Faculty of Health

Amanda Nova, PhD student in the School of Public Health Sciences

Travelling to Leuven in Belgium, Amanda is working towards finishing her dual PhD with UWaterloo and KU Leuven. By researching in Belgium, she has gained access to datasets on an international scale. Collaborating with the Belgian research and graduate team, policymakers, and clinicians, she is learning about both health care systems and looking at new ways of monitoring quality of life in nursing homes. 

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Adebusola Adekoya, PhD student in the School of Public Health Sciences

Adebusola is currently undertaking her PhD dissertation as a visiting postgraduate research student at the University of Edinburgh, where she is examining the process of policy development and implementation of Canada’s BC Silver Alert, United States Silver Alert, and Scotland’s Purple Alert. In collaboration with Professor Heather Wilkinson, the Purple Alert research group, Police Scotland, and Alzheimer Scotland, she is conducting a multiple case study and engage stakeholders to analyze factors for successful implementation of alert systems.

Bridget Beggs, MSc student in the School of Public Health Sciences

Bridget collaborated with International Care Ministries (ICM) and engaged in community-based research for her graduate thesis in the Philippines. She travelled to rural communities to conduct semi-structured interviews with Community Health Champions (CHCs) and found ways in which extreme weather event preparedness, response, and recovery efforts can be better supported. With this experience, Bridget strengthened her partnership with ICM and found opportunities to leverage current resources when navigating complex challenges.

Joshua Garcia-Barrios, MSc student in the School of Public Health Sciences

Joshua visited Guatemala as part of his master’s thesis project to investigate water security and health in rural communities. Joshua partnered with Pastoral de La Tierra, Mennonite Central Committee, and the University of Waterloo’s School of Public Health Sciences to conduct field work. He performed semi-structured interviews and focus groups with small-scale farming households and relevant stakeholders.

Andrew Chaston, MSc student in Kinesiology and Health Sciences

Andrew worked with Dr. Nadja Schott at the Special Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Their research focused on assessing the ability of athletes with intellectual disabilities to engage in motor imagery, by conducting data collection, tests, and analysis from Olympians. Andrew gained international connections with researchers in Germany and built an appreciation of mental imagery in motor skill learning.

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Pershia Norouzian, PhD student in Kinesiology and Health Sciences

Pershia travelled to Sydney, Australia to work with Dr. Simon Lewis at the University of Sydney as a researcher. She is currently working with thousands of patients with Parkinson’s Disease and hopes to improve rehabilitation with visual cueing using VR along with assisting in motor, sensory and neuropsychological assessments. At the end of the placement, Pershia will enhance her technical research skills in study design, implementation, analysis, communication, and professional development.

Kavitha Thiyagarajah, MPH student in the School of Public Health Sciences

Kavitha was an intern with the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, focusing on the Quality of Care Network initiative with the Maternal, Child  & Adolescent Health department. Her practicum project involved coordination, implementation and monitoring of quality of care activities at the national, district and facility level in target countries. The experience helped build Kavitha’s knowledge of global health challenges, while connecting her with leaders in the field.

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Kathy Luu, MSc student in Public Health and Health Systems

Kathy’s research explores healthcare access and use among individuals experiencing extreme poverty in rural communities. Working with International Care Ministries in the Philippines, she conducted interviews with both recipients and providers of healthcare to understand their perspectives on the challenges of healthcare delivery in low resource contexts.

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