Meet the 2025 Cohort
Introducing…
The GROWW 2025 Cohort!
Selected through our competitive application process from Spring 2025, these trainees are advancing Women’s and Girls’ research; they look to bring changes as to how it is conducted and delivered in Canada. We are extraordinarily honoured to become a part of their journey and look forward to the success they will achieve throughout their chosen careers.
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Lavanya Bathini is a nephrologist and clinician–investigator at the University of Alberta and a member of the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI). Her research focuses on women’s kidney health, with a particular emphasis on how pregnancy influences long-term kidney and cardiovascular outcomes in individuals with chronic kidney disease. Supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), she is leading a population-based study using large administrative datasets from Ontario and Alberta to better understand how reproductive health intersects with kidney disease progression.
Lavanya provides clinical care for patients with glomerular diseases and kidney disease in pregnancy, integrating her research insights into patient-centered practice. She serves as Pre-Course Chair for the Canadian Society of Nephrology and sits on the Area of Focused Competence Committee for Glomerular Disease with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
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Karley George is a graduate student in the Neuroscience program at McMaster University, where she is building on her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience from the University of Guelph. Her current research focuses on understanding the effects of a one-day CBT workshop designed to prevent postpartum depression. In addition to her studies, Karley has gained valuable experience working at Guelph Independent Living and the Guelph Community Health Centre. Outside of academia, she enjoys reading and playing hockey.
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Dr. Rusan Lateef is a Fonds de recherche du Québec–Société et culture (FRQSC)-funded Postdoctoral Fellow with the Group for Research and Intervention on Children’s Social Adjustment (GRISE) at the Université de Sherbrooke, where her research focuses on child sexual abuse, sexual violence, and the protective role of social and formal supports. Rusan is also the Associate Director of Sexual Violence Prevention at McMaster University. Rusan completed her PhD at McGill University, where her thesis explored, through an intersectional lens, the shame and counseling experiences of women survivors of child sexual abuse from minoritized racial and ethnic groups. Her doctoral research was funded by a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship. Her primary research interests include child sexual abuse and shame, therapeutic services for survivors, and sexual violence survivors’ experiences in the criminal justice system. She also serves on the International Survivor-Centered Advisory Committee with The Exodus Road, a global non-profit combatting human trafficking.
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Dr. Kate McLeod is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University. Her research sits at the intersection of health and justice with a focus on the health and healthcare needs of women who experience incarceration. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, her primary interests are in the impact of carceral and health system policies on people in custody and their families. She is also focused on action-oriented, partnered and community-led research. She completed her PhD in Population and Public Health and her Masters of Public Health, both at the University of British Columbia. She has held Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Health Systems Impact Postdoctoral and Doctoral Fellowships.
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Dr. Jannah Wigle is a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)-funded postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Health and Society at the University of Toronto Scarborough, working with Dr. Hilary Brown.
Her current research focuses on improving the perinatal care experiences among people with multiple chronic health conditions. As a critical qualitative health researcher, her work is informed by feminist theory and uses participatory- and arts-based approaches. She is passionate about advancing health equity and sexual and reproductive health and rights in Canada, and beyond. She also enjoys teaching and mentoring students and volunteering as a board member at a community health centre in Toronto.
Dr. Wigle holds a PhD in Social and Behavioural Health Sciences from Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, a Master of Science (MSc) in Health, Population and Society from the London School of Economics, and a Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) from Western University.
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Paige Boklaschuk is a McCall-Macbain Scholar at McGill University where she is completing her MSc in Epidemiology. She completed her BSc in Kinesiology, where she became interested in chronic disease prevention through lifestyle interventions. Her CIHR-supported research explores the role of replacing sedentary behavior with exercise on risk of ovarian cancer. She is a board member for the Women's Health Coalition Alberta, where she is the director for student and academic advocacy.
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Dr. Zoe Gillespie is a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Professor Jennifer Mitchell in the Department of Cell and Systems Biology at the University of Toronto, Canada. Originally from the United Kingdom, Dr. Gillespie earned her BSc(hons) in Biomedical Sciences (Genetics) from Brunel University London and then completed her MSc and PhD at the University of Saskatchewan. Among other awards for her research and community outreach, Dr. Gillespie was recipient of a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship and a Canadian Insitutes of Health Research (CIHR) Postdoctoral Fellowship. Dr. Gillespie is interested in how the human genome is regulated (how genes are turned on/off) in health and development, and dysregulated in disease. Her current work examines the genomic mechanisms that transition the myometrium (smooth muscle layer of the uterus) from a non-contractile to contractile state in preterm labour, with the aim of identifying druggable targets to prevent premature births. Dr. Gillespie is broadly interested in developing and integrating understanding of human genome regulation in women's health.
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Dr. Kristen Lucibello is a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Kinesiology at Western University. Her research uses multi-level and mixed-methods approaches to examine how psychological factors and social systems related to body weight and appearance influence girls and women’s health and well-being.
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My name is Cinthya Moshtagh, and I am a second-year Ph.D. student in Medical Sciences at McMaster University. My doctoral research focuses on the “Effect of Maternal Cannabis Consumption on the Nutritional Composition of Breastmilk.” Originally from Brazil, I began my studies in the Bachelor of Nutrition program at the Universidade de Brasília before moving to Canada, where I completed an Honours Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Sciences and Global Health at the University of Toronto. I went on to earn a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University with a concentration in Women’s, Maternal & Child Health.
I am also a mother of two, and in my free time, I enjoy baking and traveling.
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Xueying Zhang is a second-year PhD student in the School of Computing Science at Simon Fraser University. Originally trained in Design Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, she is passionate about interdisciplinary approaches that bridge technology, design, and health. Her research lies at the intersection of human-computer interaction, tangible user interfaces, inclusive design, and digital interventions for women’s health and wellbeing. In her early doctoral work, she explored how gentle, sensor-embedded devices and data visualization tools might support perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. She is particularly interested in making invisible forms of distress felt, released, tracked, and understood through interaction design.
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Christina Cantin, RN, PhD is a Nursing Research Scientist at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute (CHEO RI) and an adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa, School of Nursing. Her program of research is focused on the mental health, addictions, and substance use health of childbearing families. Dr. Cantin is a life-long learner who is passionate about supporting knowledge development, implementing evidence-based care, and utilizing diverse strategies for knowledge mobilization. She values collaborative patient-oriented research with patient/family partners and people with lived experience as active research team members.
For her dissertation research at Queen’s University, supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)-Doctoral Research Award, Dr. Cantin conducted a multiple-methods study focused on investigating the impact of in-utero SSRI exposure on breastfed newborns. The methodologies for these studies included a scoping review following JBI methodology and a retrospective cohort study using health administrative data obtained through ICES. The linked data included provincial and national health administrative databases as well as the Better Outcomes Registry & Network (BORN) birth registry.
Dr. Cantin was a co-author of the 2024 Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) guideline Identification and Treatment of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders, providing nursing expertise as a representative of the Canadian Association of Perinatal and Women’s Health Nurses (CAPWHN). Previously, she worked as a Perinatal Consultant for the Champlain Maternal Newborn Regional Program (CMNRP). During her 12 years at CMNRP, she developed a Perinatal Mental Health and Substance Use portfolio to improve the delivery of person-centered, evidence-based care for this population of childbearing families.
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Sabrina Chiodo, MPH is a PhD student in Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, where she is supervised by Dr. Laura Rosella. Her doctoral research focuses on the prediction and prevention of adverse pregnancy outcomes through the development of population-based risk prediction models that integrate clinical, social, and environmental determinants of health. This work leverages linked administrative and survey datasets to advance equity-focused maternal and fetal health research in Canada.
Sabrina is also a Clinical Research Project Assistant at SickKids, the Editor-in-Chief of the University of Toronto Journal of Public Health, and a Lecturer in Research Methods at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she teaches undergraduate students about epidemiologic study design and critical appraisal. Her broader interests include maternal and child health, population health analytics, and the translation of epidemiologic evidence into public health policy and practice.
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Amy Johnston (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Calgary. She holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Ottawa, along with a Master of Science in Health Services Research and a Master of Biomedical Technology, both from the University of Calgary. In 2018, she earned professional Certification in Public Health. Her research program, AWARE, focuses on women’s+ cardiovascular and reproductive health, patterns of healthcare use, and the application of innovative research methodology to address critical gaps in evidence and care.
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Paris is a Master of Science student in the Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health at the University of Alberta, under the supervision of Dr. Margie Davenport. She earned her Bachelor of Kinesiology with a Research Certificate in Kinesiology from the University of Alberta in 2024. Her research explores how exercise can support the health and performance of pregnant and postpartum athletes, with a particular focus on the relationship between breastfeeding and exercise in postpartum athletes.
Beyond her academic pursuits, Paris enjoys volunteering, playing with her puppy, and coaching of the University of Alberta Gameday Cheerleading Team.
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Carla Maduta is an MD/PhD Candidate under the supervision of Dr. John McCormick at Western University, pursuing her degree in Microbiology and Immunology. Her research investigates how immune cells respond to the staphylococcal toxin that causes menstrual toxic shock syndrome (mTSS). She previously completed her Honours Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Western, where her theses focused on the impact of the vaginal microbiota in mTSS. Outside of the lab, Carla enjoys volunteering in the community, staying active, and traveling.
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Isabela R. Marçal is a PhD Candidate in Human Kinetics with the Exercise Physiology and Cardiovascular Health Laboratory at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Her research focuses on the role of exercise training in preventing and managing cardiovascular disease, with emphasis on patients with cardiac devices and women’s heart health. She is actively involved in clinical trials investigating the impact of exercise on physical (e.g., cardiorespiratory fitness) and mental (e.g., anxiety levels) health outcomes. Isabela is dedicated to advancing exercise-based interventions that improve quality of life in clinical populations and is committed to addressing the underrepresentation of women in STEM.
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Badal (Brandon) Pattar (He/Him) is a CIHR-funded MD/PhD candidate in the Leaders in Medicine Program at the University of Calgary. His research, supervised by Drs. Sofia Ahmed and Tyrone Harrison, focuses on improving the understanding, management, and prevention of chronic kidney disease in transgender individuals. Drawing on methods from epidemiology, health services research, and physiology, Brandon takes a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach to his work. He grounds his research in a patient-oriented model by working alongside people with living experience, gender-affirming care providers, and community organizations such as the Skipping Stone Foundation. Guided by a commitment to health equity, Brandon aims to reduce health disparities and ensure that healthcare systems better reflect and respond to the needs of underserved populations.
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Dr. Gianna Zorzini (she/her) is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Regina in the lab of Dr. Jennifer Gordon. Gianna graduated from the University of Zürich with a Bachelor (2020) and Master (2022) of Science in Psychology. Gianna’s doctoral thesis was completed in 2025 examining (epi-)genetic markers of estrogen receptor genes and depressive symptoms during the perinatal period. Her primary research interests focus on biopsychosocial factors that contribute to mood disorders during reproductive transitions across the lifespan, with particular attention to underlying mechanisms such as estradiol sensitivity. The overarching goal of her work is to advance prevention and treatment strategies of reproductive mood disorders. Besides her research, she is currently completing psychotherapy training and has provided therapeutic support in hospital settings to women with pregnancy complications and to parents of preterm infants, as well as to diverse mental health patients in outpatient clinics.
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Dr. Lara Seefeld (she/her) is a postdoctoral fellow at the Couples and Sexual Health Research Lab at Dalhousie University working with Dr. Natalie Rosen. She completed her B.Sc. in Psychology, M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology, and PhD in Perinatal Psychology at the Technical University of Dresden, Germany. Her doctoral work was focused on the dyadic associations between parents' subjective birth experiences and their perinatal mental health and family relationships. During her time as a PhD student, Lara helped to set up the RESPECT study, which investigates parents' subjective birth experiences as well as experiences of mistreatment during childbirth and is funded by the German Ministry of Health. She was also a collaborator on the International Survey of Childbirth-Related Trauma (INTERSECT). Her postdoctoral work focuses on an RCT, which examines the efficacy of the first couple-based online prevention program to support parents' sexual well-being in the transition to parenthood. She is particularly interested in advanced dyadic data analysis strategies and holds the position of Student Representative at both the Society for Reproductive and Infant Psychology and the International Academy for Sex Research.
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Enav Zusman is a PhD candidate in the Women+ and Children's Health Sciences program at the University of British Columbia, working under the guidance of Dr. Tim Oberlander and Dr. Robert Platt. Her research interests include pharmacoepidemiology, perinatal epidemiology, and mental health. The primary focus of her research is investigating the associations between prenatal serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant exposure and the development of affective disorders in childhood and adolescence. Prior to commencing her PhD studies, Enav earned a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD), an MSc in Experimental Medicine from UBC, and a BSc in Medical Sciences from Tel Aviv University. Enav's PhD work is supported by a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, a Killam Doctoral Scholarship and a CIHR Fellowship. As a registered pharmacist, Enav finds fulfillment in interacting with patients and assisting them in making informed decisions about their health. She aims to integrate her clinical knowledge and experience with her research work to enhance medication safety and effectiveness during pregnancy, ultimately improving clinical outcomes and patient care.