CAN-SOLVE CKD NETWORK - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Communications Coordinator
- Communications Coordinator at the Can - SOLVE CKD Network
Amanda is the Communications Coordinator at the Can-SOLVE CKD Network. She has been with the network since 2019, first supporting the network in an administrative capacity, then expanding to support the communications team in her current role. She supports the Communications Team in executing and monitoring communications strategies for the network.
Amanda has recently returned from maternity leave, having focused on her new role as a mother. Her journey at the network and in patient-oriented research is personal as she is a caregiver to her partner who is a living kidney donor to a family member. Additionally she contributes her voice to the Indigenous Initiatives Team at the network. She is a proud First Nation's woman with paternal roots from Berens River First Nation and maternal roots from Peguis First Nation, both located in Manitoba. She is originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba and currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Job Titles:
- Indigenous Liaison Manager
Catherine Turner is Red River Métis, her maternal and paternal families originate from the historic Red River Settlement in Manitoba. As the Indigenous Liaison Manager for the network, Catherine Turner is responsible for brokering and maintaining meaningful and authentic partnerships with Indigenous communities, organizations, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and Can-SOLVE CKD Network. Her work will guide network members and project teams in ensuring culturally safe and respectful engagements and implementation and evaluation of programs. Catherine is committed to amplifying Indigenous voices within the network and to advancing the inclusion of Indigenous ways of knowing and being throughout the network's activities and work. Additionally, she will serve as the network's liaison with Indigenous organizations such as the National Indigenous Diabetes Association, First Nations Health Authority and others.
Catherine is the past Chairperson of the National Aboriginal Diabetes Association and served as an executive board member for eleven years. Catherine has worked in health and primary prevention programs with Indigenous and First Nations communities for the past three decades, including administering an Aboriginal diabetes initiative for eight years. Recently Catherine completed a Pilot Indigenous Coach training, certified program, as well as a Trauma Informed Coach Certification program.
Job Titles:
- Member of Naicatchewenin First Nation
- Patient Partner / Indigenous Peoples' Engagement and Research Council Co - Chair, Patient Governance Council Member
Cathy Woods is a proud member of Naicatchewenin First Nation in Northwestern Ontario & now lives on Treaty One Territory in Winnipeg Manitoba. Her traditional name is Giwetashked Giniw Ikewe (Circling Golden Eagle Woman) and she is a member of the Bear clan. Cathy retired as an Indigenous Liaison Specialist.
Cathy has been involved as a patient partner with Can-SOLVE CKD since the network's formation. She is the patient partner lead of the Kidney Check research project, which seeks to screen, triage, and treat Indigenous people living in rural and remote communities across Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia.
Cathy also served as a founding co-chair of the Can-SOLVE CKD Patient Council and the Indigenous Peoples' Engagement and Research Council, and she continues to be a member of these committees as well as many others within the network.
Job Titles:
- Communications Associate
- Research Communicator and Aspiring Patient - Oriented Health Researcher
Claudia Wilde is a strategic health research communicator and aspiring patient-oriented health researcher. As Communications Associate at Can-SOLVE CKD, Claudia's focus is on digital marketing and communications strategy for KidneyLink, media relations activity for Can-SOLVE CKD, and supporting patient engagement initiatives.
Cynthia MacDonald has over 10 years of research experience. Her past roles have allowed her to work on various academic studies with a large patient engagement. More recently, she has been working on industry sponsored Clinical Trials (Phase 1 - 4). Her background is in Human Kinetics, and Exercise Science. Fun fact: Cynthia was a competitive figure skater for many years and wanted to go to the Olympics. When her skating career ended, she went into coaching and coached hockey players throughout university!
Job Titles:
- Head
- Co - Principal Investigator
- Professor
Dr. Adeera Levin is Professor of Medicine and Head of the Division of Nephrology at University of British Columbia. She is the Executive Director of the BC Provincial Agency, responsible for the planning, and delivery of kidney services in BC. She was Co-director of the Clinical Investigator Training Program at UBC, and is Curriculum Chair of the KRESCENT program , a unique pan-Canadian training program for Kidney Scientists, co funded by CIHR, Kidney Foundation of Canada and Canadian Society of Nephrology.
Job Titles:
- Co - Principal Investigator / Professor of Medicine and Physiology, University of Toronto / Senior Scientist, Toronto General Research Institute
- Professor of Medicine
Dr. James Scholey is a Professor of Medicine and Physiology and a Physician Scientist in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He is also a Senior Scientist in the Toronto General Research Institute and a staff physician in the Division of Nephrology in the Department of Medicine at the University Health network and Mount Sinai Hospital.
Dr. Scholey's research focuses on mechanism(s) responsible for the progression of chronic kidney disease with a special interest in diabetic nephropathy and the renin angiotensin system. His laboratory employs cell-based and murine models of kidney injury. He also has a longstanding interest in the physiology of human diabetic kidney hyperfiltration and the impact of proteinuria on the progression of glomerulonephritis.
Dr. Scholey's research program in Can-SOLVE CKD is focused on the identification of kidney risk in youth with diabetes mellitus. These studies are a collaborative effort with researchers at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and researchers at the Children's Hospital Research Institute in Winnipeg.
Job Titles:
- Indigenous Health Research Advisor / Professor, Dept. of Community Health & Epidemiology, University of Saskatchewan / Scientific Director, Saskatchewan Centre for Patient - Oriented Research
Dr. Malcolm King is one of Canada's foremost Indigenous health scholars. A member of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Dr. King is a health researcher at the University of Saskatchewan, joining the Department of Community Health & Epidemiology in October 2017. There, he serves as the Scientific Director of SCPOR, the Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research; he also continues to teach and research in Indigenous health, with a particular focus on wellness and engagement. Dr. King served as Scientific Director of CIHR's Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health (CIHR-IAPH). He was instrumental in leading CIHR in the development of a national health research agenda aimed at improving wellness and achieving health equity for First Nations Peoples, Métis and Inuit in Canada.
Job Titles:
- Co - Principal Investigator / Associate Professor of Medicine and Community Health Sciences, O'Brien Institute of Public Health and Libin Cardiovascular Institute
- Specialist in Nephrology
Dr. Matthew James is a specialist in Nephrology and an Associate Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary. Dr. James received his medical training at the University of British Columbia, and completed nephrology training and a PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Calgary. He is a co-lead of the Alberta Kidney Disease Network (AKDN) and Interdisciplinary Chronic Disease Collaboration (ICDC), director of Research for the APPROACH project, and has been a project lead with the Can-SOLVE CKD Network since the beginning of Phase 1. Dr. James' research is focused on risk prediction, clinical decision support tools, and pragmatic trials designed to improve the quality of care and health outcomes of kidney and cardiovascular diseases. He holds research funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Alberta Innovates, and his work has been recognized with a Mid-Career Research Leader Award from the O'Brien Institute of Public Health at the University of Calgary, a Killam Emerging Research Leader Award, and the Monique Bégin Award in Knowledge Translation from CIHR.
Job Titles:
- Finance Manager
- Chartered Professional Accountant
- Finance Manager for Can - SOLVE CKD
Grace is a Chartered Professional Accountant with more than 20 years of experience in various fields of accounting and audit. Prior to joining the Can-SOLVE CKD team, she held financial and operations management roles at the University of British Columbia.
As Finance Manager for Can-SOLVE CKD, Grace provides financial management and strategic support. She is responsible for financial reporting to various stakeholders and budget management for the Network. She oversees the general ledger and accounts payable functions; interpretation of UBC, tri-council and funders' financial policies and procedures; systems and internal controls design and implementation.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Executive Director of Can - SOLVE CKD
Heather Harris has more than 25 years of experience in clinical research, spanning pharmaceutical and biotech companies, non-profit organizations, and academic centres. Most recently, Heather worked with BC's SPOR SUPPORT Unit to build and enhance BC's clinical and health research enterprise. She also served as inaugural Director of Operations for the British Columbia Clinical Infrastructure Network (BCCRIN).
As Executive Director of Can-SOLVE CKD, Heather acts as the primary liaison for the network and oversees the core operations team. She is responsible for monitoring network performance and activities to ensure the work is within scope and budget. She also facilitates communication within and outside the network, engages stakeholders, and facilitates development of knowledge translation products and reporting on network achievements.
Job Titles:
- Communications Manager
- Strategic Communications Leader
Isabela Varela is a strategic communications leader who brings over a decade of expertise in storytelling and strategy to her role as Communications Manager at Can-SOLVE CKD. Now based in Vancouver, she has honed her craft across diverse environments, including higher education, provincial government, nonprofit organizations in the U.S., and marketing agencies with a focus on nonprofit and public sector clients. Isabela believes effective communication is not only about the messages we share but also about how we enable others to share their voices.
As Communications Manager, Isabela leads the development and execution of Can-SOLVE CKD's communications strategies and tactics to raise awareness of our activities among a wide range of audiences. She earned a Master of Arts in Journalism from the University of Western Ontario and is also a proud alum of UBC, where she received an MA in Art History, Visual Arts, and Theory.
Job Titles:
- Indigenous Initiatives Manager
As the Indigenous Initiatives Manager at Can-SOLVE CKD, Jocelyn Jones draws on her personal experience in health advocacy for Elders, her educational background in Indigenous Studies, and her work within the network with the Indigenous Peoples' Engagement and Research Council (IPERC).
A member of Shoal Lake 40, located in Ontario on the Saulteaux First Nations territory Treaty 3, Jocelyn is of mixed heritage with Ojibway and European ancestry. Her passion for Indigenous health and knowledge has helped guide her to support the self-determination of Indigenous peoples and communities in research, and she continues to develop her knowledge.
Jocelyn is based in Kelowna, BC, on the unceded Syilx territory. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Studies from UBC Okanagan.
Job Titles:
- Patient Partnerships and Capacity Building Manager
Melanie Talson, MA, is a medical anthropologist with a background in qualitative research, patient engagement, co-operative inquiry and participatory action research. She first became involved in the Network as a Research Coordinator for Dr. Bohm on the Triple I and Mind the Gap research projects. Now, she is thrilled to continue to support patient engagement in research as the Can-SOLVE CKD Patient Partnerships and Capacity Building Manager. Believing in the critical importance of conducting research ‘with people not on people', Melanie maintains a strong emphasis on relationship-building, valuing the expertise patients bring to the research and recognizing patient partners as co-creators of knowledge every step of the way.
Job Titles:
- Medical Writer
- Science Writer
Michelle Hampson is a science writer with a background in journalism. She has spent more than ten years communicating the complexities of scientific research for the public, including information about disease pathology and treatment options for patients. At Can-SOLVE CKD, she collaborates extensively with researchers, medical professionals, visual storytellers, patients, and others to produce content, ensuring that it remains clear, concise and accessible.
Job Titles:
- Knowledge Translation Broker and Implementation Support Practitioner
Selina Allu is a Knowledge Translation Broker with a Master's degree in Health Geography. She has almost a decade of combined experience in knowledge translation, knowledge management, and outreach (provincial and national). Selina has led the development and delivery of comprehensive knowledge outreach plans, including the design, planning, and execution of targeted knowledge dissemination while building strong and collaborative working relationships with stakeholders and end-users to broaden research reach and impact.
As KT Broker for Can-SOLVE CKD, Selina ensures that research findings are applied in real world settings through effective knowledge translation strategies and collaborations with end-users.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Coordinator
- Administrative Coordinator at Can - SOLVE CKD
As the Administrative Coordinator at Can-SOLVE CKD, Tara Ozbay plays a key role in the network, overseeing the operational and logistical aspects of our initiatives and ensuring that processes are efficient to support their successful delivery.
Prior to joining Can-SOLVE CKD, Tara worked in fundraising at the University of British Columbia, where she raised funds to support students in need of financial assistance. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Economics from UBC.