Research Trainees

Training Program: PhD in Pharmacy, University of Alberta.

Ahmed was born in Cairo, Egypt, but was raised in Kuwait where he obtained his BPharm Degree from Kuwait University in 2007. Ahmed always had a passion for medical research since his undergraduate degree presenting many papers and attending many conferences around the world. After working for a brief period as pharmacist, Ahmed realized that he should continue with his passion for research. Soon after, he pursued a MSc. Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Manitoba under the supervision of Dr. Lavern Vercaigne. In September 2010 he joined the ACHORD group as a PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Scot Simpson to work on projects investigating the cardiovascular outcomes associated with the use of sulfonylureas in diabetic patients.

Ahmed's current research interests are optimizing the safe and effective use of medications for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, measuring pharmacist integration into primary care settings and evaluating clinical interventions that can improve prescribing and patient medication taking behavior. His ultimate career goal is to work in academia and lead a team of researchers to contribute to the clinical science while supervising and teaching new generations of students.

Ahmed is excited to collaborate with ACHORD researchers who come from a variety of scientific backgrounds. He believes that working in such an interdisciplinary environment represents a unique opportunity to provide him with the required tools and necessary skills to develop as an independent researcher.

Training Program: PhD in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies in public health sciences at the School of Public Health (home department), and nursing at the Faculty of Nursing (joint department), University of Alberta.

Fatima was born and raised in Lebanon in the Middle East. In 2005, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from the Lebanese University, and in 2007, she obtained a Master of Science degree in nursing with focus on chronic disease management from the American University of Beirut. She worked as a diabetes nurse, research coordinator, and was involved in planning community based programs with national and international organizations in Lebanon.

Fatima is now working towards PhD under the supervision of Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, focusing on the relationship between health literacy and various aspects of diabetes management and outcomes (adherence, glycemic control, development of complications, health services utilization, and health related quality of life).

Joining ACHORD through working on the Alberta Caring for Diabetes project was a great opportunity for Fatima. She enjoys working and learning with and from her colleagues and all ACHORD team members. Fatima thinks that her training and work at ACHORD is assisting her in exploring and building her potential and capabilities, and facilitating her academic and professional development.

Training program:  PhD in Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Calgary

Marni grew-up on Vancouver Island, and completed her bachelor degree in Kinesiology at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC.  In volunteering with a cardiac rehabilitation program, Marni discovered a passion for clinical exercise physiology and working with clinical populations.  She moved to Calgary and completed her ACSM^® Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist certification, as well at the CSEP-Certified Exercise Specialist.  She spent a number of years working as a kinesiologist with Alberta Health Services’  “Living Well with a Chronic Condition program.”  Her curiosities in exploring better ways to help promote exercise in people with diabetes lead her to pursue graduate studies with Dr. Ron Sigal.

Marni research interests are in helping people with type 2 diabetes have improved access and better adherence to exercise programs. She is evaluating the use of motivational interviewing and its effectiveness in improving maintenance of exercise.  She is also examining the clinical utility of exercise stress testing for pre-exercise screening in people with diabetes.

Marni is thrilled to be a part of the ACHORD team and training program, and is looking forward to learning and collaborating with this multi-disciplinary team.

Training Program: PhD in Public Health Sciences-Public Health , School of Public Health, University of Alberta.

Hayford was born in Ghana where he completed his BSc. (Honors) degree in Nutrition and Food Science and MSc. Dietetics, from the University of Ghana, Legon. Hayford is currently a PhD student with the School of Public Health, University of Alberta.

He is interested in research that focuses on diet and lifestyle in primary care and management of chronic non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases.

Prior to beginning his PhD at the University of Alberta, Hayford worked with the Department of Nutrition and Food Science (University of Ghana) on the United Nations World Food Programme maternal and child nutrition and school-feeding programs in Northern Ghana and later as a Dietitian with the Ghana Health Service. He also served as the Administrative Officer of the African Nutrition Society (2010-2012) and the President of the Ghana Dietetic Association (2011-2012).

Hayford looks forward to learning from the lovely people within the ACHORD Group, contribute to ongoing work, and develop core skills in health research methodology and community-based health promotion interventions, which are applicable to a wide range of populations.

Training Program: PhD in Health Services and Policy Research, School of Public Health, University of Alberta

Training Program: Master's of Community Health Sciences, Epidemiology, Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary

Bushra completed her Bachelors of Science degree in Cell and Molecular Biology at Winona State University, in Minnesota. Subsequently, she began working at Mayo Clinic – Rochester, Minnesota after graduation for nearly five years in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition primarily focusing on the role of protein turnover, mitochondrial function and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes, with a special focus on populations with genetic predisposition to the disease as they age.

Eventually she decided to move away from bench science to pursue a master's degree in Epidemiology at University of Calgary. Keeping in line with her primary interest in type 2 diabetes, she is currently pursuing her thesis under Dr. Doreen Rabi's supervision.

Bushra is eager to meet and collaborate with fellow ACHORD members, learn and grow in this interdisciplinary environment as she trains for her new career path.

Training Program: PhD in Health Services and Policy Research, School of Public Health, University of Alberta

Robin Lau was born and raised in Edmonton and graduated from the University of Alberta in 2008 with a Master of Science in Health Policy Research. After his masters degree, Robin accepted an internship with CIDA and was placed in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Robin realized that he was interested in continuing with school and decided to pursue a PhD under the supervision of Dr. Jeffrey A. Johnson.  Robin is currently in his first year of his PhD program and is now in the process of researching and modeling the cost-effectiveness of diabetes prevention in Alberta. When not busy working on coursework and his dissertation, Robin is also volunteering at the Telus World of Science as a Gallery Interpreter, with his primary job of engaging parents and inspiring children into learning about the wonders of the body and the beauty of natures’ design. In his spare time, Robin is currently learning how to play classical guitar, how to speak Mandarin, and hopes to learn to ballroom dance in the near future. He enjoys jogging, badminton, swimming, weight training and traveling. His travels have taken him to India, China, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, Bali and Singapore and have provided him with a richer understanding and appreciation for other cultures. He hopes to continue his travels after he graduates.

Training Program: Post Doctoral Fellow

Was born in Zimbabwe. In 2005 completed a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Exercise and Health Science, dissertation title: Audit of a 10-week hospital based exercise program for people living with HIV (Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, UK); and in 2010 PhD, thesis title: Adiposity and cardiovascular disease risk factors: a comparison between ethnicities (Brunel University, UK).

Nonsi's research has focused on body composition and cardiovascular risk in populations of South Asian, African and Caucasian origin. More recently, she has worked with Indigenous populations in the Canadian Arctic, exploring relationships between diet and development of chronic diseases.

Her current research interests are in population health interventions and as such the ACHORD group offers an ideal environment to explore this interest.

Training Program: MSc in Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Alberta

Gaetanne Murphy obtained her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy at the University of Alberta in 1991. She worked in the Capital Health region for a number of years as a hospital pharmacist and as a drug utilization pharmacist. She currently works as a research officer for the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) while pursuing her MSc in Epidemiology on a part-time basis. Gaetanne looks forward to working with her supervisor, Dr. Dean Eurich, and the other ACHORD researchers and students as she completes her graduate degree.

Gaetanne is married to Seán and has two teenage daughters, Kathryn and Brynn.

Training Program: MSc in Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Alberta

Daniala was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta and graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological and Physical Sciences from the University of Alberta. Daniala has been working with the ACHORD group since May 2010, where she first started as a summer student. Daniala found ACHORD to be an incredibly nurturing and supportive environment and was impressed by the level of research excellence attained by the group. Through acquiring research experience at ACHORD as an undergraduate student, Daniala gained an appreciation for the complex nature of diabetes as a chronic condition as well as the impact of other chronic conditions which frequently co-exist in this population. Building on this knowledge, Daniala's research will be focused around the impact of multimorbidity on patient outcomes. Additionally, Daniala has been fortunate enough to be involved in numerous other research projects with the ACHORD group related to healthcare policy, antidiabetic drug use in the diabetes and heart failure population, and lifestyle modification in the pre-diabetic population. Daniala is both happy and appreciative to have the opportunity to continue her academic career at ACHORD as a masters student with Dr. Dean Eurich as her primary research supervisor.