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Meet the team
Principal Investigators
Dr. Carolyn Steele Gray, PhD
Principal Investigator
Dr. Carolyn Steele Gray is a Scientist at the Science of Care Institute (formerly Bridgepoint Collaboratory for Research and Innovation) in the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Sinai Health System and Associate Professor (status) at the Institute of Health Policy, Evaluation and Management, University of Toronto. She also holds a Canada Research Chair in Implementing Digital Health Innovation (Tier 2). Her program of work focuses on the role of digital health in supporting integrated and person-centred care delivery for patients with complex care needs. She has studied and published in this topic across the technology life-cycle, including development, implementation and evaluation of digital health solutions. She also co-leads an international Special Interest Group in Digital Health Enabling Integrated Care under the International Federation of Integrated Care (IFIC).
Dr. Terence Tang, MD, FRCPC
Principal Investigator
Dr. Terence Tang is an Internal Medicine physician and a clinician scientist at Trillium Health Partners who focuses on using technology and data to improve care of complex patients, including at care transitions. He has led the development and evaluation of communication technology in the hospital setting, and is looking forward to supporting integrated care across settings involving primary care and the community. He has also been involved in data-driven quality improvement efforts, and is a lecturer at the University of Toronto's Department of Medicine.
Dr. Michelle Nelson, PhD
Principal Investigator
Dr. Michelle LA Nelson is a Scientist in the Science of Care Institute (formerly Bridgepoint Collaboratory for Research and Innovation) in the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Sinai Health System and an Associate Professor in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Dr. Nelson leads international research teams focused on rehabilitation and community reintegration for people with complex care needs and is particularly interested in the role and contributions of volunteers and the voluntary sector in integrated health services. She is the Vice President (SSO) for the World Stroke Organization, and a Senior Associate with the International Foundation of Integrated Care, where she leads an international special interest group focused on the voluntary sector.
Co-Investigators
Dr. Hardeep Singh, PhD, OT Reg. (Ont)
Co-Investigator
Dr. Hardeep Singh is an Assistant Professor & March of Dimes Paul J.J. Martin Early Career Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto. She completed a Post-doctoral Fellowship at the Science of Care Institute (formerly Bridgepoint Collaboratory for Research & Innovation) and Trillium Health Partners. Dr. Singh’s research aims to support the design and delivery of equity-informed rehabilitation and community reintegration services, including tele/virtual care interventions designed to support the health and wellbeing of individuals living in the community with stroke. Dr. Singh uses research methodologies such as participatory action research (e.g. photovoice), scoping and rapid reviews and co-design methods to generate meaningful research knowledge.
Dr. Patrick Feng
Co-Investigator
Patrick Feng is a research manager at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, where he leads a number of community-engaged research partnerships. These partnerships involve healthcare providers, policymakers, patients, caregivers and others, working collaboratively to improve health and transform health systems. Dr. Feng is also an Adjunct Professor at OCAD University, where he teaches in the Strategic Foresight and Innovation Program. A two-time Fulbright Scholar, Patrick has led projects in a variety of domains including health, technology and sustainability. Areas of expertise include health policy, health technology assessment and innovation studies. Examples of recent work include creating a neighbourhood health map for the city of Barrie, designing support tools for Ontario Health Teams and measuring local health disparities resulting from COVID-19.
Dr. Kerry Kuluski, MSW, PhD
Co-Investigator
Dr. Kerry Kuluski is the Dr. Mathias Gysler Research Chair in Patient and Family Centered Care at the Institute for Better Health at Trillium Health Partners and Associate Professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto (Canada). Prior to that she was a Scientist at Sinai Health System where she grew her program of research on patient and caregiver experience. She completed her PhD in Health Services Research at the University of Toronto and a Masters in Social Work at Lakehead University. In her research she focuses on care quality challenges in our health care system including care transitions using multi-methods. She is also exploring new strategies to better collect, make sense of, and act on patient experience data. She works in partnership with patients, families and care providers to co-design strategies that aim to improve health care experiences. She launched a new course at the University of Toronto on Patient and Caregiver Engagement in Research and co-created a 7 part virtual learning series on Engagement and Co-Design with and for Patients, Caregivers and Communities.
Dr. Timothy Ramsay, PhD
Co-Investigator
Dr. Tim Ramsay has a PhD in biostatistics and is a Senior Scientist with the Clinical Epidemiology Program of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, as well as an Associate Professor with the University of Ottawa’s School of Epidemiology and Public Health. He is Scientific Director of the Ottawa Methods Centre, a group of statisticians, information technology specialists, epidemiologists, and health-care economists that supports clinical research at The Ottawa Hospital and across Ontario through the CIHR-funded Strategy for Patient Oriented Research. Dr. Ramsay has been an author on 229 peer-reviewed publications and has been a co-investigator on 69 peer-reviewed grants totaling over $66 million.
Dr. Ross Upshur MA, MD, MSc, MCFP, FRCPC, FCAHS
Co-Investigator
Dr. Ross Upshur BA (Hons.), MA, MD, MSc, MCFP, FRCPC, FCAHS is currently the Dalla Lana Chair in Clinical Public Health and Head of the Division of Clinical Public Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Senior Scientist at the Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health. At the University of Toronto, he is a Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Department of Family and Community Medicine, affiliate member of the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, Member of the Centre for Environment and Member of the Joint Centre for Bioethics. He is a Staff Physician at Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital, Sinai Health. He is an elected Fellow of the Hastings Center and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
Dr. Kednapa Thavorn, MPHARM, PhD
Co-Investigator
Dr. Kednapa Thavorn is a Health Economist/Scinetist at the Ottawa Methods Centre in Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. As well as an Assistant Professor at the School of Epidemiology and Public Health in the University of Ottawa. She leads the HERO - Health Economics and health Resource Optimization. The HERO group's primary fields of research are health economics, health technology assessment and health equity. The goal is to combine the teams knowledge and experience in these areas to improve population health outcomes; reduce health care disparities in vulnerable and marginalized populations; and efficiently allocate health care resources.
Dr. Mayura Loganathan, MD, CCFP
Co-Investigator
Dr. Mayura Loganathan earned his medical degree at the University of Ottawa and completed his family medicine residency at Mount Sinai Hospital through the University of Toronto. Dr. Loganathan is currently a staff physician at the Mount Sinai Academic Family Health Team. He is the lead physician for the family health team’s home visiting program for homebound frail elderly. He also teaches undergraduate University of Toronto's medical students and family medicine residents at the Mount Sinai Hospital’s Granovsky Gluskin Family Medicine Centre. He is currently pursuing a Master’s of Science Community Health at the University of Toronto through the Department of Family and Community Medicine.
Dr. Walter P Wodchis, PhD
Co-Investigator
Dr. Walter P Woodchris is a professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation in the University of Toronto, Research Chair in Implementation and Evaluation Science and Senior Scientist at the Institute for Better Health (IBH), Trillium Health Partners, and Senior Adjunct Scientist at ICES. He is also co-lead for the International Foundation for Integrated care (IFIC) Canada. An internationally recognized scientist in health economics, financing, health care policy evaluation and integrated care, Walter is leading research to understand and improve health system integration and performance. Through his research programs which include more than 30 collaborating researchers and as many trainees, Dr. Wodchis has developed research to understand the needs and care trajectories for individuals with high care costs and complex health needs, particularly those with multiple chronic conditions. He has led multiple local, national and international research programs to understand the implementation of integrated care programs to address those needs
Dr. Robert Reid, MD, MPH, PhD
Co-Investigator
Dr. Robert Reid is chief scientist at the Institute for Better Health (IBH) and senior vice-president of science at Trillium Health Partners (THP). He holds a chair in Hazel McCallion Research in Learning Health Systems, and has an academic appointments as professor at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation and the Department of Family and Community Medicine. He is also a professor at the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, at McMaster University. He holds appointments as affiliate investigator at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute and affiliate associate professor at the University of Washington’s School of Public Health and Community Medicine. Dr. Reid received his medical degree from the University of Alberta and completed a Master’s Degree in epidemiology and a PhD in Health Policy and Management from the Johns Hopkins University. He is a global expert and thought leader in population health, learning health systems, and primary care finance.
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Dr. Hedieh Molla Ghanbari, MD, MScCH, CCFP, FHM
Co-Investigator
Dr. Hedieh Molla Ghanbari, is the Mount Sinai Hospital Medicine Site Director and Site Lead for the UHN / Sinai Health Hospital Medicine Fellowship Training Program. She has been an academic hospitalist since completing Hospital Medicine Fellowship Training at the University of Toronto in 2014. She has completed a Master of Science in Community Health in Health Practitioner Teacher Education from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and a Certificate in Quality and Patient Safety. She holds a position of Lecturer within the Department of Family and Community Medicine. She holds a Physician Leadership Institute Certificate and a certificate in Addiction Medicine. She served as Co-Lead for the Systemic Bias and Racism Community of Interest at Mount Sinai Hospital. She is interested in women in leadership, health equity, and addiction medicine. Her research interests include transitions of care, quality improvement and patient safety.
Dr. Marianne Saragosa, PhD, RN
Co-investigator
Dr. Saragosa is a registered nurse with a Ph.D. in Health Services Research from the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Dr. Saragosa has completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Science of Care Institute (formerly Bridgepoint Collaboratory for Research and Innovation) at Sinai Health. In her current role as Embedded Scientist - Nurse, she actively engages in care transition, aging, co-design and program evaluation research using qualitative research methods. Dr. Saragosa has extensive experience conducting rapid reviews and applied qualitative research in care transitions, young carers, and dementia care. As an emerging early career researcher, Dr. Saragosa is interested in being a connector by building quality relationships and sharing knowledge, ideas, and connections.
Jason Nie, MSc
Co-investigator
Jason is a Research Associate at the Institute for Better Health at Trillium Health Partners Mississauga. He has a background in Bioethics from the University of Toronto and Epidemiology from York University. He is passionate about innovative and novel approaches for improving health and quality of life, especially for those who are most vulnerable or have complex needs.
Research Staff
Dr. Ingryd Ventura, PhD, PMP
Research Manager
Dr. Ingryd Ventura is a Manager, Research & Innovation at the Science of Care Institute (formerly Bridgepoint Collaboratory for Research and Innovation) in the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Sinai Health. She has completed her post-graduate degrees from Applied Clinical Research at McMaster University and Implementation Support Specialist at The Centre of Implementation. She received her Ph.D. in Nursing in 2014 and is a project management professional. She has expertise in quantitative and qualitative research as well as clinical trials. Her previous experiences include coordinating international and multisite research projects, and working with patients, physicians and research staff within primary and complex care settings. In her current role, Ingryd is supporting multiple projects which focus on implementation and evaluation of digital health solutions, integrated care transitions, and rehabilitation for people with complex care needs.
Dr. Bisma Imtiaz, MBA, MBBS
Research Coordinator
Dr. Bisma Imtiaz is a Research Coordinator at the Science of Care Institute (formerly Bridgepoint Collaboratory for Research and Innovation) at Sinai Health. She is a medical doctor and holds a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Management.. In the past, she has helped design and implement the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded COVID-19 Tele-ICU Project, a nationwide programme aimed at enhancing the critical care capacity of Pakistan. In collaboration with World Health Organization, EMRO and Aga Khan University, she developed and implemented a novel, virtual, healthcare management course titled “Building Capacity of Hospital Managers in LMICs” which continues to train health managers in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, Iran, and Kenya. Bisma is passionate about leveraging innovative solutions like digital health to enhance access to healthcare in vulnerable populations by way of thoughtful and contextual implementation. Currently, she is pursuing a Ph.D. in Health Systems Research from University of Toronto and intends to employ an equity lens in the implementation of innovative interventions, with a focus on diverse populations and resource-constrained settings.
Julia has completed a Master of Health Informatics degree at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. She has a background in digital health research from her previous work at the University Health Network - working on building and implementing a digital counselling program for patients with chronic kidney disease and/or chronic heart failure. Julia’s interests include health equity, health policy, and the development, implementation, and evaluation of digital health technologies for patients with chronic health conditions. In her current role, Julia coordinates various activities for the Digital Bridge study including intervention recruitment, and data collection, usability testing, technology support, and development of training modules. In her spare time, she volunteers as a Show Host for the Raw Talk podcast, a graduate student-led podcast interviewing health professionals and experts about topics within the medical sciences.
Julia Wong
Research Coordinator
Meena Ramachandran
Research Coordinator
Meena is a Ph.D. student in Rehabilitation Science at McGill University. She has completed her education in occupational therapy in India and has a keen interest in qualitative and participatory research. She is supporting communication with and coordination of the citizen advisory committee activities, and in the development of training modules.
Students
Research Student
Obinna is a biochemist, a digital health enthusiast, and a multi-award-winning public health researcher. He has over 3 years of work experience across public health, education, and marketing. He has worked with the Nigerian equivalent of the FDA, popularly known as NAFDAC. He has contributed to public health policies in Nigeria through research and was twice awarded Best Research Paper Presenter. As the Assistant Director of Policy at the Boston Congress of Public Health, he supports researchers and policymakers with up-to-date public health policies. Obinna is a social changemaker, a youth volunteer under the Samuel Ioron Foundation, and the Program Director at Forward Falls Initiative. He has received several recognitions from prestigious organizations for his work as the founder of Healthlytic Limited, a Nigerian health-tech start-up. Furthermore, Obinna intends to leverage knowledge gained from his graduate studies under the IHPME program at the University of Toronto to design effective digital health solutions to strengthen healthcare systems globally through his healthtech start-up.
Obinna Ezeani
Cindy Vieira
Research Student
Cindy Vieira is a MSc-HSR student at Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation and currently doing a thesis under the supervision of Dr. Carolyn Steele Gray. She will be aiding in the policy side of the Digital Bridge project.
Past research staff
Chad Leaver (Co-Investigator)
Christine Heidebrecht (Research Associate)
Sarah Sharpe (Co-Investigator)
Farah Tahsin (Research Coordinator)
Jasvinei Sritharan (Research Coordinator)
Christopher Brinton (Research Coordinator)
Andrea Zetler (Buisness Analyst)
Marissa Bird (Postdoctoral Fellow)
Fahmida S Islam (Research Assistant)
Kang Kang Margolese (Research Assistant)
Citizens Advisory Committee members
Our committee members helps guide our research
Agni Shah
Shami Dua
Pat Ali
Lisa Cesario
Kathy Dutchak
Jane Lui
Karen Macneil
Amelia McCutcheon
Host Organizations
Sinai Health System
