Medicine team in August 2022 as the Administrative Assistant. Prior to joining McMaster University, Kim worked at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital where she supported the Volunteer Resources team. Kim is a graduate of George Brown College where she successfully completed the Health Office Administration Program with honours. Kim is often referred to as a jack-of-all-trades and for being extremely organized. Driven by her dedication, Kim takes pride in providing the best support possible. When she’s not keeping busy with her work tasks, Kim enjoys spending time with her family, working out, listening to music, and cooking.

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Linlin Zhao is Budget and Financial Analyst overseeing finances for McMaster Family Health Team and Alternate Funding Plan in the Department of Family Medicine. Linlin joined the Department of Family Medicine since 2005. Over the years, Linlin has experienced and adapted continuous changes in McMaster University financial systems. In addition, Linlin always seeks ways to improve efficiency on her job so that her efforts add value to her “clients”. After graduated from a university in China, Linlin moved to Canada where she attended postsecondary school and received her diploma in Business Administration.