Current Studentship Award Recipients

Chaoran Dong is a PhD student in the Health Technology Assessment Stream at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto. Her research interests primarily focus on economic evaluations in serving vulnerable populations, particularly with respect to priority setting and resource allocation in the healthcare system. Her project aims to 1) assess the economic impact of reducing geographical disparities in pediatric cancer care access through the current provincial program for households with varying socioeconomic status, and 2) to guide future expansion of the program or/and adoption of the program from different provinces. The results of this project will help understand the value of improving geographic accessibility for pediatric cancer patients in Ontario , which will address knowledge gaps in the current studies.

Dr. Pearl Zaki is a second year Paediatric Neurology resident at the University of Toronto. She completed medical school at the University of Toronto and her undergraduate studies at the University of Waterloo in Health Studies. It was through her undergraduate courses that she developed a keen interest in the social determinants of health (SDoH) In her postgraduate training, she hopes to further explore the SDoH and their impact as they pertain to brain health, both in childhood and lifelong. 

Her project will explore the relationship between hippocampal development, cognition, and social disparity in children with congenital heart disease, to better understand whether: (1) SDoH impact the trajectory of hippocampal maturation in infancy and (2) SDoH modify associations between hippocampal maturation and childhood cognitive outcomes.

Fatemeh Khorramrouz is a Registered Dietitian and PhD Candidate in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto. Her work at The Applied Research Group for Kids (TARGet Kids!), Canada’s largest primary care research network for children, centers on the critical role that parents play in shaping healthy eating behaviors in early childhood. Through her research, she aims to develop strategies that empower families to make informed health choices and instill lifelong healthy eating habits in children.

Fatemeh’s current project focuses on understanding the barriers and facilitators fathers encounter when engaging in early childhood health interventions. By co-creating a father-inclusive intervention, her work seeks to engage both parents to prevent obesity and promote healthier behaviours among young children.

Sarah Malecki is a General Internal Medicine fellow at the University of Toronto and a PhD student in Clinical Epidemiology and Healthcare Research at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. She earned her BSc from Wilfrid Laurier University and her MSc in Molecular Medicine from the University of Ottawa. Combined with her experience as a support worker for youth with developmental disabilities, this background has fueled her research interest in young adults with medical complexity. Sarah developed research leadership experience during medical training while studying a model condition – 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, and is now expanding her focus to the broader population of young adults with medical complexity. Her goal as a clinician and independent researcher is to improve the lives of young adults with medical complexity, through policy-relevant research that informs new models of care.

Fareha Nishat is PhD Epidemiology Candidate at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, with a Master's of Public Health in Epidemiology from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.  Her research focuses on the intersection of disability and chronic disease among adolescents and young adults.

Her project will use health administrative data in Ontario to examine the effect of disability on the accumulation of chronic diseases in adolescents and young adults with disabilities compared to those without disabilities using multistate models.  

Surabhi Sivaratnam is a Pediatric Resident Physician at the University of Toronto. She completed her medical degree at McMaster University. Her research interests lie at the intersection of pediatric health and public health policy. 

Her current project aims to investigate how the federal legislative loopholes regulating synthetic nicotine products expose youth to significant health risks. The goal of this project is to inform future legislation and to advocate for stronger policies to protect children and adolescents in Canada and beyond. 

Karen Zhang is a master’s student studying nutrition at the University of Toronto, where she focuses on the intricate connections between nutrition, weight status, and academic achievement in children. Her research at The Hospital for Sick Children is dedicated to understanding how factors such as zBMI (standardized BMI) and weight status influence children's learning outcomes, intending to inform targeted interventions that support both physical health and academic success. Before her current studies, Karen gained practical experience as a summer intern at Topline Data Analytics and attended Western University for an undergraduate degree in Science, majoring in Biology. 

Her project examines the associations between child zBMI, weight status, and academic achievement, using EQAO reading, writing, and math scores among children in grades 3 and 6. Additionally, her research explores how student-reported self-perception at school and different income levels may modify these associations.

Sabrina is a PhD candidate in Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. Her research leverages predictive modelling techniques and population-level data to improve maternal and child health outcomes across Canada.

Her doctoral research aims to develop PregPoRT—the Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Population Risk Tool—an innovative, equity-focused risk prediction model that integrates clinical, social, and environmental data. Drawing on linked national survey and administrative health data, the project seeks to identify individuals at high risk for conditions such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and placental abruption. The tool will be used to estimate the burden of APOs across different populations and simulate the impact of public health interventions designed to address health inequities.

Natasha Bruno is a PhD student studying Health Systems Research at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. Utilizing a retrospective cohort study design, her project will explore how health care networks for youth with medical complexity (YMC) evolve as they transition from paediatric to adult health systems. Leveraging social network analysis and health administrative data, she aims to (1) describe the structure of YMC’s health care networks pre-transition, (2) compare the structure of YMC’s health care networks over time, and (3) assess whether the structure of YMC’s health care networks during transition influence acute care use and mortality post-transition. Insights gained from this research will inform actionable recommendations to enhance continuity of care, strengthen system navigation supports, and address disparities in service access for YMC. This work represents one of the first applications of social network analysis to study the transition from paediatric to adult care and will help inform more integrated, data-driven strategies to support YMC navigating this critical period.

Emily Hamovitch is a PhD candidate in the Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation. Her project will use an equity lens to examine predictors of follow-up services for children and youth who have been discharged from psychiatric hospitalization. This inquiry is urgently needed at this time, as longstanding inequities in mental health service delivery for children and youth may be even more pronounced with the introduction of virtual care. Her project will address the gap in knowledge regarding the uptake and access to these services, and the challenges that may be faced in delivering them. She proposes a multi methods approach including analysis of health administrative data and qualitative interviews with leadership staff within hospital settings.  

Michaela Kucab is a Registered Dietitian and PhD candidate in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto and Department of Pediatrics at St. Michael’s Hospital. She completed her dietetic training and MHSc at Toronto Metropolitan University in Nutrition Communication and MSc in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto. Michaela is a trainee in the TARGet Kids! primary care research network. Her primary area of research is focused on reducing obesity risk and improving dietary quality in children, focusing on the role of early learning and childcare environments in early childhood.

Michaela’s project focuses on understanding the attitudes, perspectives, and experiences of parents and primary healthcare providers about centre-based childcare and the role of childcare choices in supporting child health and development. Her project aims to bring together researchers, primary care providers and parents to engage in intersectoral collaboration, which will help inform a larger intervention study and implementation efforts aimed at facilitating systems integration between healthcare and childcare sectors.

Vina Mohabir is a PhD student in Health Systems Research (Health Informatics Emphasis) at the University of Toronto’s Institute for Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation and a trainee in the iOUCH Pain Research Lab at The Hospital for Sick Children. Under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Stinson and Dr. Chitra Lalloo, her research focuses on the co-design and implementation of a digital stigma-reduction intervention for youth with sickle cell disease using participatory and user-centered design methods. She actively facilitates patient engagement in health research and digital health innovation across Canada and internationally. She integrates Justice, Equity, Decolonization, Indigenization, Inclusion, and Accessibility (JEDIIA) principles into her work to ensure that interventions are meaningfully developed with and for equity-deserving communities. As a cancer survivor and chronic pain advocate, Vina is deeply committed to centering Disabled, diverse, and low-income youth in research, policy, education, and clinical practice. 

Jesseca Perlman is a PhD student in Developmental Psychology and Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. Her research focuses on adversity, child development, and family functioning.

The current studies examine protective factors that support child development in the face of socioeconomic adversity. Specifically, they investigate maternal resilience and the impact of high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) on children's developmental outcomes. The research uses data from a large longitudinal study of low SES parents from the City of Toronto’s ECEC subsidy waitlist.

Sarah Silverberg is a Master's Student at the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluations. She completed her medical school at the University of Toronto, pediatric residency at the University of British Columbia and her fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at the Hospital for Sick Children. Her clinical and research interests include pediatric tuberculosis as well as vaccine preventable diseases and infectious diseases epidemiology.

Her research project focuses on evaluating the implementation of a novel prophylactic medicine against Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Canada, focusing on studying its real-world effectiveness over the 2024-2025 viral season.

Lauren is a PhD candidate in Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH), University of Toronto. She holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology (with a Collaborative Specialization in Global Health) from DLSPH.

Her research focuses on perinatal and pediatric pharmacoepidemiology, particularly the impact of prenatal antidepressant exposure on maternal and offspring cardiometabolic health. As a pharmacist and epidemiologist in training, she seeks to improve clinician and patient knowledge on the safety and effectiveness of medications in pregnancy, focusing on maternal and long-term offspring health outcomes. Using advanced causal inference methods and large administrative datasets, she aims to generate pharmacoepidemiologic evidence that empowers patients to make informed treatment decisions and supports evidence-based clinical care in Canada and globally.

She is a recipient of the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and has received funding from the Network for Improving Health Systems, the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, and the Canadian Mother-Child Collaborative Training Platform (CAMCCO-L). Lauren is also currently a trainee in the GROWW (Guiding interdisciplinary Research On Women’s and girls’ health and Wellbeing) program and was previously a trainee with CAMCCO-L and the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN).

Erica Wennberg is a MD/PhD student at the University of Toronto in the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. Her research project focuses on the quality of virtual mental health care for youth and young adults, from the perspectives of youth and young adults and their healthcare providers. She is performing a systematic synthesis of the qualitative literature in this area using a health equity lens, with the overarching goal of advancing our understanding of the appropriateness of virtual mental health care across different groups of youth and young adults.