The School of Public Health and Health Systems is a division of the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences
Kelly Anthony
Lecturer
Research interests: attitudes regarding public policies (both US and Canadian) designed to protect disadvantaged groups; prejudice; attitudes towards, and responses to, dying and the death process; individualism and collectivism and culture
Jose F. Arocha
Associate Professor
Research interests: health informatics and socio-cognitive studies of human-computer interaction, principles of HCI design, health education and modelling understanding of health and disease
Stephanie Austin
Medical School student
Stephanie Austin chose the Health Studies program because it seemed like the “ideal pre-med program,” combining natural and social science courses.
Philip Bigelow
Associate Professor
Research interests: interventions in occupational health; evaluation and measurement of health and safety management systems; risk assessment and standard setting in occupational health
Roy Cameron
Distinguished Professor Emeritus
Research interests: health behaviour change, disease prevention, tobacco, population level intervention, evidence-based practice
Ashok Chaurasia
Assistant Professor
Research interests: methodological development in longitudinal data, incomplete/missing data, model selection, and sequential data
Helen Chen
Professor of Practice, Associate Director, Professional Practice Centre for Health Systems
Research interests: health informatics, translatonal research in healthcare and medicine, health system integration, semantic interoperability, healthcare decision making and decision support, health data analytics, medical imaging informatics, patient safety
Martin Cooke
Associate Professor
Research interests: the social demography and health of Aboriginal peoples; social inequality, the welfare state, and the life course; population ageing and retirement
Kitty Corbett
Professor Emerita
Research interests: about and for change, emphasizing social science tools (e.g., ethnographic and mixed methods, social marketing, photovoice, training) for knowledge translation, health communication, quality improvement, and community-based participatory action, and health promotion
Warren Dodd
Assistant Professor
Research interests: migration, food security, poverty, climate change, healthcare and social service access.
Joel Dubin
Associate Professor
Research interests: longitudinal data methodology and analysis, survival methodology and analysis, graphical methods, prediction models. Application areas include nephrology, cancer, smoking cessation, aging, and the environment.
Mark Ferro
Assistant Professor
Research interests: epidemiology of child psychopathology, measurement of child psychopathology and quality of life, determinants and mechanisms of child multimorbidity, mental health service use
John Garcia
Professor of Practice; Associate Director, Graduate Professional Programs
Research interests: population-based chronic disease prevention, health of Nunavummiut, knowledge exchange, capacity building, implementation, practice-based evidence, public health policy and systems, qualitative and mixed methods, realistic evaluation
Peter Hall
Professor
Research interests: social neuroscience of primary prevention; health neuroscience; lifestyle behaviours and brain health; behaviour change; brain health over the lifespan; social neurobiology of food cravings and consumption; obesity.
David Hammond
Professor, CIHR-PHAC Chair in Applied Public Health
Research interests: population health, health behaviour, health policy, tobacco, smoking, health communication, media, nutrition, diet, public health, e-cigarettes, nicotine, caffeine, energy drinks, global health, international health, cannabis and harm reduction
Rhona Hanning
Professor, Associate Dean, Graduate Studies
Research interests: human nutrition and chronic disease, evidence-based practice, body composition.
Rose Harrison
Principal, Harrison Health Collaborative Inc
Health informatics may not be a term you’re familiar with – but if you’ve visited a hospital or clinic lately you have likely seen it in action. People like Rose Harrison are using information technology to better manage the health care you receive.
George A. Heckman
Associate Professor (Schlegel Research Chair in Geriatric Medicine)
Research interests: chronic disease management in frail seniors - focus on cardiovascular disease and long term care.
John Hirdes
Professor
Research interests: community and public health, health information systems, health policies, caregiving, aging, home care, mental health, long-term care, palliative care, quality of life, pharmacoepidemiology, knowledge translation.
Laurie Hoffman-Goetz
Distinguished Professor Emerita
Research interests: In Public Health: health literacy, risk communication, consumer health informatics, mass media and health education
In Biohealth: physical activity and cancer prevention, exercise immunology, behavioural immunology, lymphocyte apoptosis
Sue Horton
Professor
Research interests: economics of public health, economics of nutrition, development economics, poverty
Janice Husted
Associate Professor Emerita
Research interests: prognosis of rheumatic conditions specifically psoriatic arthritis; and mental health
Craig R. Janes
Professor; Director, School of Public Health and Health Systems
Dr. Janes is a medical anthropologist interested in and committed to social science approaches to public health and global health policy. Janes has research strengths in human-environment interactions, social inequities and health, global health governance, and maternal and child health.
Sharon Kirkpatrick
Associate Professor
Research interests: dietary assessment, measurement error in diet, food access and food security among marginalized populations, food environments, food and nutrition policy, dietary guidance
Judy Kruger
Senior Scientist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
What does the University of Waterloo and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta have in common? Well-respected international reputations and Dr. Judy Kruger.
Brian Laird
Assistant Professor
Research interests: contaminants; risk assessment; risk communication; hazard; environmental health; exposure; country food; aboriginal; First Nations; Inuit; mercury; arsenic; selenium; diet; mixtures; nutrient-toxicant interaction; toxicology; soil; bioaccessibility; bioavailability; contaminated sites; Dehcho region
Jane Law
Associate Professor
Research interests: health geomatics; healthy communities; disease mapping; measurement error, data uncertainty, and missing data adjustment in public health research; Bayesian spatial modelling and analysis in health research; determinants of health outcomes; health and crime; diet and health outcomes
Scott Leatherdale
Professor, CIHR-PHAC Chair in Applied Public Health Research
Research interests: health behaviour surveillance (physical activity, obesity, alcohol and drug use, tobacco use, eating behaviour, sedentary behaviour); built environment and behaviour; impact of policies / programs on behaviour; co-morbid health behaviours; internet gambling and problem gambling; knowledge translation and exchange systems; cancer epidemiology; social epidemiology
Ellen MacEachen
Associate Professor / Associate Director, Graduate Research Programs
Research interests: Broad focus on policy and program evaluation and implementation, with a view to the organisational, social and policy determinants of work and health
Shannon E. Majowicz
Associate Professor
Research interests: infectious diseases, particularly foodborne, waterborne and enteric diseases, surveillance and burden of illness methods, survey research methods, epidemiology and epidemiologic methods, public health practice, systems approaches to food-related health outcomes, knowledge synthesis methods, knowledge brokering
Carrie McAiney
Associate Professor (Schlegel Research Chair in Dementia)
Research interests: dementia care, culture change, long-term care, retirement living
Stephen McColl
Associate Professor Emeritus
Research interests: environmental health, occupational health, risk assessment and management, health policy
Ian McKillop
Associate Professor
Research interests: design and use of health information systems; costing and performance measurement of health services; data standards, security and privacy of health information
Samantha Meyer
Associate Professor
Research interests: trust and risk in medical decision making; access to and uptake of preventative services in Canada and Australia (specifically vaccination and cancer screening); access to and social determinants of bariatric surgery; food regulation and policy; and trust in food.
John G. Mielke
Associate Professor
Research interests: neurobiological embedding of adversity (e.g., poor nutrition, psychosocial stress) Neuroplasticity during learning and following injury (e.g., ischaemia)
Plinio Morita
Assistant Professor
Research interests: mHealth and wearable technology design, ubiquitous sensors for smart homes, usage data and health data analytics, technology for aging.
Anita M. Myers
Professor Emerita
Research interests: program evaluation, driver licensing, licensing policies, older adults, driving behavior, driving self-regulation, older adult mobility and transportation, driving confidence, balance confidence, commercial vehicle drivers
Elena Neiterman
Continuing Lecturer
Research interests: health human resources, work-life balance, retention of midwives in Canada, women’s experiences of pregnancy, international students in Canada, and technology use in academic classroom.
Hannah Neufeld
Assistant Professor
Research interests: Indigenous health, global health, health inequalities, Indigenous food systems, maternal nutrition and child feeding, maternal and child health, community health
Mark Oremus
Associate professor
Research interests: epidemiology, population and public health, chronic diseases, aging, dementia, caregiving, knowledge translation, systematic reviews, health economics, health policy
Chris Perlman
Associate Professor
Research interests: health services research, evaluation, performance measurement, health information systems, decision support, knowledge translation, mental healthcare, long term care
Phuc-Nhi Phuong
Public Health Planner, Region of Waterloo Public Health
If you asked Phuc-Nhi Phuong (Health Studies ’04, Master of Public Health ’08) to create a job description based on her university experience, her current position as a Public Health Planner for the Region of Waterloo would be it!
Gaby Sabados
Midwife, St. Jacobs Midwives
As a midwife, Gaby Sabados (Health Studies '99) requires a diverse set of skills. A strong clinical background is necessary in order to provide the best evidence-based care for clients, but she also requires the communication skills and the capacity to build relationships in order to become a trusted partner in care.
Patrick Seliske
Epidemiologist
For Patrick Seliske (Health Studies '78), the decision to attend Waterloo was simple – it was the Canadian leader in health studies and health promotion. Now working as an Epidemiologist for the Child and Family Health Division (CFHD) of Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH), he also credits the program for providing him with the unique opportunity to study epidemiology.
Kelly Skinner
Assistant Professor
Research interests: northern food systems and environments, nutrition and food insecurity, community-based health and food initiatives, program evaluation, access to healthcare in northern communities, and knowledge uptake and utilization.
Paul Stolee
Professor
Research interests: Geriatrics, health care systems, rehabilitation, patient and citizen engagement, health information systems and databases, health outcome measurement, and knowledge translation
Suzanne Tyas
Associate Professor
Research interests: aging, Alzheimer’s disease, chronic diseases, cognitive reserve, dementia, epidemiology, healthy aging, multimorbidity.
Patricia Ellen Wainwright
Distinguished Professor Emerita
Research interests: brain and behavioural development (drugs and nutrition)
James Wallace
Associate Professor
Research interests: human-computer interaction, computer-supported cooperative work
Doris Winfield
Physician
Dr. Doris Winfield (MD, Health Studies '89) didn’t always know what she wanted to do with her career, but with the support of friends and professors who she met in Health Studies she found her fit by pursuing a career as a physician.
Diane Williams
Lecturer; Associate Director, Undergraduate Studies
Research interests: cellular and molecular biology of the inner ear, age-related hearing loss and prevention, neuroprotection, biocomplexity, systems approaches to studying health and disease
Astha Ramaiya
Health promotion advocate
Astha (BSc '07) graduated from Waterloo’s Health Studies program, and her passion for health promotion and social justice led her to internship placements in Nepal and work in Tanzania.
Lana Vanderlee and Andrew Mitchell
Co-creators of BABU (Bringing About Better Understanding)
When AHS graduates and current PhD students Lana Vanderlee and Andrew Mitchell went to Nepal as volunteers, it didn’t take long for them to discover a serious problem.
Timothy Muttoo
Master of Public Health
Using simple technology, Master's of Public Health Student, Timothy Muttoo created a water filtration system that is transforming thousands of lives in the Dominican Republic.
Christina Marchand
Social entrepreneur
Social entrepreneur Christina Marchand (BSc ’14, HEALTH, MPH candidate) launched FullSoul to raise money for mothers and babies in Uganda.
Danielle Brandow
MSc Public Health and Health Systems
Inspired by her time as a resident of Northern Ontario, Danielle Brandow focuses her Master's research on the health of indegenous people, and the disparities that many face when living in northern communities.
Lesley Johnston
PhD Public Health and Health Systems candidate
As part of her doctoral research, Lesley Johnston is investigating ways in which community well-being in Mongolia and Zambia are affected by Canadian-sponsored mining operations.
Erika McMullin
Student, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Erika McMullin is passionate about making a change in Canadian Health Systems. Going through the Master of Health Evaluation (MHE) program has helped her take a step closer to achieving that goal, as she now applies her knowledge of health evaluation to improve government initiatives and health programs. Currently working with a dedicated team at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Erika hopes to continue collaborating with stakeholders and conduct creative interventions to improve patient care for the community.
Rick Pittman
Policy, Planning & Research Analyst, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
As a Policy, Planning & Research Analyst and also studying in the Master of Health Evaluation (MHE) program, Rick Pittman believes the recipe to success is self-discipline and efficient time management. For Rick and for many other working professionals, the self-paced, online format of the MHE is perfect because it allows flexibility for studying and for learning new material.
Babak Rashidi
Internal Medicine Physician, The Ottawa Hospital/Queensway Carleton Hospital
As an Internal Medicine Physician, Babak Rashidi takes on various roles to contribute toward improved patient health care at two of the biggest hospitals in Canada's capital city. Completing University of Waterloo's Master of Health Informatics (MHI) program has connected him to the rising field of health technology, as he has contributed to projects such as CANImmunize, a user-friendly app that's helping Canadians keep track of their immunizations.
Miriam Klassen
Medical Officer of Health, Perth District Health Unit
As a former physician in a small Ontario practice, Miriam Klassen decided to shift her work from one-on-one health care provision to address broader population health issues. Now working as Medical Officer of Health at the Perth District Health unit, her Master of Public Health degree allowed her to focus her knowledge and understanding for the new role.
Denise Ng
MSc Public Health and Health Systems
Working in a pediatric clinic after graduating from her bachelor's degree provided the inspiration for Denise Ng's graduate research. Now a Master's student, she focuses on health informatics and health service research, and explores the level of risk perceived by patients when they are asked to provide feedback via smart-phone technology.
Pemma Muzumdar
Communications Coordinator, National Collaborating Centres for Public Health
Pemma Muzumdar credits the University of Waterloo's Master of Public Health (MPH) program for teaching her the importance of maintaining a strong learning network, developing collaborative practices, and sharing knowledge and resources in an online environment. Now working as Communications Coordinator at the National Collaborating Centres for Public Health her experience in the program has positively impacted her career.
Merryn Maynard
Program and Operations Coordinator, Meal Exchange
Merryn Maynard works at Meal Exchange, a national charitable organization that advocates for student food security in postsecondary institutions around the country. Her experiences both with pursuing an MSc in Public Health and Health Systems and becoming a finalist in the 3MT (Three Minute Thesis) competition have helped her successfully transition into her role as a Program and Operations Coordinator, working passionately to making a change to improve ’good food for all’ on Canadian campuses.
Harnoor Rangi
Senior Consultant, Deloitte Canada
Harnoor Rangi gained hands-on experience and technical skills that launched him into a new career even before graduating from the Master of Health Informatics (MHI) program. Now employed as a Senior Consultant at Deloitte Canada, he works with big analytical companies to maximize production efficiency for a variety of businesses.
Ellen Stephanie Reyes
Human Health Risk Assessor, Golder Associates Ltd
Ellen Stephanie Reyes' journey has taken her all the way to Vancouver, where she is pursuing a career that aligns perfectly with her research in toxicology and risk assessment during her time at the University of Waterloo. Ellen works at Golder Associates Ltd as a Human Health Risk Assessor, collaborating with scientists and engineers to solve environmental issues using statistical analysis and quality control measures. While completing her MSc in Public Health and Health Systems, Ellen built a strong, supportive network of colleagues and mentors that guided her on a path to success.
Eden Amare
Program Evaluator, Toronto Public Health
While juggling full-time work, part-time online studies, volunteering with the Canadian Evaluation Society, and networking with health professionals, Eden Amare created a peer network of connections and resources that has opened doors to opportunities that have launched her new career. Eden credits the Master of Health Evaluation (MHE) program for giving her the confidence and knowledge she needs to truly make a difference for diverse populations in her role as Program Evaluator at Toronto Public Health.
Jennifer Yessis
Associate Professor (definite term)
Research interests: implementation science, health evaluation, population health, health promotion, youth health
Lili Liu
Dean of Applied Health Sciences, Professor
Research interests: aging and dementia, caregiving for persons living with dementia, health technologies, mixed methods research approaches
Francesco Sijinardo
Master's of Health Evaluation '17
Francesco Sijinardo (Masters of Health Evaluation, '17) is the Lead for Performance Improvement for a mental health, addictions, and seniors’ health service provider in Toronto. In this role, he is responsible for monitoring and improving the clinical and operational performance of the organization, and overseeing all evaluation related activities including reporting to funders and partners, quality improvement, implementing and monitoring service and care standards, and leading digital health initiatives.
Jessica Delaney
Health Promoter, Brant County Health Unit
Jessica Delaney works with interdisciplinary teams to address public health issues such as substance misuse, mental health and youth engagement. As a Health Promoter she uses a population health promotion approach to guide public health programming which includes researching, planning, developing, implementation and evaluating programs for different priority populations.