Team

Research Coordinator

Yanara holds a BSS and a graduate certificate in Project Management. She spent 2+ years coordinating research and advocacy initiatives in Malawi’s HIV and AIDS sector and managed an international volunteer program. As Research Coordinator, Yanara supports the lab’s day-to-day operations and leads the patient partner engagement program which incorporates feedback and priority areas of people with lived experiences. Her passions outside of work include running after her young daughter, trying out new cuisines, and traveling as much as possible. ​

Administrative Assistant

Poonam, a Health Informatician and Business Analyst with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree from India, has held diverse roles such as Administrative Assistant, EPIC Support Staff, Screener, Dentist, and Health-Care Ambassador. Currently assisting Child Health Evaluative Sciences (CHES) and three principal investigators, Drs. Sonia Grandi, Eleanor Pullenayegum and Teresa To, Poonam joined the IMPOWER Lab in February 2023. She enjoys biking, painting, and reading novels.​

Research Assistant

Sabrina is a PhD student in Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. Her research focuses on developing innovative predictive models to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes by integrating clinical, social, and environmental determinants of health. Sabrina is a recipient of the Doctoral Canadian Graduate Scholarship (CGS-D) from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and a member of the Canadian Mother-Child Collaborative Training Platform (CAMCCO-L), a multidisciplinary initiative advancing research in perinatal health. Since 2023, she has served as a research assistant in the IMPOWER lab, contributing to a diverse range of projects in perinatal and pharmacoepidemiology.

Undergraduate Thesis Student

Lucy is a fourth year undergraduate student at McMaster University pursuing her Bachelor of Health Sciences degree. Lucy is curious about the link between child and maternal health and is excited to explore her interest in perinatal health. Lucy joined the IMPOWER Lab as a summer research student in May 2023. She enjoys baking desserts and playing with her dog, Oreo.

PhD Student

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 School of Pharmacy. She earned a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology (with a Collaborative Specialization in Global Health) from DLSPH in 2022. Her research focuses on improving maternal and child health, with an emphasis on perinatal pharmaocepidemiology and maternal mental health and well-being. Lauren is a recipient of the Vanier Canadian Graduate Scholarship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), a Network for Improving Health Systems grant from the University of Toronto, an Ontario Graduate Scholarship, and a Canadian Mother-Child Collaborative Training Platform (CAMCCO-L) scholarship. She is also a current GROWW (Guiding interdisciplinary Research On Women’s and girls’ health and Wellbeing) program trainee and a previous trainee of both the CAMCCO-L and the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN).

PhD Student

George, a second-year Biostatistics PhD student at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, focuses on developing methodology for analyzing irregularly observed longitudinal data with informative dropout. He holds a master’s degree in statistics from the University of Guelph and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from McGill University. Outside academia, George enjoys running, biking and walks through the city.​

Clinical Research Project Assistant

Lux holds a PhD in Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour from McMaster University and an MSc in Epidemiology and Biostatstics from Western University. Lux joined the IMPOWER Lab in July 2024, where he helps integrate science, statistics, and community engagement to improve the health and well-being of women and vulnerable populations. In his leisure time, Lux enjoys detective novels, theatre, coffee, and bubble tea.

Research Assistant

Olivia Novosel is a first-year medical student at the University of Toronto. She graduated with a BScH in Life Sciences at Queen’s University and completed a chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular pharmacology thesis in her fourth year. Outside of school, she loves distance running, baking and both playing and watching tennis.

MSc Student

Aida, an MSc student in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research at the Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation (IHPME), University of Toronto, seeks to improve the health of children and youth through population-based research that informs health system programs that affect pediatric populations. She joined the IMPOWER Lab in November 2024. She is a Pathology fellow at the Division of Pathology, Department of Paediatric Laboratory Medicine at SickKids Hospital, and is passionate about pediatric and molecular pathology. She enjoys travelling and swimming.