CGHR Toronto

TORONTO DIRECTORY

Lukasz Aleksandrowicz
Paul Arora
Desiree Bernard
Onil Bhattacharyya
José Ricardo de Mello Brandão
Samir Gambhir
Cindy Gauvreau
Marvin Hsiao
Prabhat Jha
Victoria Landsman
Ann Montgomery
Shaun Morris
Maryam (Fatemeh) Nakhaee
Stella Nansukusa
 Joy Pader
Usha Ram
Chinthanie Ramasundarahettige
Peter Rodriguez
Sonica Singhal
Rita Suraweera
Wilson Suraweera
Kevin Taing
Maki Ueyama
Ansely Wong

 

LUKASZ ALEKSANDROWICZ, MSc – Project Coordinator

Lukasz Aleksandrowicz is a project coordinator at CGHR. He recently took a year-long leave to finish his Master of Public Health degree at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and ran a brief study on water and sanitation in Bangladesh for Médecins Sans Frontières. He currently works on improving verbal autopsy systems for collecting information on causes of death in India. Lukasz’s research interests also include food security, climate change, and environmental health.

Lukasz Aleksandrowicz – Publications

 

PAUL ARORA, MSc – Graduate Student

Paul Arora is a doctoral candidate in the Division of Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. He has worked as a research fellow at CGHR, an epidemiologist for the Public Health Agency of Canada, and as a technical consultant for HIV surveillance projects internationally. Paul’s work at CGHR involves providing technical input into CGHR’s India Science and Technology Partnerships project, which aims to develop and test a novel method for surveillance of sexually transmitted infections in high-risk populations. As part of his doctoral work on HIV in India, he is leading an evaluation of the impact of HIV intervention programs, conducting a systematic review of sexual risk factors for HIV, and quantifying HIV transmission within couples.

Paul Arora – Publications

 

DESIREE BERNARD – Senior Administrative Assistant

 

ONIL BHATTACHARYYA, MD, PhD, CCFP – Associate (Clinician Scientist)

Onil Bhattacharyya is a clinician Scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital and assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. He has an MD from the University of Montreal, a PhD in Health Policy, Management and Evaluation from the University of Toronto and he was a Takemi Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health. Onil is a co-principal investigator of the District Evaluation Study on Health, which is a randomized trial using evidence to improve the implementation of disease control priorities targeting policymakers in every district of India. His research interests are knowledge translation, performance measurement, and innovative health service delivery models.

Onil Bhattacharyya – Publications

 

JOSÉ RICARDO de MELLO BRANDÃO, MD, PhD – Postdoctoral Fellow

José Ricardo Brandão is a postdoctoral fellow at CGHR. He is a medical doctor with a master’s degree and a doctorate in public health, all from the University of São Paulo, Brazil. He has worked as a paediatrician in a variety of clinical settings (in private office and in hospital emergency and neonatal units) and family doctor in health centres. Ricardo has held administrative posts at Médecins Sans Frontières and FEBEM-SP, the São Paulo state foundation for young offenders. He is presently taking a CIHR Strategic Training Program in Public Health Policy, working on immunization in India.

 

SAMIR GAMBHIR, BAch, MCRP - Geographic Information System (GIS) Specialist

Samir Gambhir works as a Geographic Information System (GIS) Specialist at CGHR. His work involves mapping, spatial analysis and web-GIS development for research projects at the Center. Before joining CGHR, Samir worked as a Senior GIS Research Associate at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State University. He holds a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from The Ohio State University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Architecture from India in 1992.

 

CINDY GAUVREAU, PhD – Postdoctoral Fellow

Cindy Gauvreau is a health services researcher specializing in economic evaluation, with a PhD from the University of Toronto’s Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. She has worked in Canada and abroad as an economist for the engineering and financial health services sectors and as a programme officer for Unicef. Cindy’s research interests lie in economic development, immunization cost-effectiiveness, and evidence-based policy-making. At CGHR, she is active in the vaccine-preventable diseases working group and provides economic evaluation support to the international Disease Control Priorities Network.

 

MARVIN HSIAO, MD, BSc – Graduate Student

Marvin Hsiao is a general surgery resident physician at the University of Toronto. He is pursuing a Master of Science degree at the Institute of Medical Science through the Surgeon Scientist Program/Clinician Investigator Program. His research interest is in the intersection between surgery, global health, and public health. He is developing methods to quantify and characterize the burden of surgical diseases using the Million Death Study database.

 

PRABHAT JHA, MD, DPhil – Director

Prabhat Jha is the founding director of CGHR. He is also the Inaugural University of Toronto Endowed Professor in Disease Control, Canada Research Chair at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, co-investigator of the Disease Control Priorities Network, and expert advisor to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on HIV/AIDS control in India and to various governments around the world on disease control strategies.

Prior to founding CGHR, Prabhat headed the World Bank team responsible for developing the Second National HIV/AIDS Control Program in India. He also served as a senior scientist for the World Health Organization, where he led the work on health and poverty for the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health. Prabhat has published widely on tobacco, HIV/AIDS, premature mortality, and the health of the global poor. Two of his ground-breaking publications on tobacco control policy led to the first-ever global treaty on tobacco control, now signed by over 160 countries.

Among other projects at CGHR, Prabhat is currently leading one of the world’s largest prospective studies of premature mortality called the Million Death Study.

Prabhat Jha – Video Profile (University of Toronto)
Prabhat Jha – Journal Publications
Prabhat Jha – Books & Chapters

 

VICTORIA LANDSMAN, MA, PhD – Research Biostatistician

Victoria Landsman is a research biostatistician at CGHR. Prior to joining CGHR, Victoria earned her PhD in statistics from The Hebrew University in Israel and most recently completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Biostatistics Branch of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. The focus of her postdoctoral work was development of statistical approaches for causal inference and analysis of complex health surveys. At CGHR, Victoria provides statistical support for the centre’s ongoing studies, and is pursuing methodological research in the area of global health.

 

ANN MONTGOMERY, Registered Midwife, MSc – Graduate Student

Ann Montgomery is a graduate student at CGHR, using verbal autopsies and India’s National reproductive child health surveys to estimate risk and cause of maternal death. She has been a registered midwife in Canada since 2000, following completion of a Bachelor of Health Science in Midwifery. She has also worked in Nepal, Haiti, and Canada’s remote north.

Ann Montgomery – Publications

 

SHAUN MORRIS, MD, MPH, FRCPC – Pediatrician, Infectious Diseases, and Research Fellow

Shaun Morris is currently a research fellow at CGHR and in the Division of Infectious Diseases at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). He completed his medical degree at Queen’s University, his Master of Public Health degree at Johns Hopkins University, and his clinical training in pediatrics and infectious diseases at SickKids and the University of Toronto. He also holds a diploma in tropical medicine from the Gorgas Memorial Institute and Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia Instituto de Medicina Tropical in Peru and certification from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.  His research interests include child mortality in India with a focus on infectious and vaccine preventable diseases.

Shaun Morris – Publications

 

MARYAM (FATEMEH) NAKHAEE, MSc, PhD – Biostatistician

Maryam Nakhaee is a biostatistician at CGHR. She earned her MSc in biostatistics from Tehran University of Medical Services in Iran and her PhD in Public Health from the University of New South Wales, Australia. Prior to working at CGHR, Maryam was an academic member of the Kerman University of Medical Sciences in Iran, conducting research, teaching biostatistics and supervising post graduate studies. Her work at CGHR includes the study of HIV and tuberculosis in India and providing support for other ongoing projects. Maryam has a personal research interest in applying her knowledge of biostatistics to study the epidemiology of cancer.

 

STELLA NANSUKUSA, MSc – Research Assistant

Stella Nansukusa is currently a research assistant at CGHR. Prior to joining CGHR, she earned a Master of Science degree in Biostatistics from the University of Ottawa. Her work presently focuses on estimation of age- and gender-specific under five mortality in India, and projection of population for districts in India up to 2026. Stella would like to use her statistical background to improve health research and help fight health disparities, especially in the developing world.

 

JOY PADER, BSc – Research Assistant

Joy Pader is currently a research assistant at CGHR. Prior to joining CGHR, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in health studies and integrative biology from the University of Toronto. Her work at CGHR focuses on global tobacco, performing data and literature searches, and data entry.

 

USHA RAM, PhD – Postdoctoral Fellow

Usha Ram is currently a postdoctoral fellow at CGHR under the HOPE Scholarship Program. She is working as an associate professor in the Department of Public Health and Mortality Studies at the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai (India). As a post-graduate in economics, Usha has completed her doctoral degree from Mumbai University in demography and also completed diploma in population studies and certificate in population studies from the IIPS. Usha has coordinated several large scale studies at IIPS as the principal investigator, including Concurrent Evaluation of National Rural Health Mission and Youth in India: Situation and Needs Study. Usha has experience of supervising candidates at the PhD, MPhil and Master’s levels.

Usha Ram – Publications

 

CHINTHANIE RAMASUNDARAHETTIGE, MSc – Research Assistant

Chinthanie Ramasundarahettige is currently a research assistant at CGHR. Prior to joining CGHR, she earned a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of Western Ontario and a second Master of Science degree in Statistics from the University of Windsor. Her work presently focuses on determining the effects of alcohol on cause-specific mortality in India, burden of suicide in India, and social inequality in smoking-attributable mortality in US counties. Chinthanie has an avid ambition to apply her knowledge in statistics and biostatistics to analyzing complex epidemiological data.

 

PETER RODRIGUEZ – Senior GIS Specialist

 

 

SONICA SINGHAL, BDS, MPH – Graduate Student

Sonica Singhal is a graduate student at CGHR, working on social inequalities in smoking-attributable mortality in developed countries. She is a dentist from India who did her Master of Public Health from the University of New South Wales in Australia, and then moved to Toronto. Her research interests are social and gender inequalities in chronic diseases.

 

RITA SURAWEERA, BSc, MSc – Research Fellow

Rita Suraweera is a research fellow at CGHR. She completed her graduate studies in applied statistics from Colombo University in Sri Lanka, and in population studies at Jawahal Lal Neru University in India. Following her master’s degree, Rita trained at the United Nations Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific and worked as a senior statistician at the Department of Census and Statistics-Sri Lanka. Rita’s work at CGHR focuses on Global Tobacco, and includes demographic analysis (data cleaning, validating, and compiling) of large, population-based mortality and epidemiological studies.

 

WILSON SURAWEERA, BSc, MSc – Research Fellow

Wilson Suraweera is a research fellow at CGHR. He completed his Master of Science degree in applied statistics at the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka and worked as a senior research analyst in the Sri Lankan university sector. Wilson’s current work at CGHR includes research in adult mortality, managing the Million Death Study database and analyzing study data.

Wilson Suraweera – Publications

 

KEVIN TAING, MSc – Graduate Student

Kevin is a doctoral student in epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, and will be pursuing his thesis work on blood pressure, body mass and CVD in India.

 

MAKI UEYAMA, PhD – Research Fellow

 

ANSELY WONG, BSc – Research Writer/Editor

Ansely Wong is a research writer/editor at CGHR. Her experience includes writing medical journalism articles, health reports, web content, press releases, interactive science learning systems, academic manuscripts, clinical research protocols and informed consent forms. Prior to medical writing, Ansely earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto in human biology and English, and gained several years of epidemiological and clinical research experience at Mount Sinai Hospital and The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Her work at CGHR includes writing health reports and press materials, editing manuscripts and other documents for publication, recently redesigning the centre’s website, and managing CGHR’s social media accounts and new website.

 

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