2020 Interdisciplinary Fellows

Congratulations to all 2020 Interdisciplinary Frailty Fellows and their Supervisors. Meet the future of frailty care!

Amrit Bhullar is a pharmacist with a Master’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences and PhD in Nutrition and Metabolism. His PhD thesis focused on characterization of muscle of cancer patients and its association with clinical outcomes. He looked into variability of fat distribution and fatty acid composition in the muscles of cancer patients (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jcsm.12533). Currently, Amrit is the postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alberta and works with Dr Rachel Khadaroo. He is leading the project involving evaluation of biological specimens to determine its association with clinical and functional outcomes in elderly patients undergoing surgery.

Supervisor: Dr. Rachel Khadaroo

Sarah Carbone is a doctoral student at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. She completed a Master of Arts and Honours Bachelor of Arts at the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen’s University. Under the supervision of Dr. Kerry Kuluski, her research focuses on co-designing strategies to improve the experiences of older adults and their families as they transition from the hospital to the community. She is also co-chair of the Health System Performance Network’s trainee caucus, and is actively involved in several projects through the North American Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, and the University of Toronto’s Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing.

Supervisor: Dr. Kerry Kuluski

Sadaf Faisal is a licensed pharmacist in Ontario, and currently pursuing her PhD under the supervision of Dr. Tejal Patel at School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo.  She is also a Board-Certified Geriatric Pharmacist through BPS (Board of Pharmacy Specialties), USA. She practices as a clinical pharmacist at Thames Valley Family Health Team and St. Mary Pharmacy. Her research interests include smart technologies for medication adherence,  medication management and geriatric pharmacotherapy.

Supervisor: Dr. Tejal Patel

Ryan Gainer joined the Division of Cardiac Surgery at Nova Scotia Health Authority in 2010 as a research associate through Dalhousie University, focusing on patient-centered quality of care and outcomes research. A passionate advocate for patients rights, Gainer wants to continue his work in changing how informed consent in the healthcare system operates as he completes his MSc in Community Health and Epidemiology at Dalhousie University.

Supervisor: Dr. Greg Hirsch

Molly Gallibois is completing her Masters of Science in Kinesiology at the University of New Brunswick. As a research assistant for the Cardiometabolic Exercise and Lifestyle Lab, her previous research has focused on physical activity interventions for older adults living in the community. Under the supervision of Dr. Danielle Bouchard, Molly’s thesis project is investigating the impacts of sedentary behaviour on frailty and risk of falls among residents living in long term care.

Supervisor: Dr. Danielle Bouchard

Stacey Hawkins is a part-time PhD student (Health Sciences) and Adjunct Professor at Ontario Tech University. She is the Director of Research and Evaluation for Seniors Care Network, and administrative lead for the Central East Geriatric Emergency Management Nurse Program. Stacey has a BA (Wilfrid Laurier), a post-graduate certificate in Public Relations (Loyalist), a MA in Health and Aging (McMaster), and various clinical and evaluative certifications. Stacey participates in regional, provincial, and national research teams, committees, and communities of practice focused on dementia and frailty. Her primary research interests examine how clinicians facilitate clinical decision-making and goal-setting with persons with dementia.

Supervisor: Dr. Winnie Sun

Madison Huggins is a PhD student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan in the School of Nursing. She is studying under the supervision of Dr. Barbara Pesut at the Health, Ethics and Diversity Lab. Madison’s PhD work focuses on adapting the Nav-CARE program to address the needs of persons living at home with life-limiting illness, and dementia. She holds a Master of Public Health degree with a focus on geriatrics, Bachelor of Arts Honors degree, and Certificate in Criminology and Addictions. She has significant experience in various research positions at the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation, Vancouver General Hospital, BC Cancer, and the University of Saskatchewan. Madison is a published author in the Canadian Geriatrics Journal. Her most notable research has been examining advance care planning physician documentation and patient decision making in a home-based primary care service, as well as the use of robotic animal assisted interventions in improving the quality of life of patients with dementia in an acute care hospital setting. In her spare time Madison likes to bike ride, run, play board games, read, travel and visit with friends and family.

Supervisor: Dr. Barbara Pesut

Julie Reid is a physiotherapist who recently completed her PhD in Rehabilitation Science. Julie has practiced physiotherapy for 12-years in the neurotrauma intensive care unit (ICU) at Hamilton General Hospital. Her PhD research focused on early mobilization of critically ill patients in ICU. As a
rehabilitation clinician and scientist, Julie has a passion for working with vulnerable populations, including older adults with frailty. Both her clinical work with elderly patients and their families, and her PhD studies fuelled her interest in frailty research. Julie is keen to develop specific evidence to guide rehabilitation and preventative strategies for older adults.

Supervisor: Dr. Marla Beauchamp

Julia Shaw is a MSc student in Epidemiology at the University of Ottawa under the supervision of Dr. Daniel McIsaac. She also works at The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute with Dr. McIsaac’s Aging Innovation in perioperative Medicine and Surgery (AIMS) research group. She completed her BSc degree in Kinesiology at McGill University and is passionate about physical activity and healthy living. Julia’s research will focus on improving outcomes for older adults with frailty undergoing cancer surgery. Her project will aim to understand who may benefit from surgery as well as to better understand adherence to exercise prehabilitation before surgery.

Supervisor: Dr. Daniel McIsaac

Erin Webb is a Master’s student at McMaster University in the Kinesiology program working under the supervision of Dr. Stuart Phillips. She obtained her Honours Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology at McMaster University. Through her work at an activity centre for older adults, she developed an interest for studying the effects of exercise on the health and well-being of older adults. Her current research project focuses on determining whether older adults who consume a high-protein diet in conjunction with a structured resistance exercise program can increase or maintain their skeletal muscle mass to prevent sarcopenia.

Supervisor: Dr. Stuart Phillips