Dr. Amanda Sim, McMaster University Thriving Together: Co-Design and Randomized Feasibility Trial of a Culturally Responsive Family-Based Mental Health Intervention for Refugee Children and Families
Dr. Amanda Sim is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences and the Mary Heersink Global Health Program at McMaster University, and a faculty member of the interdisciplinary Offord Centre for Child Studies where she completed postdoctoral training. Dr. Sim holds a doctorate from the Department of Social Policy and Intervention from the University of Oxford and previously worked at the International Rescue Committee implementing and evaluating violence prevention and mental health interventions in countries including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Lebanon. Dr. Sim’s research program focuses on improving the mental health and well-being of children and families affected by war and forced displacement in Canada and globally. She conducts equity-focused implementation research to examine and address the mental health and parenting needs of refugee and conflict-affected families, using community-engaged participatory methods to co-design and evaluate interventions to improve child and family outcomes. Dr. Sim’s New Investigator research grant will support partnership with families and service providers to co-develop a culturally and contextually tailored mental health intervention for newcomer children and families in Hamilton, Ontario.
Dr. Gina Martin, Athabasca University Examining Adolescent Health Impacts of Exposure to Climate Change-Related Extreme Events
Dr. Gina Martin is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Health Disciplines at Athabasca University. She is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment, Faculty of Social Science at Western University. Dr. Martin earned her doctorate from the University of St Andrews, Scotland (2019) and then trained at the Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, Western University as a postdoctoral fellow (2019-2021). Dr. Martin's research centers on understanding how the physical and social environments in which young people live, play, and learn impacts their health and wellbeing. Her work is guided by a socioecological framework and interdisciplinary collaboration. Her current research utilizes quantitative and mixed methods approaches to examine the influence of global climate change on adolescent health. With the New Investigator Research Grant, Dr. Martin will explore how exposure to extreme weather and associated extreme events, such as heatwaves and wildfires, impact on Canadian adolescents’ health. This work also aims to advance knowledge on which factors may be protective in mitigating the potential harms of such exposures.
Dr. Jenna Dowhaniuk, McMaster University Empowering Children's Voices: International Validation of CELIAC-Q Kids, a Patient-Reported Outcome Measure for Pediatric Celiac Disease
Dr. Jenna Dowhaniuk, MD, MSc is a Pediatric Gastroenterologist at McMaster Children’s Hospital, Assistant Professor at McMaster University, and an associate member of The Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute. After finishing her medical training at McMaster University, she completed a Master of Medical Sciences focused on translational research in mucosal immunity and microbiota in children. She is the medical lead of the Pediatric Celiac Disease Clinic and the Complex Nutrition Clinic at McMaster Children’s Hospital. She is passionate about innovation that improves healthcare for children with gastrointestinal disease and is the co-chair of the Pediatric Nutrition Advisory Committee at McMaster Children’s Hospital. Dr Dowhaniuk's research focus includes how diet and gut microbiota intersect in gastrointestinal disease, pediatric celiac disease, and nutrition in inflammatory bowel disease. She is the co-principal investigator of the first Canadian pediatric celiac disease registry titled CeliacCONNECT and of the new pediatric patient-reported outcome measure, Celiac-Q Kids.
Dr. Mark McVey, SickKids Inflammatory Effectors of Sphingolipids mediate Transfusion-related Acute Lung Injury
Dr. Mark McVey is an Anesthesiologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto with an interest in transfusion medicine and patient blood management (PBM). Mark is cross appointed at the University of Toronto as an Assistant Professor with the Departments of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine as well as Physiology, and further is an Adjunct Professor with the Department of Physics at the Toronto Metropolitan University. Mark completed a MSc in cellular molecular medicine (2004) and a PhD in Physiology (2019) which was supported by a CIHR Vanier award. Mark is the SickKids departmental Pediatric Anesthesia liaison with the blood bank and is a co-lead with the pediatric spine program. Mark is an Associate Scientist Track Investigator at the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute where his lab investigates topics relevant to transfusion medicine and PBM including: respiratory transfusion reactions such as transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), platelet immunobiology, lung-brain cross talk during lung injury and mechanisms and interventions for perioperative anemia.
Dr. Olena Zhulyn, SickKids Specialized Ribosomes as a New Target for Wound Healing and Organ Regeneration
Dr. Olena Zhulyn is a Scientist in the Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Program at SickKids Research Institute and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto (UofT). Dr. Zhulyn is proud to be an alumna of both of these programs, having completed here doctorate in 2014 under the supervision of Dr. Chi-chung Hui. Her PhD work on genetic underpinnings of congenital malformations of the embryonic limb led to an interest in tissue regeneration and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. She completed her post-doctoral training in Dr. Maria Barna's laboratory, in the Genetics and Developmental Biology Programs, at Stanford University. At Stanford, Dr. Zhulyn explored the role of regulated mRNA translation in embryonic development of the mouse. Interested in the role of translation in tissue regeneration, she also established Stanford's first axolotl program. The axolotl is a species of aquatic salamander capable of regenerating limbs, spinal cords and vital organs throughout its lifespan. In 2023, Dr. Zhulyn returned to SickKids with the goal of establishing Canada's first transgenic axolotl regeneration program. Her laboratory will use the axolotl and the mouse, as well as in vitro model systems, to explore the role of translation in tissue regeneration, rejuvenation and repair using a combination of genetic, molecular and imaging techniques to understand the fundamental biology of these processes and to explore new avenues for therapeutic intervention.
Dr. Philippe Dixon, McGill University From lab to clinic: A Biofidelic Model for Dynamic Evaluation of Foot Pathology Using Wearable Sensors in Low-Resource Contexts
Philippe Dixon is an assistant professor at McGill University. His research focuses on the analysis of human movement biomechanics using motion capture systems and wearable devices, with the aim of improving the health and mobility of patients and athletes. He is also very active in the application of machine learning techniques for the detection and prediction of physiological events and states, and in the development of software for data analysis. Previously, Dr. Dixon earned his PhD in Engineering Science from the University of Oxford and completed his post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard University at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
