Health Policy

PhD, expected 2024

Full-Time Student

Alexandra Cernat began her PhD in Health Policy in September 2020, under the supervision of Dr Vanstone. She earned an MSc in Health Services Research from the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation (IHPME) at the University of Toronto in 2020, and a BSc from the Honours Life Sciences program at McMaster University in 2018. She began working with Dr Vanstone in 2015 as a Research Assistant, studying stakeholder perspectives and the ethical and social implications of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT). Alex’s thesis work focuses on stakeholder perspectives on and preferences for the implementation of genetic testing for drug response in primary care. She is the recipient of a 2021-2022 Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS), as well as a Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canadian Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Award (CGS-D) from CIHR (declined). She currently holds a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship from CIHR. Alex is expected to complete her doctoral studies in 2024.

Health Policy

PhD, expected 2026

Full-Time Student

Monika Dutt is a PhD student beginning the Health Policy Doctoral Program at McMaster in 2022. Her research will focus on decent work as a public health issue. Her goal is to use qualitative research to strengthen collaboration between community-based worker-led organizing and institutional public health, using the specific policy example of paid sick days. She is a physician in both Public Health and Preventive Medicine as well as Family Medicine. She has worked in public health for over ten years as a Medical Officer of Health, most recently for Central and Western Newfoundland and Labrador. She also works at the Ally Centre of Cape Breton Health Centre. She has lived in Nova Scotia for the past ten years with her son.

Health Policy

PhD, expected 2026

Full-Time Student

Dima Hadid is starting her PhD in Health Policy at McMaster University in September 2022 under the supervision of Dr. Vanstone. Her research has appeared in several top tier journals across disciplines and she will be working as a research assistant with Dr. Vanstone on multiple ongoing research projects. She is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Scholar award 2022. She is expected to graduate in summer 2026.

Master’s of Health Science Education

MHSEd, expected 2023

Part-Time Student

Cindy is a practicing medical oncologist just beginning her thesis in the Master’s of Health Science Education program. Her thesis work will concern the development and portrayal of empathy in end-of-life care providers.

Health Science Education

MSc, expected 2023

Full-Time Student

Alison is an incoming MSc student in the Health Science Education program. Alison graduated from Queen’s University in 2022 where she received a BSc (Hons) with a major in Life Sciences. During her undergraduate studies, Alison’s work as a research assistant at Brantford General Hospital and involvement with the 3 Wishes Program sparked her interest in end-of-life care and ethical dilemmas. Having received the MERIT-HSED Fellowship award, Alison’s thesis will be triage decisions during COVID-19 and the issue of moral distress.

Health Science Education

MSc, expected 2025

Full-Time Student

Gursimran Deol is an MSc student in the Health Science Education program. She earned a BSc (Hons) from the Life Sciences program at McMaster University in 2023. During her BSc, Gursimran worked in the Sloboda Lab investigating the impact of diet-induced obesity and taurine supplementation on paternal periconceptional health and placental development. Her master’s thesis will be exploring non-pregnant partner support during pregnancy and developing programming to inform partners of pregnant individuals through primary care practices. Gursimran is a CIHR CGS-M award recipient.

Honours Health Science

HBHSc

Full-Time Student

Harmela is a third-year undergraduate student in the Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) program at McMaster University. Currently, she is completing a project on the remediation of cognitive and behavioural empathy among medical learners alongside Dr. Cindy Quinton.

Project

Navigating COVID-19 Risk in Pregnancy

Rebecca is currently a Research Assistant with the Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University. She coordinates the quantitative portion of the mixed-methods study, “Navigating COVID-19 Risk in Pregnancy.” Rebecca holds a BSc (Hons) in Health Studies from the University of Waterloo and is completing her PhD in Health Research Methodology with Dr. Andrew Costa. Dr. Vanstone is a member of Rebecca’s supervisory committee.

Project

Covid risk in pregnancy, direct observation, and experiences of recovery from ME/CFS

Cassandra Kuyvenhoven is a Research Coordinator in the Department of Family Medicine, applying her specialized qualitative knowledge to monitor, analyze, and report on several research projects. Her doctorate is in Environmental Studies, and she enjoys applying an environmental/social justice lens to health research. Special interests include interdisciplinary research, queer and feminist theories, chronic illness, and primary care. Cassandra contributes to a variety of projects including covid risk in pregnancy, direct observation, and experiences of recovery from ME/CFS.

Project

Cannabis and pregnancy, pay gaps in medicine and Covid risk in pregnancy

Andrea Carruthers attained a Masters of Human Kinetics degree from Laurentian University, after completing a Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Arts in Sport Psychology. As a past competitive figure skater, she combines her love of athletics, with psychology and science to build a career focused on health and research. Using her post-graduate experiences, as well as her natural observation skills gained from teaching and coaching opportunities, she brings project management, analytical, and data collection abilities to her work. Andrea contributes to a variety of projects including cannabis and pregnancy, pay gaps in medicine, and covid risk in pregnancy.

Health Policy

Graduated August 2023

Manisha Pahwa completed her PhD in the Health Policy program at the Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis (CHEPA) at McMaster University in August 2023. Her PhD thesis is entitled “Ethical and social values of screening Canadians for lung cancer using low dose computed tomography”. She has published primary research papers and systematic reviews in the cancer, occupational, and epidemiology literature. Manisha is a recipient of the 2019-2020 Ontario Graduate Scholarship, and her doctoral work was funded by a Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Award (CGS-D) from CIHR.

Health Research Methodology

Graduated July 2023

Shipra Taneja completed her MSc in the Health Research Methodology Program in July 2023. She earned a BSc (Hons) from the Life Sciences Program at McMaster University in 2021. Shipra's master's thesis involves using a mixed-methods design to develop a score that will measure bleeding in acute leukemia patients during clinical trials. During her undergraduate and graduate degrees, Shipra worked as a Research Assistant for Dr. Vanstone on multiple projects: exploring how pregnant persons make decisions about using cannabis during pregnancy and breastfeeding, exploring the experiences of child life specialists working in adult oncology settings, developing a measure to incorporate patient and family perspectives on gastrointestinal bleeding into clinical trial research.

Family Medicine

Postdoctoral Fellow (2021-23)

Monica Molinaro was 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. Monica is currently an Assistant Professor in the Institute of Health Science Education at McGill University.

Health Policy & Medicine

Graduated October 2022

Alice Cavanagh is an MD/PhD student at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and in McMaster University's Health Policy PhD Program. Alice’s doctoral research uses qualitative methodologies to understand how physicians learn about intimate partner violence in the course of their medical training. She is a recipient of a PSI Research Trainee Award, an Ontario Graduate Scholarship, and a Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canadian Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Award (CGS-D) from CIHR. Dr. Cavanagh  defended her dissertation, entitled “Physician roles in addressing intimate partner violence: Stakeholder perspectives to inform medical education and policy” on October 7, 2022. She is currently completing medical school at McMaster with the class of 2024.

Honours Life Sciences

BSc

Katrina is an undergraduate student enrolled in the Honours Life Sciences program at McMaster University. In the 2022-2023 academic year, she will work with the team on various research projects; she will also begin her undergraduate thesis exploring how pregnant persons make decisions about accessing support for mental health.

Honours Health Sciences

BHSc

Shayan is an undergraduate student in the Health Sciences (Hons.) Program. He is currently completing a project on the representation, exclusion, and social constructions of the LGBTQ+ community in Bachelor of Health Sciences courses. Shayan hopes to use his findings to guide change in existing curricula.

Honours Health Sciences

BHSc

Zara is a fourth-year undergraduate student in the Bachelor of Health Sciences (honours) program at McMaster University. She is currently completing her thesis related to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome under the supervision of Dr. Vanstone.

Honours Health Sciences

BHSc

Anu is a fourth-year undergraduate student in the Bachelor of Health Sciences (honours) program at McMaster University. She has worked with the Vanstone team for over 2 years on a variety of projects, including those related to decision-making about cannabis use in pregnancy. Currently, she is completing her thesis related to childhood experiences of racism under the supervision of Dr. Vanstone.

Honours Health Sciences

BHSc

Lana is a fourth-year undergraduate student in the Bachelor of Health Sciences (honours) program at McMaster University. She is currently completing a project course related to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome under the supervision of Dr. Vanstone.

Health Research Methodology

Graduated August 2021

Dissertation

"The design and evaluation of a knowledge translation tool for pregnant South Asians and their Primary Care Physicians"

Current Position

Postdoctoral Fellow at Brock University

Health Science Education

Graduated April 2021

Thesis

“Using parental experiences with sickle cell disease screening and diagnosis to guide health science education: A systematic review and integrative qualitative meta-synthesis”

Current Position

Registered Midwife

Health Research Methodology

Graduated October 2019

Thesis

"Exploring Physician Assistant Role Integration in the Ontario Healthcare System"

Current Position

Assistant Dean, Physician Assistant Program, McMaster University

Master's of Health Science Education

Graduated September 2019

Thesis

“Medical Student Mistreatment: A Journey”

This work was funded in part by the Canadian Association for Medical Education Wooster Family Grant. In this work we describe the experiences of medical students who undergo mistreatment during their training in five phases and look at student suggestions for improved support and changes to the learning environment. Through her Masters studies, Amanda has twice received the Faculty of Health Sciences Graduate Programs Excellence Award and presentation of her thesis results also received an outstanding oral presentation award in 2019 at the Faculty of  Health Science Research Plenary.

Current Positions

Regional Assistant Dean   of the Niagara Campus of the Michael G. DeGroote School of  Medicine

Assistant Clinical Professor, part-time, in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster

Member of   McMaster's program for Education Research, Innovation, and Theory

Amanda is the past recipient of the McMaster Faculty of Health Science’s John C. Sibley Award for Excellence in Education of a Part-Time Faculty and has been awarded the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario Council Award.

Master's of Health Science Education

Graduated August 2019

Thesis

"Aspiring Physicians from Low-income Backgrounds: Experiences of Barriers and Facilitators to a Career in Medicine"

This work identified several dimensions to the obstacles that are faced by aspiring physicians from low-income backgrounds and how they work around these challenges. It was funded by an Ontario Graduate Scholarship and the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University. Chanté is a member of McMaster's program for Education Research, Innovation, and Theory (MERIT) and has won awards for Graduate Student Excellence, Outstanding Oral Presentation, and Outstanding Thesis Research. She uses her background in anthropology and her interest in design to understand and address social problems in medical education and health care. She recently published an article in Medical Education entitled "When I Say...Merit." Chante’s work was funded by a Ontario Graduate Scholarship Award.

Current Position

Senior Researcher, Adobe

Master's of Health Science Education

Graduated April 2019

Thesis

"How clinical environments shape the medical learner -clinical teacher relationship"

This work was supported with funds by an overarching project that examined unprofessionalism, mistreatment and abuse that medical learners experienced during their medical training at McMaster University.  Emily’s thesis project found that there are key types of interactions that build trust in the medical learner-clinical teacher relationship. These interactions play a critical role in how the learner perceives a learning environment where they feel they can confidently co-navigate with their teacher, learning within the dynamics of a work environment that can often make learning difficult (i.e. learning from mistakes).

Current Position

Curriculum Design and Education Research Lead, Continuing Health Sciences Education, McMaster University

Inspired by this project, Emily went on to work in Continuing Health Sciences Education at McMaster as a curriculum developer and education research lead. She is actively participating in a McMaster simulation learning community of practice (INSIGHT) and in the process of joining McMaster's program for Education Research, Innovation and Theory (MERIT).

Master's of Health Science Education

Graduated December 2018

Thesis

"The Pearls and Pitfalls of Inter-Organizational Collaborations: Health Systems and Natural Disasters"

Current Position

Registered Nurse, Trauma & Surgical Services, Alberta Health Services

Master's of Health Science Education

Graduated December 2018

Thesis

"Optimization of Faculty Development at a Distributed Medical Campus"

This work examined the role of faculty development in the maturation of a newly implanted community medical campus. We found that a community undergoes a process of transformation to a medical campus as more learners move through the site, and more teachers are recruited and developed. Expert teachers can emerge and communities of practice for faculty development can promote the ongoing development and maintenance of community medical teachers.

Current Position

Geriatrician-Internist, Kitchener-Waterloo

Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine, Waterloo Regional Campus of the McMaster Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine

She is currently conducting research on the use of social media for education in Geriatrics, and can be contacted through her Facebook page The Wrinkle.

Arts & Science

Graduated 2017

Thesis

"Reconciling ethical and economic conceptions of value in health policy using the capabilities approach: A qualitative investigation of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing"

This work addressed a problem in the discipline of health technology policy-making, wherein ethical vs. economic frameworks used to assess health technologies have different, and sometimes contradictory, ideas of a technology’s value or optimal use. Mia's thesis offered evidence that the Capabilities Approach could be used to align economic and ethical evaluations in HTA, using Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing as an example case.

Current Position

Medical Student, University of Toronto

Mia went on to work as a Research Assistant at the University of Toronto, on a team investigating an HIV epidemic among street-connected youth in Eldoret Kenya, and afterwards as a Research Assistant at the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. She has published in Social Science and Medicine and the Journal of Adolescent Health. Mia started medical school at the University of Toronto in the fall of 2019.

Health Research Methodology

Graduated June 2017

Thesis

"Appraising Qualitative Research for Evidence Syntheses: A Compendium of Quality Appraisal Tools"

This work reviewed the characteristics, content, and usage of high-utility tools for appraising qualitative research in qualitative evidence syntheses. Umair has also worked with Meredith on multiple projects for health technology assessment agencies, for example, HPV testing for primary cervical cancer screening for the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health and non-invasive prenatal testing for Health Quality Ontario.

Current Position

PhD student, Health Services Organization and Management, University of Toronto

Umair also completed his MEd in innovative curriculum planning from Queen’s University in December 2018. In his current position, he is formulating recommendations for hospitals on engaging patients in health service planning and improvement activities. He is expected to graduate from this program in June 2021. Umair is also an Instructor at McMaster University teaching courses on epidemiology, the Canadian healthcare system, pathophysiology, organizational behavior, and performance measurement. He continues to consult with health technology assessment agencies to provide evidence on patient perspectives and experiences as well as implementation considerations for interventions, drugs, and technologies.

Project

Various

Mehreen is an undergraduate student enrolled in the Honours Integrated Science Program.

Project

Evaluating Health and Social Provider Education about Family Violence Prevention

Ilana holds an MA in International Development Studies from York University. With Meredith, she has worked on projects related to Family Medicine education and direct observation and feedback. She currently coordinates a national study to implement and evaluate education materials encouraging health and social service providers to recognize and respond to people who have experienced family violence. Ilana works out of the Offord Centre for Child Studies with Dr. Melissa Kimber.

Project

Patient preferences for prostate cancer screening

Darly is currently a Research Assistant with the Department of Family Medicine, working on a project about patient preferences for prostate cancer screening. Darly is completing her PhD in Health Research Methodology with Dr. Andrew Costa.

Project

Understanding medical learner behaviour of seeking & avoiding feedback from preceptors

Njideka is a research assistant with the Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University, working with Meredith on varying projects including a direct observation of medical learners to understand their behaviour of seeking and avoiding feedback from preceptors. She has a first degree in Medicine and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Edinburgh as a Commonwealth scholar. Njideka is currently on parental leave.

Project

Overflowing Inbox: Optimizing the educational experiences of family medicine residents

Marina has worked as a Research Assistant and Research Coordinator at the Department of Family Medicine for four years. She is currently a Research Associate with the University of Windsor.

Project

Medical Education Adaptations in a Pandemic, Medical Education Admissions

Meera has an MSc in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Brock University. She joined the team to work on a variety of medical education projects co-led with Dr. Lawrence Grierson. She is currently an epidemiologist and data lead with the Timiskaming Health Unit.

Project

Provider Experiences of Medical Assistance in Dying; Black women’s experiences of cervical cancer screening

Kayonne Christy graduated from McMaster’s Health Studies undergraduate program in June 2019. Meredith supervised Kayonne’s independent reading course on Black feminist approaches to understanding health inequities. The final product of this course was a comprehensive literature review and research proposal entitled, “Let’s talk about stress, baby: A Black feminist approach to understanding prenatal sources of stress among pregnant Black women”. This review found that mutually reinforcing systems of oppression (i.e. racism, sexism and classism) intersect to act as chronic psychosocial stressors in the lives of Black women, and contribute to a variety of negative maternal and perinatal health outcomes. The findings from this literature review have been presented at two academic conferences, Meredith’s Qualitative Health Research Lab meeting, and a McMaster Medicine OBGYN and LGBTQ+ Health Interest Group meeting. Kayonne is currently a Board Member of the Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre, and a member of the Race, Racialization & Racism working group of McMaster’s Presidents Advisory Committee on Building an Inclusive Community (PACBIC). Kayonne is a SSHRC CGS-M award recipient and completed an MA in Sociology at the University of British Columbia. She is currently a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Michigan.

Project

Physician Experiences of Clinical Intuition

Eamon is currently completing his PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Ottawa.

Project

Medical Education Admissions, Women and clinician’s experiences of non-invasive prenatal testing

Raquel is currently completing her PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Yale School of Public Health, Yale University.