Trainees

Shimaa Aboudeif is a biomedical engineer with a focus on aging research and digital health technologies. Her work blends engineering, healthcare, and data science to develop tools and systems that improve the quality of care for older adults. She has designed assistive devices, bio-signal monitoring systems, and worked with wearable sensors to track mobility and detect early signs of age-related conditions like Alzheimer's.

Currently, her research focuses on using data from accelerometers and GPS sensors to enhance mobility and activity monitoring, particularly in the context of Alzheimer's disease. She has also worked on projects that integrate machine learning for activity classification.

She is passionate about leveraging technology to support aging populations and is committed to fostering interdisciplinary collaboration between healthcare professionals and tech developers. Through her work, she aims to improve healthcare outcomes for older adults by ensuring that healthcare workers are equipped with the skills and tools needed to navigate the complexities of aging. She looks forward to continuing her research and contributing to initiatives that prioritize innovation, skill-building, and collaboration in geriatric care.

Ifeyinwa Akamike is a Public Health Physician with a focus on health systems research, maternal and child health research, and communicable and non-communicable diseases. She has over 10 years of experience as a Public Health Physician in Nigeria and has published over 40 papers in top-tier journals. She is currently a second-year doctoral student at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto. Her doctoral research is focused on care discontinuities experienced by older adults with multimorbidity. The specific objectives of her research include identifying and describing the causes of care discontinuity, and challenges faced by primary care providers as a result of care discontinuity, understanding the perspectives and experiences of older adults living with multimorbidity, and assessing the impact of care discontinuity on health outcomes of older adults with multimorbidity in Ontario. She will utilize both quantitative and qualitative methods to address these objectives. The ultimate goal of her research is to generate insights that inform the design of integrated care strategies to improve continuity of care for older adults with complex health needs.

Mir Nabila Ashraf is currently pursuing a Master's in Aging Studies at the University of Regina, under the supervision of Dr. Natasha Gallant and Dr. Abigail Wickson-Griffiths. Her research interests focus on chronic disease management, mental health, and the overall well-being of older adults. She is currently working on her thesis, which explores digital health recommendations for chronic disease management in Saskatchewan, Canada. She brings prior research experience in chronic disease and mental health, complemented by hands-on involvement in capacity-building initiatives. This includes organizing and facilitating workshops for healthcare providers aimed at bridging the gap between clinical practice and evidence-based research. She is passionate about interdisciplinary collaboration and continuously seeks opportunities for professional and personal growth through skill development and knowledge exchange.  Her long-term goal is to pursue a Ph.D. in digital health interventions for older adults, with a particular focus on lifestyle modifications to mitigate the outcomes of chronic diseases. She is committed to advancing innovative, accessible, and sustainable health solutions that support healthy aging and improve the quality of life for older populations.

Chuma Asuzu is a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto enrolled in the Collaborative Specialization of Psychology and Engineering. His research focuses on the aesthetics of consumer products, specifically how one's evaluation of products are influenced by the visual references in the observer's memory. He aims to advance the development and validation of design methods for products used by older adults, for improved wellbeing and quality of life.

Firoozeh Bairami is a PhD candidate in Health at Dalhousie University. She holds an MSc in Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics from Spain and an MSc in Healthcare Management from Iran. Before joining Dalhousie, she worked as a Project Manager at the European Society of Cardiology, where she investigated the burden of cardiovascular disease in the European Union. Her current research focuses on the impact of Canadian public policies, specifically, the Old Age Security program on the well-being of the aging population, using mixed methods approaches.

Dr. Kainat Bashir is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Better Health, Trillium Health Partners, and a member of the deprescribing.org team. Dr. Bashir's research focuses on improving health outcomes for older adults, particularly those from immigrant backgrounds. Her work includes developing culturally tailored brain health interventions for older immigrants in Ontario, combining her expertise in implementation science and knowledge translation. Currently, Dr. Bashir also leads the qualitative and implementation components of DIAL, a CIHR-funded study aimed at enhancing well-being for older adults with diabetes in LTC homes. She aims to be an embedded researcher specializing in models of care for older immigrants, fostering innovations in care delivery responsive to Canada's increasingly diverse older adult population.

Jana Bataineh is a 2nd year PhD candidate in the combined Master of Clinical Science in Audiology and PhD program in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Western University. Her research is focusing on optimizing early intervention for hearing loss among older adults through the integration of audiologists into interprofessional primary care models. Jana also serves as the Community Outreach Coordinator for Let's Talk Science and as a Director on the Society of Graduate Students at Western University. Prior to joining Western, Jana completed her Master of Public Health and Bachelor of Science (Honours) degrees at Brock University.

Mohamed Amine Bouchlaghem is a Ph.D. candidate in Nursing Sciences at the Faculty of Nursing Sciences, Université Laval. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in nursing sciences and a Master's degree in Health Sciences in Tunisia, he decided to pursue his doctoral studies in Canada. His research focuses on healthcare for older adults, with a particular interest in nursing education and support for chronic disease self-management among this population. Mr. Bouchlaghem is affiliated with several renowned research centers, including VITAM, the Centre of Excellence on Aging in Quebec (CEVQ), the Institute on Aging and Social Participation of Seniors (IVPSA), and the Integrated Health and Social Services Centre of Chaudière-Appalaches (CISSS-CA). In these centers, he contributes to the advancement of research projects focused on innovation in geriatric nursing practices, shared decision-making for older adults, and ethical dilemmas related to aging and healthcare. Alongside his studies, Mr. Bouchlaghem works as a care coordinator in an intermediate resource facility for older adults with cognitive disorders. He also maintains his passion for teaching as a lecturer for undergraduate nursing students at Université Laval.

Didier Brassard is a registered dietitian and postdoctoral research fellow at McGill University. He earned his PhD in Nutrition from Université Laval under the supervision of Prof. Benoît Lamarche, where he developed and evaluated a tool to assess adherence to Canada's Food Guide recommendations. His current research lies at the intersection of aging and nutritional epidemiology, focusing on evaluating the adequacy of the 2019 Canada's Food Guide recommendations for older adults in relation to muscle, cardiometabolic, and cognitive health. Didier's expertise includes dietary assessment methods, causal inference, statistical modelling, and measurement error correction to address complex questions in nutrition research.

Dr. Courtney Chang's research focuses on lifestyle interventions (diet, exercise) to reduce risk and improve quality of life for older adults with or at risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases (e.g., type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer). She's led and supported clinical trials exploring how personalized lifestyle strategies, like customized exercise regimens and meal timing, can help prevent and manage chronic conditions in older adulthood. Her aim is to address participation barriers while considering the unique physiological and psychological needs of older adults, helping them maintain functional independence and cognitive health.
She has contributed to over a dozen clinical trials in Canada and Australia, working primarily with older adults, individuals with or at risk for diabetes, and women affected by cancer. Her research employs non-invasive techniques (e.g., MRI, ultrasound, tonometry, DEXA, CGM) and focuses on free-living interventions with remote delivery. This approach improves accessibility, provides rigorous data, and reduces burden for older adults who may be vulnerable to invasive procedures or have difficulty attending in-person visits. Driven by passion for equity in health, she designs interventions that are adaptable to the diverse needs of older adults, including those with varying abilities in daily living or mobility.

Ali Chiarelli is a PhD Candidate in the Population Health program at the University of Ottawa. Her research explores accessibility in air travel for people living with dementia. She adopts interdisciplinary and participatory approaches to understand how airport environments can become more inclusive, drawing on lived experience and grounded in age- and dementia-friendly frameworks. 

Kate Crosby is a  first-year Master's student in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at McGill University. She is a trainee in the Musculoskeletal Health & Physical Activity Lab under the supervision of Dr. Jenna Gibbs. Her research focuses on bone health in older adults living with diabetes. For her thesis, she is using an integrated knowledge translation approach to co-design educational materials specifically tailored to enhance bone health knowledge in this population.

Fernanda Dal Pizzol is a registered nurse and PhD candidate in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta, supervised by Dr. Hannah O'Rourke. Fernanda's doctoral research focuses on improving the preparedness of unpaid caregivers-such as family members and friends-who support older adults, particularly older adults recovering from stroke. Fernanda is currently co-designing an intervention in collaboration with caregivers, healthcare professionals, and community organizations to better support caregivers.

In addition to her research, Fernanda teaches undergraduate nursing students and volunteers with Caregivers Alberta. She also contributes to the Alberta Caregiver Strategy and Action Plan, advocating for policies and training programs that enhance caregiver support and strengthen the healthcare system's capacity to meet the needs of both caregivers and older adults.

Outside academia, Fernanda finds inspiration and strength in her caring husband, her lovely two-year-old daughter, and the brave stories of caregivers she has had the privilege to meet. Fernanda is passionate about ensuring that unpaid caregivers are recognized, supported, and meaningfully included in care systems, so that both caregivers and the older adults they support can experience enhanced well-being and quality of life. 

Alexandria Delaney is from the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia and is currently a PhD student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Manitoba. Alexandria's PhD research will focus on family caregiver succession planning under the supervision of Dr. Laura Funk. Her research is supported by a PhD Research Studentship from Research Manitoba. Alexandria completed her Bachelor's (Honours) and Master's degree in Sociology at Acadia University (Wolfville, NS) under the supervision of Dr. Rebecca Casey. Her honours research focused on age-friendly communities in rural Nova Scotia and her master's thesis explored the effects of neoliberalism on family caregiving. Alexandria is passionate about social research. She uses qualitative and quantitative methods with research interests in aging, care work, disability, family/friend caregiving, food insecurity, and labour. 

Rachel completed a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with Honours at the University of Winnipeg with a focus on social theory. She then completed a Master of Arts in Health and Aging at McMaster University. Her Master's research examined media reporting on Long-Term Care in Ontario with specific attention to the portrayal of age(ing), care, and safety in the eight months following the WHO's declaration of a global pandemic. She is currently drafting her PhD dissertation which looks critically at the continuum of care in Canada in regard to care and safety of older adults. She also works as a Research Assistant on multiple projects including family/informal care, aging on fixed low income, Indigenous conceptions of aging and the lifecourse, and leadership in nursing. Her research interests include: Sociology of Families; Medical Sociology; Sociology of Health and Illness; Sociology of Knowledge; media analyses; and crimes against the elderly.

Ezinne Ekediegwu is a Health blogger (www.physiosparks.com/blog/) pursuing a PhD in Rehabilitation Science and is a licensed physiotherapist, emerging as a leader in the realm of aging and active living. Her research centers on intrinsic capacity, which encompasses both the physical and mental abilities individuals possess, and examines its significance in fostering active living among older adults. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, Ezinne investigates how tailored, evidence-based interventions can promote active living and mitigate or slow the decline of capacity. Her work utilizes the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), while incorporating technology, person-centered care, and community-based methods to facilitate healthy aging. Ezinne founded Physiosparks, an online platform that raises awareness about physiotherapy and encourages active living within communities. She also participates in projects aimed at applying research practically and shaping age-inclusive policies. With a passion for fostering inclusive environments, she is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for older adults through innovation, advocacy, and educational efforts.  

Franciely Daiana Engel is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ottawa. She holds a PhD in Nursing from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Her academic and research background focuses on public health and patient safety, with solid experience in qualitative research and mixed methods studies. Her doctoral research focused on patient safety and patient experience in Brazilian university hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she collaborated with ten universities to lead a national mixed-methods study. Currently, Franciely is co-investigator on Canadian research projects focused on improving the safety of older adults in retirement homes. Participating in SPA 2025 will strengthen her ability to contribute to the development of a health care workforce able to meet the needs of Canada's aging population.
 

Jasmine Friedrich Yap is a Masters of Rehabilitation Research Candidate under the supervision of Dr. Caitlin McArthur at the School of Physiotherapy, Dalhousie University. Her research focuses on adapting current fracture prevention guidelines, namely those designed for the long-term care and general community dwelling populations, to home care settings in Canada.

Zoë Gilson is a Master's student in Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Victoria. Her research focuses on dementia prevention and the psychosocial, lifestyle, and neurological factors that impact symptoms of cognitive decline. Her Master's thesis tested a mobile health (mHealth) app-based lifestyle intervention for older adults with subjective cognitive decline.

Onara Hettiarachchige is a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Calgary, specializing in wearable technology. Her previous roles included co-executive director for Innovation4Health, data scientist at Orpyx, and research assistant at Gannon University. Her research focuses on aging, cognitive decline, and driving safety in older adults, where she examines how mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild dementia impact driving behaviour. Using naturalistic data collected through in-vehicle monitoring systems, including GPS, video, and inertial sensors, Onara develops methods to detect subtle behavioural changes that may signal cognitive decline. Her interdisciplinary research draws on engineering, neuroscience, and gerontology to support safer mobility and longer independence for older adults. Passionate about age-inclusive research and healthcare innovation, Onara is committed to developing data-driven strategies that enhance the lives of older adults and inform healthcare training and policy.

Peter Hoang is a geriatrician and PhD student at the University of Toronto, Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation. He completed his medical training at McMaster University and residency at the University of Calgary. His interests are in understanding the health and social needs among older adults who have experienced homelessness. 

Elin Karlsson is a Swedish audiologist with a Master's degree in audiology (2017), a Master's degree in gerontology (2024) and a PhD in disability research (2022). She is employed as a researcher by Audiological research Centre, Region Örebro County, Sweden. Since October 2024 Elin has been a postdoctoral scholar at Western University, within the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, conducting research on ecological measures related to audiology, cognitive impairment and communication. The postdoctoral project is funded by Alzheimer Society, Canada. In the next step of the project, it is planned to investigate how this kind of ecological measures can be adopted and used within primary care settings to support older adults with hearing loss at an early stage. So far, Elin's main areas of interest in research include audiological rehabilitation, gerontology, empowerment, the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF), instrument development and psychometric evaluation.

Jasmine Lee is a Doctoral Candidate, currently completing her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Ottawa. She is pursuing her thesis research and clinical training in neuropsychology and clinical psychology across adulthood and aging populations. Her research uses multidisciplinary approaches, including behavioural measures of cognitive function and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate bilingualism as a potential mitigating factor against cognitive decline in aging, such as in dementia.  Prior to her current studies, Ms. Lee completed a B.A. & Sc. in Honours Cognitive Science and an M.Sc. in Neuroscience at McGill University. After completing her M.Sc., Ms. Lee served as team grant coordinator for the Montreal Bilingualism Initiative (MoBI) at McGill University.  She completed a certification in Specialist Knowledge Translation through the Hospital for Sick Children, and worked in knowledge translation, science outreach, and science facilitation as Scientific Liaison at the Centre for Research on the Brain, Language and Music at McGill University. 

Nicholas Legacy is a Registered Nurse and a first-year PhD student with a research focus on preoperative geriatric assessment and its impact on cardiac surgical outcomes. He is enrolled in the Collaborative Specialization in Aging, Palliative, and Supportive Care Across the Life Course through the Institute for Life Course and Aging at University of Toronto, which complements his dedication to advancing the care of older adults. Nicholas serves as a Tutorial Assistant and Guest Lecturer for an undergraduate course on nursing care for older adults and works as a Research Assistant, exploring innovative approaches to support older adults undergoing oncological treatment. In addition to his academic pursuits, he maintains a clinical role in the Cardiovascular Surgical Intensive Care Unit, where he combines clinical expertise with a passion for improving patient outcomes through research and education.

Dr. Jaylyn Leighton is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health, in Toronto, Ontario. She earned her PhD in 2022 from the University of Waterloo's Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, Faculty of Health. Her research focuses on improving the transition from hospital to home for stroke essential care partners (caregivers), with an emphasis on community-based care. Dr. Leighton collaborates with third sector organizations and volunteers to help create smoother, more supportive transitions. She is particularly interested in addressing the psychosocial, emotional, and leisure needs of essential care partners as they adjust to their evolving caregiving roles.

Paulina Malcolm is a MSc student in Rehab Sciences at UBC where she focuses on learning about how family care partners perceive their advocacy efforts for people living in long-term care. She also has experience working on community-engaged research projects with people living with dementia that aim to understand stigma and promote social inclusion. In her spare time, Paulina likes gardening, playing with her cat Maisie, playing music, and running in the rain.

Christine Meng is a PhD student in the School of Nursing at UBC. Her research focuses on building meaningful relationships with older adults and their caregivers in long-term care homes. Her proposed dissertation explores the moving-in experiences of older adults and their family members. She is also a practicing registered nurse working in long-term care homes and enjoy learning something new every day.

Elizabeth Mohler is a PhD candidate in Health and Rehabilitation Science at Western University, where her research explores how direct funding programs for adults with disabilities can enhance autonomy, community participation, and quality of life. Her work is grounded in critical disability studies and draws on participatory and discursive approaches to center the lived experiences of service users. Elizabeth brings extensive experience in policy analysis, community engagement, and accessibility advocacy, with a particular focus on the intersection of disability and aging. She has worked with organizations supporting inclusive employment, transition planning for youth with disabilities, and healthcare access equity. Elizabeth is also a passionate educator and speaker, with a strong commitment to training the next generation of health professionals to understand and respond to the diverse needs of aging populations, particularly those aging with disabilities. As a person with vision loss, Elizabeth combines personal insight with academic rigor to advance equity-informed healthcare practices. Her work contributes to shaping a more inclusive, responsive healthcare system that respects the rights, dignity, and evolving needs of older adults.

Sadaf Murad-Kassam is a registered nurse with a clinical background in geriatric medicine and surgery, dementia units/long-term care, emergency, ICU, orthopedic/surgical care, and general medicine. She completed her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from the Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan, and a Master of Nursing (MN) in Nursing Education and Aging from the University of Alberta. Currently, she is a doctoral student in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta. Her doctoral research focuses on the hospitalization experiences of ethno-racial older adults with dementia and explores ways to develop culturally sensitive dementia care practices within hospital settings. As a healthcare provider, she has witnessed numerous systemic gaps and barriers that older adults face when accessing care in acute care environments. These challenges are often intensified for individuals from ethno-racial communities. The SPA training represents an invaluable opportunity for her to deepen her understanding of these systemic inequities and learn practical strategies to improve healthcare professional knowledge and skills. Through this training, she hopes to build the knowledge and skills necessary to support healthcare providers in delivering more inclusive, equitable, and culturally responsive care to older adults.        

Patricia Nistor is a second-year PhD student at Western University. Previously, her research has been focused on individuals with spinal cord injury and her master's research concentrated on older adults with multimorbidity at risk of social isolation results from the COVID-19 pandemic. Her doctoral research is investigating ageing populations with respect to dementia, a disease of older age. Particularly, how to predict at risk individuals for prevention interventions so that with longer life expectancy individuals they can continue to live healthy lives. Considering the increasingly aging population and associated increased burden on healthcare workers and caregivers with chronic conditions like dementia, finding areas where this can be reduced, including prevention, is of deep interest to her. She chose this area of research because she realized the importance of research in aging populations, and the potential to lead to better care for individuals who are currently older and may illuminate areas of prevention for diseases of older age for individuals who have yet to reach this age. She has also volunteered on her department's student council and in the community.

Chukwuebuka Prince Onyekere is a Nigerian-trained Physiotherapist. He obtained his Bachelors of Physiotherapy from the University of Nigeria in 2019 with student clinical experience from the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital. He completed a master's degree in Gerontology at the University of Southampton, United Kingdom in 2024 under the Commonwealth Scholarship sponsorship. He is a member of the Emerging Researchers and Professionals in Aging- African Network (ERPAAN). His research focuses broadly on older adults and aging in Africa. He is specifically involved in research around mobility and its determinants among older adults and how culturally tailored and informed technology and Artificial Intelligence can be leveraged to improve mobility and social connectedness, especially among racialized older adults.

Simran Panesar is a Master's in medicine student at the University of Alberta. Her research investigates the role of culture in shaping the attitudes and beliefs of older Sikh women regarding urinary incontinence (UI). The goal is to understand these perspectives and co-design a culturally sensitive self-management program for UI in older Sikh women. Outside of research, she enjoys writing poetry and sharing it at local festivals. 

Navaneetha Ravichandran is an occupational therapist with over five years of experience in India. Her personal experience supporting her grandmother through stroke recovery inspired her passion for meeting the needs of older adults. In 2023, she moved to Vancouver and currently works as an Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) in Surrey while pursuing a Master's degree in Rehabilitation Science at the University of British Columbia. Her research thesis, "Exploring the Impact of TimeSlips Creative Storytelling on Cognitive and Emotional Well-being in Dementia Rehabilitation: A Culturally Adapted Approach for South Asian Older Adults in Canada," seeks to adapt the TimeSlips method by using culturally relevant images. This evidence-based approach encourages creative storytelling for people living with dementia, enhancing cognitive engagement, emotional well-being, and overall quality of social interactions. While TimeSlips has been successfully applied across cultures, she has found no studies on its adaptation for South Asian populations in Canada. Through her work, she aims to fill this gap and help older adults, regardless of their cultural background, live fuller, more meaningful lives.

Sofia Salsi is a PhD candidate at the University of Manitoba. She is currently studying the medical-legal assessment of decision-making capacity in the healthcare system, and the role that healthcare workers have in assessment. As the population ages, the legal needs of older adults increases, and it is imperative that healthcare workers understand how to best support older adults who have impairments that affect their decision-making capacity, particularly as the outcome of these assessments often leads to removal of legal rights. Balancing the rights, autonomy and safety of adults and older adults is a key question of her research. 

Veronica Souza Santos has a Bachelor's Degree in Physiotherapy in Brazil. She did a Doctoral Degree in musculoskeletal pain in children and adolescents awarded as the best thesis of 2023 in the area of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical education. During the period of her Doctoral Degree, she did a fellowship at The University of Sydney, Australia. Nowadays, she has a postdoctoral fellowship supervised by Dr Luciana Macedo and co-funded by McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA) and Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care to investigate the knowledge and preferences for pain education for older adults. She is currently interested in implementation science, systematic reviews, clinical and epidemiological studies across the life span, especially older adults.

Ezgi Tasyurek is a Ph.D. candidate in the Experimental Psychology program at the University of Ottawa. Her research focuses on ageism, aging, discrimination, racism, and intergroup relations. Ezgi's doctoral work examines perceptions toward both younger and older adults through the lens of the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) and explores the intersection of ageism and racism, with a particular focus on racialized older adults. Alongside her thesis research, she has contributed as a research assistant to several projects, including studies on the role of ambivalent ageism in the well-being of older Canadian workers and on subjective age perceptions among older adults in Canada. Through these experiences, she has developed strong skills in both quantitative and qualitative research methods.  In addition to her academic work, Ezgi has experience in program evaluation, including designing evaluation tools, conducting data collection and analysis, and preparing comprehensive reports. She is passionate about expanding her understanding of the aging process and ageism from the perspectives of older adults and exploring ways to promote more inclusive and equitable social policies.

Shao-Yang Tsai is a (delete extra space) postdoctoral fellow at the Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest. He completed his PhD at LMU in Munich in 2024, where he studied how the brain handles distractions using EEG. Prior to his PhD, he conducted research in Taiwan on meditation training and attention performance, and he also participated in a project on TMS treatment for treatment-resistant major depression in a hospital's psychiatry department. Currently, his research focuses on exploring EEG biomarkers for predicting dementia, such as measuring blink rate and blink-related oscillations (BRO). His goal is to translate basic research findings into practical tools for the early detection of cognitive decline and to help improve care for older adults. In addition to methods like meditation and brain stimulation, he plans to investigate further approaches to enhance cognitive function and slow cognitive decline.

Jeff Walsh is a healthcare social worker, doctoral candidate, and embedded health system researcher. He is a doctoral candidate at the School of Social Work at McGill University, and an CIHR Health System Impact Fellow embedded in Providence Healthcare in Vancouver, BC in their palliative care programs. His research focuses on identifying and understanding promising practices in hospice care for older persons experiencing homelessness. His research draws on his clinical experiences of providing care in a variety of settings including mental health and substance use programs, primary care, and home and community care programs. Prior to starting his doctorate, he worked as a clinical social worker in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver at a primary care clinic working with medically and psychosocially complex patients. 

Joey is a PhD Student at the School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. She is also a registered nurse and a research project manager. Her research interests include dementia, aging, gerontechnology, and education. She is passionate about participatory research with people with lived experiences, including older adults living with dementia and family care partners. 
 

Wenting Yan is a PhD student in Nursing at the University of Alberta. Her background is in Public Health with research experience in healthcare workforce retention. Her research focuses on investigating strategies to enhance retention and building resilience in nurses employed in publicly funded supportive (assisted) living facilities, and how to facilitate improved communication to enhance the quality of care for older residents.