People profiles

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 chose the Health Studies program because it seemed like the “ideal pre-med program,” combining natural and social science courses.

Research interests: syndemics of infectious diseases, determinants of syndemics, methods for big data analysis, global health, spatial epidemiologic methods, development of a syndemic framework for non-communicable diseases and cancers

Research interests: incomplete/missing data, model selection , longitudinal models, computational statistics, signal saturation rate

Research interests: the social demography and health of Aboriginal peoples; social inequality, the welfare state, and the life course; population ageing and retirement

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.

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.

Research interests: epidemiology of child psychopathology, measurement of child psychopathology and quality of life, determinants and mechanisms of child multimorbidity, mental health service use

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Research interests: prognosis of rheumatic conditions specifically psoriatic arthritis; and mental health

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.

Research interests: dietary assessment, measurement error in diet, food access and food security among marginalized populations, food environments, food and nutrition policy, dietary guidance

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

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

Jerrica's PhD research examined the clinical mental health needs and service access of emerging adults aged 18-29.

Alex's MSc research examined the impact of adverse childhood experiences on Indigenous children, and the nature of coping or resilience strategies to overcome these adversities. 

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

Research interests: dementia care, culture change, long-term care, retirement living

Sara's PhD research examines mercury exposure in First Nations communities in northern Canada. 

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.

Research interests: mHealth and wearable technology design, ubiquitous sensors for smart homes, usage data and health data analytics, technology for aging.

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.

Research interests: epidemiology, population and public health, chronic diseases, aging, dementia, caregiving, knowledge translation, systematic reviews, health economics, health policy

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!

Emily's MSc research investigated the relationship between social support availability and cognitive function in Canadian adults between the ages of 45 and 85.

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.

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.

Research interests: Geriatrics, health care systems, rehabilitation, patient and citizen engagement, health information systems and databases, health outcome measurement, and knowledge translation

Research interests: aging, Alzheimer’s disease, chronic diseases, cognitive reserve, dementia, epidemiology, healthy aging, multimorbidity.

Research interests: human-computer interaction, computer-supported cooperative work

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

Research interests: implementation science, health evaluation, population health, health promotion, youth health