Trainees

Rachel completed her honours B.Sc. combining Computer Science and Statistics at McMaster University, and M.Sc. in Statistics at the University of British Columbia. She is currently a Ph.D. student in Health Research Methodology (biostatistics stream) at McMaster University, under the supervision of Dr. Lehana Thabane.

Her interest lies in the development and application of statistical methods to tackle health problems and further biomedical research. Specific areas of interest include design and analysis of clinical trials, causal inference in observational studies, hierarchical modeling, misclassification in case-control studies, and Bayesian statistics in clinical and epidemiological research. She is particularly interested in pushing the boundaries of knowledge through the lens of multidisciplinary research. Her thesis work focuses on assessing the impact of intraclass correlation on analysis of multicentre randomized controlled trials and the impact of prognostic heterogeneity on estimation of treatment effect in randomized controlled trials.

Jian is currently a Masters student in Biostatistics in the Department of Mathematics and Biostatistics at McMaster University under the supervision of Dr. Lehana Thabane.  Previously Jian has completed a BSc in Preventative Medicine at Shanxi Medical University, a MSc in Physiology at Shanxi Medical University and a PhD in Neurobiology at Fudan University.  Jian’s research interests include the development and application of statistical methods to biomedical research, the design and analysis of clinical trials, and using combinations of statistical tools and electrophysiological techniques to treat or prevent cardiovascular and degenerative brain diseases using natural health products.

Haitang is currently completing a PhD in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Waterloo under the supervision of Dr. Shawn Wettig.  Previously Haitang has completed a BSc and MSc in Biological Science and Technology at the Dalian University of Technology in China, and a MSc in Biology at the University of Waterloo.  Her research interests are in safe and efficient gene delivery systems, non-viral delivery vectors, the use of derivatives of Gemini surfactants to improve DNA transfection, and the mechanism of how the structure of gemini surfactants affects cancer gene therapy.

Mina is currently completing a PhD in Pharmaceutical Science with a concentration in Pharmacoepidemiology at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Suzanne Cadarette. Mina previously completed a MSc in Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Tennessee, and a Doctor of Pharmacy at Albany College of Pharmacy.  Mina’s research interests include post-market surveillance of medications and vaccines, pharmacoepidemiology, pharmacovigilance, and the application of epidemiology to studying medication safety and effectiveness.

Ricardo is currently a PostDoctoral Fellow in Pharmaceuticals Outcomes and Policy Innovation at the University of British Columbia under the supervision of Dr. Bruce Carleton.  Previously Ricardo completed a combined undergraduate and graduate medical doctor program at the Universidad La Salle, a MSc in Molecular Biomedicine and a PhD in Pharmacology at the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico.  Ricardo has worked for several labs and companies including Quintiles Mexico and Roche. Ricardo’s research interests are in pharmacoepidemiology and the evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of medications using population based health service utilization data.  Ricardo is currently investigating how drug interactions impact survival and cancer relapse.

Rishma currently holds a CHSRF Post Doctoral fellowship at McMaster University under the supervision of Dr. Ivy Bourgeault.  Previously Rishma completed a her PhD training in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Toronto, her Naturopathic Medicine training at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, a Graduate Diploma in Health Services and Policy Research and a BSc at McGill University.  Rishma’s research interests include a broad range of public health and health policy issues related to nutrition and natural health products including: patient safety, regulatory policy, health promotion and prevention of disease.  She is also very interested in women’s and children’s health research.

Chenglin is currently completing a PhD in Health Research Methodology in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at McMaster University under the supervision of Dr. Lehana Thabane.  Previously Chenglin completed a BSc in Chemistry and a MSc in Statistics at McMaster University. His research interests are in the development and applications of statistical techniques in health research including simulation techniques, survival analysis, experimental designs, analysis of longitudinal studies, multivariate analysis and Bayesian analysis.

Stefan is currently a Post Doctoral fellow in the Department of Biochemistry at McMaster University under the supervision of Dr. Eric Brown.  Previously Stefan completed a BSc in Molecular Biology and a PhD in Molecular Biology at Umea University in Sweden.  Stefan’s interests are in bacterial ribosome assembly factors important for maturation of the small ribosomal subunit, and gene dispensability and essentiality for bacterial growth and survival.

Sonja is currently completing her PhD in the Department of Epidemiology
and Biostatistics at the University of Western Ontario under the
supervision of Dr. Amit Garg. Previously Sonja completed a BSc in
Biological Sciences at the University of Guelph. Sonja’s research
interests are in the areas of pharmacoepidemiology, comparative
effectiveness, health services and policy, and the use of health
administrative databases in evaluating drug safety in the elderly.

Brielan completed her Bachelors of Science in Biology with a minor in chemistry at Arkansas State University. She is currently a Masters of Epidemiology student at McGill University under the supervision of Dr Samy Suissa. She is conducting research at the Lady Davis Insititute Department of Clinical Epidemiology located at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal. Her research interests include clinical and pharmacoepidemiology, pharmacoeconomics and health policy. Her current work is in exploring the relationship between diabetes medications and cancer risks in patient with type 2 diabetes.

Joanne is currently a Masters student in Clinical Epidemiology in the Department Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. David Juurlink.  Previously Joanne has completed a BSc in Immunology and Microbiology and a Doctor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia.  She has also completed residencies in Internal Medicine, Clinical Pharmacology and Geriatric Medicine at the University of Toronto.  Joanne’s research interests include drug safety in older patients and drug-induced cardiovascular events.

Shanna is currently completing a Masters of Applied Health Services Research in the Department of Health Professions at Dalhousie University under the supervision of Dr. Neil Mackinnon.  Previously Shanna has completed a BSc in Chemistry at Acadia University, a BSc in Pharmacy at Dalhousie University and has worked as a pharmacist at Dartmouth General Hospital, and Capital Health.  She is currently a clinical pharmacist at Halifax Infirmary. Shanna’s interests are in medication management related issues in frail older adults, and medico, socio, and economic factors that contribute to medication related hospital visits in the elderly

Alomgir is currently a Research Analyst with the Health Quality Council in Saskatoon as part of the CNODES – Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies project, and a PhD candidate in Biostatistics with the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at the University of Saskatchewan. He has two Masters degrees - one in Statistics and the other in Applied Mathematics, from the University of Saskatchewan and Concordia University respectively. Past statistical analysis projects include determinants of chronic bronchitis in Aboriginal peoples, the Canadian Community Health Survey, palliative care among cancer patients and child rheumatic disease.

Wenbin is currently a Research Analyst with the Health Quality Council in Saskatoon as part of the CNODES – Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies project. He is currently working on a variety of measurement projects including the Academic Detailing and the Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network projects. Wenbin most recently graduated from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario with an MSc degree in Biostatistics. He has experience working on analyses of cancer clinical trial data and is a Level 2 SAS certified programmer. Wenbin has a BA degree in Forestry from the University of Xinjiang Agriculture University. Prior to joining the HQC, he enjoyed a productive career in plant biology.