Research Team

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McMaster University, Canada 

Dr. Pamela Baxter is a Professor in the School of Nursing and an associate member of the Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging at McMaster University. Her program of research focuses on two core areas: 1) health service delivery, and 2) healthcare leadership. Her goal is to work with community partners to drive systematic change in the delivery of health services in Canada and abroad and to contribute to the development of healthcare leaders, ones that will challenge the status quo, conduct high-quality, high-priority research that leads to the introduction of new, innovative care models, ones that ensure equitable access to healthcare for all. Dr. Baxter is involved in several studies related to family caregiving and formal caregiving in long-term care settings. Dr. Baxter is recognized internationally for her expertise in qualitative case study methods. Currently, she teaches qualitative health research at the graduate level and continues to teach in the undergraduate program where the next generation of healthcare leaders are challenged to meet the demands of the Canadian healthcare system. Her research has most recently been funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Social Science and Humanities Research Council, and the Public Health Agency of Canada. 

Western University, Canada

Dr. Marie Savundranayagam, Western University, has over 20 years of experience in dementia caregiving research. She is also the Director of the Sam Katz Community Health and Aging Research Unit, an endowed and Canada Foundation for Innovation funded research unit at Western University. Its aim is to identify ways to enable positive and sustained aging by maximizing the collective resourcefulness of communities. Her program of research addresses family and formal caregiving at individual, dyadic, community, and population levels and uses the outcomes and knowledge gained to enable caregivers to provide high quality care. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, her research aims a) to understand factors that contribute to poor- and high-quality caregiving experiences, and b) to use that knowledge to develop, implement, and assess evidence-informed interventions that enrich their caregiving experiences. For example, Dr. Savundranayagam and her team created an evidence-informed intervention called Be EPIC. Be EPIC is a person-centered communication training program for health care workers who care for persons living with dementia. It has been offered in-person and is now offered using virtual reality. She earned the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s ‘Age Plus’ Award for her work on communication problems and burden among family caregivers of persons with dementia. Her research has been funded by the Hartford Foundation, the Alzheimer’s Association, Center for Aging and Brain Health Innovation, Future Skills Center, and Alzheimer Society of Canada, among other agencies. She has lived experience as a South Asian woman and caregiver.

University of Toronto, Canada

Monica Parry is a Professor in the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto and a Nurse Practitioner with over 35 years of cardiovascular (CV) clinical experience at Kingston Health Sciences Centre. Her clinical expertise has laid the foundation for a program of research to reduce the global burden of CV disease in women by 2030. Her program of research addresses five of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030): #3-Good Health and Well-Being, #5-Gender Equality, #9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, #10-Reduced Inequalities, and #17-Partnerships for the Goals. Monica is a member of the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance (CWHHA), a Co-PI and Chair of the Knowledge Mobilization and Implementation Subcommittee of the Health Research Training Platform in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism (MyRoad); and a Co-I with the CANadian Consortium of Clinical Trial TRAINing platform (CANTRAIN). She is currently leading a research team to develop and test at heart, the first progressive WebApp developed for women with heart disease using the pervasive information architecture of mHealth interventions, a user-centred co-design approach, and the sequential phased approach recommended by the Medical Research Council. Monica is also an AMS Fellow in Artificial Intelligence and Compassionate Care and she aims to integrate attributes of compassion into conversations between at heart’s Chatbot and women with heart disease. Monica has also received advanced training from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to engage patients as partners in health research and is currently funded (CIHR) with Clinical Trials Ontario to develop a toolkit/decision resource for patients and investigators wishing to engage in Patient-Oriented Research (POR). Gender equity and reduced inequalities has been a targeted focus of late, with collaborations and partnerships aimed to reduce Cardiovascular Risk AcrOss the Lifespan with WomeN, INtersex, Gender Diverse and other Under-Served People in Canada. 

Athabasca University, Canada

Salima Hemani is a sessional instructor at Athabasca University, Faculty of Health Discipline in Athabasca, Alberta. She has experience in both undergraduate and graduate online teaching and has taught courses related to nursing research, culture and health, and knowledge dissemination. She has completed her post-doctoral research fellowship at Chanchlani Research Centre at McMaster University in Hamilton Ontario under supervision of Dr. Sonia Anand. She completed her PhD in Nursing from the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto under supervision of Dr. Monica Parry. 

Her area of research is South Asians and their risk and management of cardiovascular disease, particularly the self-management of chronic disease and adoption of a healthy lifestyle through engagement in preventative strategies such as healthy eating. South Asian individuals have significantly higher rates of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease. Hypertension is prevalent in South Asian Canadians and there are various risk factors associated with HTN, from excessive sodium intake, physical inactivity, stress, alcohol consumption, smoking and lower levels of fruits and vegetable intake. Salima has conducted the South Asian Low-sodium sTudy (SALT) using a Multi-Method Approach as part of her doctoral dissertation. The aim of the pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) was to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a culturally tailored low-sodium dietary intervention in reducing systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, 24-hour urinary sodium and knowledge, attitude and behaviour related to dietary sodium. The aim of the cross-sectional study was to assess sodium intake, physical activity, stress, alcohol intake, smoking behaviours and fruit and vegetable intake and the knowledge, attitude and behaviours related to dietary sodium intake for South Asian Canadians living in Ontario. In 2021, Salima became the first registered nurse to win the SANSAR Burgundy Young Investigator Award, an award that recognizes the impact of research on the health of the South Asian community. She has conducted a systematic review for health-related education and its effect on knowledge, attitudes and behaviours to prevent chronic disease for newcomer immigrant population. This manuscript has been submitted and is currently under peer-review. 

Salima serves as a co-investigator and collaborator on multiple grants from the Canadian Institute of Health Research and Social Science and Humanities Research Council. She also serves as an abstract committee member for the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association.

McMaster University, Canada

Dr. Anthea Innes is a Professor, the Gilbrea Chair in Aging and Mental Health, and the Director of the Gilbrea Centre. As a researcher, she has specialized in the area of dementia for the last 25 years. At the core of her work is a concern to engage with the lived experiences of those impacted by dementia, namely, those diagnosed with the condition, their family members and professional care supporters. Her research interests span the care continuum from pre-diagnosis to end of life.  She has been an advocate for community engagement, inclusion and involvement of people living with dementia for the last decade, and enjoys working in partnership with people living with dementia in the conduct of research, dissemination, and sharing of examples of what works in practice for those living with dementia to different audiences.

Dr. Shan Mohammed, RN, PhD is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto. Dr. Mohammed completed his postdoctoral research fellowship at the Global Institute of Psychosocial, Palliative and End of Life Care and the Department of Supportive Care at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. He currently is an Academic Fellow for the Centre for Critical Qualitative Health Research (CQ) at the University of Toronto.  Dr. Mohammed’s research encompasses several areas such as supportive and end of life care, early palliative care, the medicalization of dying, family caregiving, homecare, and nursing practice in the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Mohammed theoretically locates his work in poststructuralism, biomedicalization, critical social theory, and feminist ethics. In addition, he has methodological experience in generic qualitative research, discourse analysis, constructivist grounded theory, and critical case study.  

Dr. Mohammad Nazmul Hussain is a social scientist with a strong track record of research-appropriate career stage and excellent Qualitative and Quantitative methodological skills. Dr Hussain's PhD thesis was "Experiences of Dementia in a UK Bangladeshi Community: An Exploratory Study" from the University of Salford UK. He also studied MSc in Social Research Methods and Statistics from the University of Manchester, UK and has a proven academic background in teaching research methodology and statistics to non-statisticians using SPSS and STATA. He is the founder chairman of CRMS (Centre for Research Methods and Statistics), an online institute providing coaching (additional supports) on research methods and design to Masters and PhD level students globally. His research interests include: dementia in the South Asian community, lived experiences (person with the diagnosis and family members), improving service provision, ethnicity and culture, older people, migration study, and mental health. 

Tarin is currently pursuing a Master’s in Rehabilitation Science, where her passion for healthcare and patient well-being has flourished. She holds a significant role as a caregiver for her parents, who battle the dual challenge of managing their chronic illnesses while navigating the Canadian healthcare system as immigrants. This responsibility has led her to actively participate in their doctor visits and disease management, gaining firsthand experience in the complexities of the healthcare system. Inspired by her daily exposure to their care, she has directed her thesis research towards the realm of accessibility and inclusivity in healthcare, specifically focusing on patient education as a tool to empower individuals in self-management. She is excited to contribute her unique perspective and research expertise to the team, as we strive to make a meaningful impact in the field of healthcare.

Jehanara is an Advanced Practice Nurse with Home and Community Care Support Services Central West. I have a Master of Science in Nursing and am a Certified Hospice Palliative Care Nurse. I am currently pursuing PhD in Nursing from the University of Ottawa. I am an experienced nurse with over 20 years of nursing and teaching experience at various national and international healthcare settings and colleges. 

Moreover, I am a South Asian immigrant and have always been passionate about South Asian patients with Dementia and their journey; therefore, I led the development of a program called "the Hospital to Home (H2H) Palliative Support and monitoring program for Home and Community Support Services" to improve the end-of-life experiences of patients with Dementia. I was responsible for developing a curriculum to prepare nurses to take the role, mentor the nurses, and support the patients and program. I am also passionate about supporting caregivers and understanding their experiences and challenges as a nurse and caregiver. Therefore with this passion, I Chaired Palliative Care Network Caregiver Support Working Group to improve caregivers' experiences. As a group, we developed a questionnaire on identifying caregivers in their roles, connecting them to available resources, and supporting them in their roles. I led its testing and implementation through PDSA cycles at multiple healthcare organizations and had positive results. I have also been part of numerous projects focusing on refugee health, palliative care symptom management, and Medical assistance dying.   

Fariha is currently completing her Masters in Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University. Fariha completed her Honours Bachelor of Applied Science in Human Behaviour degree at McMaster University. Fariha’s research interests include exploring dementia care, evaluating psychometric properties, knowledge translation, improving quality of life in marginalized communities, and improving systems of healthcare access. Fariha’s current focus is in qualitative methodology, and she is working towards becoming a mixed-methods researcher.