Meet our Trainees

PhD (McGill University)

MSc (University of Alberta)

BSc (University of Alberta)

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daniala_Weir

Google scholar:https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=gg0OUEAAAAAJ&hl=en

Research Interests

I am an epidemiologist with a focus on drug utilization and health services research in complex patients with multiple chronic conditions.

I completed my MSc in Epidemiology in the School of Public Health, University of Alberta under the supervision of Dr. Dean Eurich within the Alliance for Canadian Health Outcomes Research in Diabetes (ACHORD). During my masters, I conducted research related to the comparative safety and effectiveness of antidiabetic agents in patients with diabetes and heart failure, evaluation of the common drug review in Canada, cardiovascular medication adherence in rural and urban settings, the role of multimorbidity in hospitalized patients with community acquired pneumonia and the impact of continuity of care in patients with type 2 diabetes.

I recently completed my PhD in Epidemiology in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University under the supervision of Dr. Robyn Tamblyn within the McGill Clinical and Health Informatics Research Group. During this time, I contributed to research related to population level utilization of benzodiazepines in Alberta, the utilization and accuracy of Quebec’s Electronic Health Record, the impact of electronically enabled medication reconciliation on post-discharge adverse health outcomes in hospitalized patients, developing and piloting a patient centred application to enhance medication management following hospital discharge, and the burden and cost associated with cost-related medication non-adherence in Canada. My doctoral dissertation was focused around preventable sources of medication related morbidity and mortality at transitions in care for hospitalized patients. More specially, I evaluated the incidence and impact of failure to follow hospital medication changes in the post-discharge period as well as evaluated the prevalence of and risk associated with potentially inappropriate medications prescribed at hospital discharge.

I will focus on two areas of research during my CIHR funded post-doctoral training under the supervision of Dr. Walter Wodchis. The first will be related to optimizing medication prescribing for those living with multiple chronic conditions using machine learning. The second project will focus on improving the quality of care transitions between hospital and home for complex patients.

Supervisor(s):

Dr. Walter Wodchis

Jennifer Gutberg is a PhD Candidate at the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. She holds a Master of Science in Administration from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from McGill University. Her research interests are in the organization and management of healthcare, with particular interests in change management, culture, and leadership. Jennifer’s dissertation, supervised by Dr. Ross Baker, will explore the role of middle managers and front-line providers in strategic patient safety culture change efforts. Her research is supported by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé, as well as the Health System Performance Research Network.

Jennifer’s research with HSPRN has focused on exploring models of integrated care from an organizational lens, particularly through the use of qualitative methods. This has included work evaluating the implementation of provincial integrated care efforts, including Health Links and Integrated Funding Models. Jennifer is currently working on the evaluation of bundled care in Ontario, as well as collaborating on an international research project examining spread of community based integrated care innovations to improve care for individuals with complex needs.

Supervisor(s):

Dr. Ross Baker

Jeremiah Hwee, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Better Health at Trillium Health Partners. Dr. Hwee completed his PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Toronto and was a Fellow in the Public Health Policy Collaborative Program. He held a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Doctoral Scholarship and was 1 of 10 scholars in Canada to be awarded the Doctoral Scholarship to Honour Nelson Mandela Champion of Child Health. Dr. Hwee's previous work includes knowledge synthesis methodology, etiologic and epidemiologic studies, program evaluation on theeffectiveness of diabetes education centres, and health services research using electronic medical records. He has 22 publications and has worked on projects with organizations such as the World Health Organization, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and Cancer Care Ontario.

Dr. Hwee is currently evaluating the future of bundle care programs in Ontario.

Publications: (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=hwee+jeremiah&cmd=DetailsSearch) and report (https://www.who.int/alliance-hpsr/resources/publications/rapid-review-guide/en/).

Supervisor(s):

Dr. Walter Wodchis and Dr. Stephanie Joyce

Julia is a PhD student at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from the University of Toronto, a Bachelor of Health Administration from Ryerson University, and is a Registered Practical Nurse. Julia has worked in the home and community care sector for over ten years in various roles, including personal support worker supervisor and community case manager. She has been inspired by her experience working with patients and families to pursue research in aging, chronic disease management and health policy. Julia is supervised by Dr. Kerry Kuluski and Dr. Fiona Miller. Her dissertation topic is: “The coordination of community services for older adults with complex needs”.

Supervisor(s):

Dr. Kerry Kuluski and Dr. Fiona Miller

Kay James is a Master's student in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto. Under the supervision of Dr. Sara Guilcher in the Clinical, Social and Administrative Pharmacy research stream, Kay's thesis project seeks to better conceptualize and understand medication self-management in community-dwelling persons with multimorbidity. More broadly, she is interested in exploring the health care system experiences of those with complex needs.

Kay also completed her Honours BSc. at the University of Toronto where she majored in Physiology and Psychology.

Kristina Kokorelias is a PhD Candidate in the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto. Her primary research interest is to understand how family caregivers use services to support their caregiving role across the disease trajectory. Kristina’s PhD research includes a study of family caregivers to individuals with Alzheimer ’s disease to understand caregiving phases and caregivers’ corresponding needs for support across the disease trajectory. Kristina’s other interests include issues around home care, palliative care, dementia and caregivers’ experiences of care transitions.

Lauren Tessier is a PhD student in health services research in the outcomes and evaluation stream at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. For her thesis, Lauren, under the supervision of Dr. Walter Wodchis, is seeking to understand how multiple chronic conditions are related to the incidence of dementia.

Lauren received her Honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto with a double major in neuroscience and bioethics.

Supervisor(s):

Dr. Walter Wodchis

Leslie Cheng is a Master of Public Health student in the Social and Behavioural Health Sciences (Health Promotion) stream at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. She completed her Bachelor of Medical Sciences with a specialization in Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences at the University of Western Ontario. Leslie’s research interests include health equity, barriers to healthcare access, and chronic disease management among older populations.

Supervisor(s):

Dr. Walter Wodchis

Lief Pagalan is a PhD student in Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Under the supervision of Dr. Laura Rosella, Lief’s doctoral research focuses on developing a tool that integrates individual and environmental data to predict premature mortality in Canadian cities. This prediction tool will be used to model the effects of policies and interventions and to quantify their impacts on premature mortality rates in Canada. His research interests include predictive modelling, machine learning applications in public health, and the impacts of the built environment on population health. He holds a BSc in Geography and an MSc in Health Sciences from Simon Fraser University.

Mudi Kadu is a PhD student at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto, and is under the supervision of Dr Walter Wodchis. She holds an M.Sc. in Public Health and Health Systems from the University of Waterloo. Previously, she worked as a Junior Researcher at the International Foundation for Integrated Care in Oxford and as a Decision Support Consultant at Trillium Health Partners.

Mudi is interested in exploring how different integrated care models can cost-effectively meet the needs of populations living with comorbidities and complex health needs. Her current projects include studying the (cost) effectiveness of financial incentives that promote health system integration and investigating the links between funding policy and patient health outcomes.

Supervisor(s):

Dr. Walter Wodchis