Ecaterina Rosu
Exploring the Experiences of Post-Communist Populations Interacting With Healthcare Services: A Scoping Review
"Since beginning this project, I have learned many technical skills, such as: effectively planning and performing Boolean searches, familiarizing myself with the Covidence screening software, and have increased the speed and effectiveness of my information-extraction abilities. I have also learned many interpersonal skills, such as: communication with peers in a professional research lab, teamwork in a small time while working remotely, and effectively connecting with professionals outside of the research lab. The research I conducted provides a foundation for an honours thesis project I am starting in September, under the supervision of Dr. Meyer and with the support of her graduate lab.
This project has made me realize that patience and thoroughness go hand in hand, and work together to create high-quality results. I hope that as I continue through my journey in research, I will continue to develop patience and trust in my abilities, and thus improve the thoroughness and effectiveness of my efforts."
Supervisor: Samantha Meyer
Sarah Dunbar
Mapping the Path to Safer Sport: Identifying Feasible and Relevant Safeguarding Practices for Community Sport Organizations
“Through this project I have gained valuable skills in conducting literature reviews, synthesizing data and developing practical resources to support safeguarding in community sport. I have also deepened my understanding of the challenges CSOs face in implementing safe sport practices at the grassroots level and developed a greater passion for helping young athletes feel protected in our community sport spaces.
Looking ahead, I hope to continue building expertise in safe sport research and knowledge mobilization, with the goal of contributing to policies and practices that create safer, more inclusive environments for youth in sport."
Supervisor: Katie Misener
Joy Cochrane
Skeletal Muscle and Adipose Tissue Characterization with Ultrasound
"I have learned many technical skills this term including isokinetic dynamometry, ultrasound, landmarking and palpation. I have practiced the critical thinking and reasoning skills necessary for research.
My future goals are to continue furthering my critical mind through research and to seek opportunities that support this goal."
Supervisor: Marina Mourtzakis
Kealey Nguyen
SCI-LLM: Augmenting Large Language Models (LLMs) for Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Knowledge Translation
"Despite having prior research experience, working with Dr. Torres Espin and the health.data DRIVEN lab has given me the opportunity to engage fully in the academic research cycle, from developing a proposal and data collection protocol to analyzing results, drawing conclusions, and contributing to dissemination. While the process felt daunting and uncomfortable at times, it was profoundly rewarding, allowing me to build skills in R coding, deepen my understanding of AI and LLMs, learn from an incredible interdisciplinary team, and strengthen my ability to translate ideas into actions.
Looking ahead, I am eager to continue with the next stages of the project, including the quality assessment for Experiment #1 and the data collection for Experiment #2 (response consistency). Ultimately, working with Dr. Torres Espin and his lab has been an absolute privilege and I am highly motivated to continue contributing to their impactful work, all while further refining my coding and academic communication skills."
Supervisor: Abel Torres Espin