Meet Our Team and Trainees
Unni G. Narayanan, MBBS, M.Sc., FRCS(C)
Lead Investigator
The research projects at PSCORE are led by Dr. Unni G. Narayanan, a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto, and Senior Scientist at the Bloorview Research Institute. He holds a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology and is an internationally recognized expert in the management of children with musculoskeletal disorders.
To learn more, please visit his SickKids or University of Toronto profile. For a complete list of publications, please visit his PubMed list.
Cate Barlow, B.Sc., M.Sc.
Clinical Research Project Coordinator
Cate Barlow graduated with a BSc in Psychology with Sociology and an MSc in Health Psychology. Since graduating she has worked in research for UCL on a number of psychosocial trials and for the charity Cancer Research UK. She began working as a Clinical Research Project Coordinator for Dr. Narayanan in April 2022.
Jacqueline Chan, B.A., M.A.
Clinical Research Project Assistant
Jacqueline Chan graduated from Ryerson University with a Masters of Arts in Early Childhood Studies where she completed a major research paper on parent and child experiences of a school-based health clinic and she has a Bachelors in Psychology. Since graduating she worked in research at St. Michael’s Hospital. She began working as a Clinical Research Project Assistant for Dr. Narayanan in February of 2019.
Veronica Grad, B.Sc.
Clinical Research Project Assistant
Veronica Grad graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2021 with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences with minors in Chemistry and Psychology. Since graduating, she has been doing research with Dr. Narayanan and began working as a Clinical Research Project Assistant in August 2021.
Ashley Ferkul, B.A.
Clinical Research Project Coordinator
Ashley Ferkul graduated from Ryerson University in 2016 with a bachelor of arts in psychology. Since graduating she has been doing research at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). She began working as a Clinical Research Project Assistant for Dr. Narayanan in July 2017.
Tony (Yongyao) Tan, M.Sc., CCRP
Clinical Research Coordinator
Tony Tan has been working on research projects that evaluate children’s outcome measures for fracture and total hip replacement since 2015. He holds a master’s degree and is a Certified Clinical Research Professional via SOCRA. He previously worked for University Health Network.
For a complete list of publications, please visit his PubMed list.
Shannon Weir-Seeley, BSc, M.Sc., PMP
Clinical Research Project Manager
Shannon Weir-Seeley managed Dr. Narayanan’s research projects for over 14 years. She completed her master’s degree in clinical epidemiology at McMaster University and holds a Project Management Professional designation. She left the lab in January of 2018.
For a complete list of publications, please visit her PubMed list.
Clarissa Encisa, BSc, MPH
Clinical Research Project Assistant
Clarissa supported Dr. Narayanan’s research projects from 2013 to 2017. She completed her Bachelors of Science and Masters in Public Health at the University of Toronto.
Roni Propp, BSc, M.Sc.
Clinical Research Project Assistant
Roni Propp graduated from York University in June 2014 with a bachelor of science in biology. She then pursued a master of science in rehabilitation science at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Narayanan. Following completion of her master’s degree in September 2017, she began working as a Clinical Research Project Assistant for Dr. Narayanan. She left the lab to pursue medical school in August of 2018.
Menal Huroy, BSc, BEd (MDCM Candidate)
Clinical Research Project Assistant
Menal Huroy graduated from York University in June 2016 with an honours bachelors in science and a bachelors in education. Switching gears from her initial pursuit of teaching, she took on a role to work with Dr. Naryanan’s team in the fall of 2016. She was the lead study coordinator for both the CHOP and GOAL studies. Menal continued her passion of clinical work by pursuing a medical degree in August 2017. She returned as a Summer Research Student in the summer of 2018 to continue her work with the CHOP study.
2023 May – 2023 August, B.Kin. Sydney Sharp. Validation of the Patient Reported Outcomes of Fracture Healing
(PROOF-LE) for Lower Extremity Fractures in Children.
2022 June – 2022 August, B. Sc. Sarah Yang. Psychometric Evaluation of the Patient-Reported Outcomes of Fracture Healing (PROOF) Questionnaire for Lower Extremity Fractures in Children.
2022 May – 2022 August, B.Sc. Larissa DellaVentura. What do Parents think of the Caregiver Priorities – Co-morbidities & Health Evaluation Checklist (CPCHECKlist)?
2021 May – 2021 August, B.Sc. Veronica Grad. Development of the CPCHECKlist: A Comorbidity Index for Children with Severe Cerebral Palsy
2021 May – 2021 August, B.Sc., Muhammad Rashid. Psychometric evaluation of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Of Fracture Healing questionnaires for Pediatric Lower Extremity fractures (PROOF-LE).
2019 Sep – 2020 Apr, B.Sc., Vanna Nguyen. Extending the validation of the MDCHILD questionnaire to other types of neuromuscular conditions in children and adults.
2019 May – 2019 August, B.Sc., Nicole Banting. Sensibility Evaluation of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Fracture Healing (PROOF) Questionnaires for Pediatric Upper and Lower Extremity Fractures.
2019 May – 2019 August, B.Sc, Suvarna Moharir. Validation of the Gait Outcomes Assessment List for Children with Lower-Limb Differences.
2018 May – 2019 August. Shikha Patel. Content Validation of the PROOF Questionnaires for Children with Upper and Lower Extremity Fractures.
2014 May – 2015 Aug, B.Sc., Roni Propp. Preliminary Validation of the CPCHILD in Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
2014 May – 2015 Apr, B.Sc., Rachel Moline. Establishing the Gait Outcomes Assessment List as a Reliable and Valid Outcome Measure for Ambulatory Children with Cerebral Palsy.
2014 May – 2014 Aug, B.Sc., Sarah Buttle. Assessing the Validity of the CPCHILD in Children with Spina Bifida and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
2013 Sep – 2014 Mar, B.Sc., Cindy Yeung. Further Development & Validation of the GOAL Questionnaire.
2013 May – 2013 Aug, B.Sc., Edwin Ho. Further Development & Validation of the GOAL Questionnaire.
2012 May – 2012 Aug, MBBS., Jasjit Lochab. The CPCHILD© Questionnaire is Sensitive to Change Following Hip Surgery in Children with Severe Cerebral Palsy.
2011 Jul – 2012 Jun, B.Sc., Falisha Karpati. Development & Validation of the GOAL Questionnaire.
2010 May – 2010 Aug, B.Sc., Benajmin Davidson. Initial Development of the GOAL Questionnaire.
2009 May – 2009 Sep, B.Sc., Aamir Suhail. Does the CPCHILD Questionnaire measure Quality of Life of Children with Severe Cerebral Palsy?
2008 May – 2008 Aug, B.Sc., Julie Hughes. 1. Validation of the CPCHILD in Acquired Brain Injury 2. The CPCHILD Manual.
2007 May – 2007 Sep, B.Sc., Julie Hughes. 1. Comparison of the CPCHILD Questionnaire with other Measures of Quality of Life 2. Validation of the CPCHILD in Acquired Brain Injury 3. The CPCHILD Manual.
2007 May – 2007 Aug, B.Sc., Andrea Wong. 1. Does the Health Status of Caregivers Influence Their Perception of the HRQL of Children with Severe Non-Ambulatory CP? 2. The CPCHILD Manual.
2006 May – 2006 Aug, B.Sc., Jenny Smith. Contributions to Health Related Quality of Life as Measured by the CPCHILD.
2005 May – 2005 Sep, B.Sc., Shannon Knights. Does the CPCHILD Questionnaire Measure Health-related Quality of Life?
2005 May – 2005 Sep, B.Sc., Michael Livingston. Further Validation of the CPCHILD Questionnaire.
2005 May – 2005 Aug, B.Sc., Angela Ho. What do caregivers want? Perceptions and experiences of parents of children with severe cerebral palsy in terms of caregiving burdens, quality of life, and health interventions.
2004 May – 2004 Sep, B.Sc., Koushik Krishnan. Comparison of Treatements for Pediatric Femoral Fractures.
2004 May – 2004 Sep, B.Sc., Michael Livingston. Development of Electronic Version and Database of the CPCHILD Questionnaire.
2004 May – 2004 Sep, B.Sc., Shannon Knights. Importance Ratings of the Items of the CPCHILD Questionnaire.
2003 May – 2003 Sep, B.Sc., Morgan Slater. Concerns, desires and expectations of adolescents undergoing surgery for idiopathic scoliosis: a comparison of patients’, parents’ and surgeons’ perspectives.
2003 May – 2003 Sep, Sonia Kiran. Validation of the Caregiver Priorities & Child Health Index of Life with Disabilities.
2003 May – 2003 Sep, B.Sc., Koushik Krishnan. Database for Pediatric Femoral Fractures.
2003 May – 2003 Jun, Anita Cheng. 1. Decisional Analysis on the optimal mode of delivery of babies with a prenatal diagnosis of spina bifida 2. Proposal to validate a measure of HRQL for children with severe disabilities.
2002 May – 2002 Dec, Nicole Moreau. Survey of Canadian paediatric spine surgeons on their attitudes regarding the desires and expectations of adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis.
2002 May – 2002 Sep, Anita Cheng. Systematic review of outcomes in cerebral palsy.
2020 – 2022, M.Sc., Lauren Di Nola
2015 – 2017 Sep, M.Sc., Roni Propp.
2013 – present, PhD, Kirsten Nielsen.
2013 – 2015, M.Sc., Jennifer Dermott.
2014 May – 2014 Aug, Mahdis Riazi. CHOP (CP Hip Outcomes Project): A reliability study for radiographic assessment of the hip in cerebral palsy (CP) using outcome measures for validation.
2012 Jan – 2012 Aug, Jasjit Lochab. Responsiveness of the CPCHILD Questionnaire to hip interventions in children with CP: A comparative cohort study.
2008 Jul – 2008 Aug, Agnes Elema. Comparison of the CPCHILD with other HRQL Measures using the WHO ICF framework.
2007 Sep – 2008 Jan, Mathew Woodsford. Community Acquired MRSA in Musculoskeletal Infections of Children.
2006 Jun – 2006 Sep, Jenny Smith. Impact of Co-Morbidities on the Health Related Quality of Life of Children with Severe Non-Ambulatory Cerebral Palsy.
2005 May – 2005 Sep, Angelo Ho. Grant Proposal for Qualitative Project on Parental Priorities of Living with a Child with a Severe Disability.
2016 Aug – present, Ryan O’Shea. Should Minimally Displaced Fractures of the Lateral Condyle be Fixed?
2016 Aug – present, William Wood. Following Fracture Fixation, How much Residual Displacement of the Supracondylar Fracture is Compatible with a Perfect Patient Reported Outcome. A Prospective Cohort Study.
2015 Aug – 2016 Jul, James Turner. Outcomes of Displaced Supracondylar Fractures of the Elbow – A Prospective Cohort Study.
2014 Aug – 2015 Jul, Alessandro Martinelli. Outcomes of Displaced Supracondylar Fractures of the Elbow – A Retrolective Cohort Study.
2014 Aug – 2015 Jul, James Aird. Lower Limb Deformity Assessment: Development of an Integrated Model
2013 Feb – 2014 Jan, Barry Danino. Effectiveness of guided growth for lower limb deformity. A multi-center comparative study.
2011 Aug – 2012 Jul, Walter Truong. Should hardware be routinely removed from children with cerebral palsy who have had hip reconstructive surgery?
2010 Jul – 2010 Dec, Lanre Okusanya. Health Related Quality of Life Outcomes following Orthopaedic Surgery for Hip Instability in Children with Severe Cerebral palsy.
2010 Mar – 2010 Dec, Kim Tsoi. Redefining Fracture Malunion.
2010 Jan – 2010 Dec, Steven Cooke. Outcomes of Displaced Pediatric Supracondylar Fractures of the Elbow.
2009 Jan – 2009 Jun, Maulin Shah. Outcomes of Displaced Pediatric Supracondylar Fractures of the Elbow.
2008 Jul – 2009 Dec, Simon Kelley. Redefining Fracture Malunion.
2006 Jul – 2007 Jul, Joseph Janicki. 1. Comparison of Physiotherapist vs Surgeon Managed Ponseti Casting of Idiopathic Clubfeet 2. Acute osteomyelitis: is bone aspiration necessary? 3. Ponseti Method in Neuromuscular and Syndromic Clubfeet 4.AFO vs Boots & Bars for Maintenance of Correction of Clubfeet treated by the Ponseti Method.
2006 Jan – 2006 Dec, Leonhard Ramseier. Comparison of Fixation Methods for Adolescent Femur Fractures.
Our PSCORE work could not have been accomplished without the efforts of the following:
Ashley Ferkul
Larissa DellaVentura
Lauren DiNola
Sarah Yang
Sophia Lenz
Veronica Grad
Muhammad Rashid
Vanna Nguyen
Sophia Lenz
Nicole Banting
Suvarna Moharir
Georgia Dominguez
Shikha Patel
Komal Bagha
Abivarshini Sivathasan
Shamaila Bajwah
Menal Huroy, BSc, (MD)
Clarissa Encisa, BSc, MPH
Shannon Weir BSc, MSc, PMP
Beverley J. Antle, PhD, RSW
Kent Campbell, PhD
Laura DeOliveira, MSW, RSW
Angela Ho, BSc (MD)
Julie Hughes, BAH, (MD)
Sonia Kiran, BSc, BEd, MEd
Shannon Knights, BSc, MD
Michael Livingston, BASc (MD)
David B. Nicholas, PhD
Jennifer Smith, BMedSci (BMBS)
Amir Suhail, BSc, (MD)
Andrea Wong, BASc, MPH (MD)
Special thanks is also extended to Derek Stephens for his advice and assistance with various aspects of the statistical analysis.