Leong Fellows

Dr. Christina Belza

Supervisor: Dr. Eyal Cohen, SickKids

Christina Belza, NP, PhD has been a nurse practitioner for the past 13 years in the pediatric intestinal failure program at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. In her clinical capacity she manages inpatient and outpatients on long-term parenteral nutrition with intestinal failure. Academically, she recently completed her PhD in clinical epidemiology with a focus on evaluating burden of care for caregivers of children with intestinal failure. Future research directions include further exploration of the impact of caregiving on caregivers long-term physical and mental health with the goal of implementing services and programs to support the high level of care that they provide in the home setting. Christina is incredibly excited to work with Dr. Eyal Cohen and the Leong Centre for Healthy Children, as caregivers are an integral part in promoting child health. The impact of caregiving on mental and physical health has lasting effects on the caregiver, as well as the children themselves. Through exploring the factors that contribute to caregiver burden and understanding the long-term physical and mental health outcomes we can have a direct impact on improving outcomes for children and their caregivers, allowing the entire family to thrive.

Dr. Andi Camden

Supervisor: Dr. Astrid Guttmann, SickKids, ICES

Andi Camden is a Postdoctoral Fellow and Epidemiologist who specializes in maternal and child health. Andi’s research leverages health administrative data to investigate medication use (including opioids) in pregnancy, among people with and without disabilities, and associated maternal and child health outcomes. She holds a PhD in Public Health Sciences in Epidemiology and an MPH in Epidemiology from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. She is currently affiliated with the Department of Health & Society at the University of Toronto Scarborough, Leong Centre for Healthy Children at SickKids, and ICES. Andi is grateful to work with Dr. Astrid Guttmann at the Leong Centre for Healthy Children to generate information to promote healthy development in children with prenatal opioid exposure, and to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on opioid-related toxicity and mortality in the perinatal period.