Students specializing in Health Economics

Students in the economics field consider the economic analysis of health policies and health systems, as well as the economic analysis of responses to health policies. Research areas may include, for example, health resource allocation, configuration of health human resources, economic evaluation of policy options, public and private financing of health care, societal investments in health production, etc. The dominant disciplinary perspective is that of microeconomics, but insight into economic behaviour may also be provided by perspectives such as business, psychology, and others.

Mariana Molina Jaimes
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year started: 2018
molinajm@mcmaster.ca

Mariana is a student in the Health Economics field. She holds a Master’s degree in Health Economics from the National Institute of Public Health (Mexico). Before beginning her PhD, Mariana worked as a junior researcher in NIPH and specialist in pharmacoeconomics in Roche Mexico. Her primary interests are in the evaluation of public policies against obesity and nutrition problems. She is supervised by Jean-Eric Tarride. 

 

Pushpita Samina
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year started: 2021
saminap@mcmaster.ca

Pushpita is a student in the Health Economics field. She is a medical doctor with a Master’s in international health policy and management from Brandeis University and a Master’s in population sciences from the University of Dhaka. Prior to joining the PhD program, Dr. Samina was working with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Tuberculosis (TB) and Health Systems Strengthening. Dr. Samina is interested in research on innovative financing mechanisms that might improve efficiency and strengthen health systems in lower middle-income countries. She is supervised by Emmanuel Guindon. 

 

Celine Teo
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year started: 2022
teoc2@mcmaster.ca

Celine is a student in the program’s Health Economics field. She holds a Master’s degree in Applied Health Sciences from Brock University (Canada). Prior to pursuing her post-graduate education, she worked at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health. Her research interests are in the evaluation of social protection policies with a focus on mental health outcomes. Celine is supervised by Dr. Emmanuel Guindon. 

Tatiana Villacres
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year started: 2019
villactm@mcmaster.ca

Tatiana is a student in the Health Economics field. She holds a Master's degree in Economics from McMaster University and a Master's degree in Population and Development from the London School of Economics. She worked as the head of the Health Economics department for the Ministry of Public Health of Ecuador and later she became an external Health Economics consultant for several organizations such as PAHO, World Bank, UNICEF, Roche, Pfizer and other national and international institutions. Her thesis research is on the impact of NCD in the finances of developing countries health systems. Tatiana is supervised by Michel Grignon and Jerry Hurley

Daniel Sekeun Yu
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year started: 2020
yus109@mcmaster.ca

Daniel is a student in the health economics field. He holds a Master’s degree in health policy and financing from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and London School of Economics and Political Science. Prior to joining the program, he mainly worked in the field of health financing and social health protection in Lao PDR. Daniel is supervised by Michel Grignon and Emmanuel Guindon

Students specializing in Political Studies

Students in the political studies field focus on the political aspects of health policy including the influences by political institutions, actors, values, and ideas operating within state and global jurisdictions. Topics of interest, for example, may include the role of historical institutional arrangements in shaping health governance reforms, the impact of global trade agreements on domestic home care and pharmaceutical policy, the role of the public, stakeholders, and prevailing values on policy agendas, etc. Political science is the dominant disciplinary perspective, with related areas including, for example, public policy analysis and administration, comparative public policy, law, ethics, political theory and philosophy.

Ahmednur Ali
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2016
alia76@mcmaster.ca

Ahmednur is a student in the Political Studies field. He holds a Master's degree in Health Policy & Equity from York University (Canada). Ahmednur is interested in how recommendations embedded in clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) can be better incorporated into public policies and vice versa. He is supervised by John Lavis. 

Ahmed A. Belal
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2017
belal@mcmaster.ca

Ahmed is a student in the Political Studies field. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from Memorial University (Canada) and received his physician license from Cairo University (Egypt). Before beginning his PhD, he worked as the assistant director of the Non-Communicable Diseases Unit in the Egyptian Ministry of Health. His thesis work focuses on organizing public engagement in health policy making and how to translate the theories of health policy analysis into actions that would meet the public's needs. He is supervised by John Lavis.

 
Jonathan Cura
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2022
curaj@mcmaster.ca

Jonathan (Nathan) is a student in the program’s Political Studies field. He has a Master’s degree in Nursing and a PhD in Nursing Education from Holy Angel University (Philippines). Prior to joining the program, Nathan worked as Associate Director of Nursing Research, Systems Management and Accreditation at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City, Philippines. His research interests include exploring leadership dynamics that foster knowledge translation and developing a leadership framework for effective translation of research evidence into policies and management decisions, particularly in hospitals. Nathan is supervised by Dr. Michael Wilson

 
Roma Dhamanaskar
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2021
dhamanar@mcmaster.ca

Roma is a student in the political studies field. She holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) from McMaster University and a Master of Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania. Roma’s doctoral work will be at the intersection of public & patient engagement and health policy ethics. She is supervised by Julia Abelson.

 
Cara Evans
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year started: 2018
evanscn@mcmaster.ca

Cara is a student in the political studies field. She holds a Master's degree in occupational therapy from the University of Toronto (Canada). Before beginning her PhD she worked in the field of mental health. Cara intends to research mental health policy with a focus on public access to psychotherapy. She is supervised by John Lavis.

Dima Hadid
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2022
hadidd@mcmaster.ca

Dima Hadid is a student in the program’s Political Studies field. She holds a master’s degree in Public Health from Nottingham Trent University (United Kingdom). Before beginning her PhD, Dima worked for five years as a senior research assistant at the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Lebanon. Dima is supervised by Dr. Meredith Vanstone

 

Puspita Hossain

 

PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2019
hossap1@mcmaster.ca

Puspita Hossain is a student of Political Studies stream. Trained as a doctor in Bangladesh, she did her Master of Public Health (MPH) from BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health (BRAC JPGSPH), BRAC University. Before staring her PhD, she was working in BRAC JPGSPH as a Senior Research Associate for almost two and a half years on different projects. She is supervised by Gillian Mulvale

Amina Jabbar
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year started: 2018
amina.jabbar@medportal.ca

Amina is a student in the Political Studies field. She holds a Masters of Science in Health Research Methodology from McMaster University (Canada) and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Toronto (Canada). Her research interests include evaluation metrics, health economics, and geriatric models of care. She is supervised by Andrew Costa

Tamika Jarvis

PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Tamika is a student in the Political Studies field. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from McMaster University (Canada). Tamika’s research interests are in public health services and systems research, global health, governance, and comparative health systems. She is supervised by Michael Wilson.

Cristián Mansilla
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2019
mansilc@mcmaster.ca

Cristián is a student in the political studies field. His research interests are methodological challenges to answer the broad variety of health policy questions. He had dedicated the last four years of his professional career supporting health policy making processes, by founding and leading the Evidence-Informed Policy Making Unit at the Ministry of Health in Chile. He is an Industrial Engineer and a Master of Engineering Sciences from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Cristián is supervised by John Lavis

Benard Miregwa

PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2016
miregwab@mcmaster.ca 

Benard is a student in the Political Studies field. He obtained his Masters’ degree in Public Health from the University of South Wales (United Kingdom) and his medical degree from Dr. MGR Medical University (India). Before beginning his PhD, Bernard worked for the Ministry of Health in Kenya in a number of senior management positions. His thesis will evaluate pharmaceutical policy issues related to pricing and reimbursement mechanisms, drug insurance, access and use of medicines, health technology assessment and the evaluation of efficacy and cost-benefit analysis of health products and technology. Benard is supervised by Mike Wilson

Manisha Pahwa
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year started: 2018

pahwam@mcmaster.ca

Manisha is a student in the Political Studies field. She holds a Master's of Public Health degree in Occupational and Environmental Health from the University of Toronto (Canada). Before beginning her PhD, she worked on research on the epidemiology and prevention of occupational cancer in Ontario, and globally. Manisha's broad research interests are policies related to the prevention of health outcomes associated with environmental and occupational exposures. She is supervised by Meredith Vanstone.
Rana Saleh
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year started: 2020

salehr7@mcmaster.ca

Rana is a student in the political studies field. She holds a Master of Public Health from the American University of Beirut. Before joining the program, Rana worked at the Knowledge to Policy (K2P) Center with primary expertise in advocacy, public participation, knowledge translation and capacity development for evidence-informed decision making. She is interested in the role of public participation in knowledge uptake and policy implementation in developing countries. She is supervised by Julia Abelson.
Kerry Waddell
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2019
waddellk@mcmaster.ca 

Kerry is a student in the Political Studies field. Her research interests are in evidence-informed policy and integrated care. Prior to joining the program she was working at the McMaster Health Forum and at the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Europe. She has a graduate degree in Health Policy, Planning and Financing from a joint program between the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and London School of Economics and Political Science. Kerry is supervised by John Lavis

Qi Wang
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2017
wangq87@mcmaster.ca 

Qi is a student in the Political Studies field. She holds a Master’s degree from the Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) Centre at Lanzhou University (China) and a medical degree from Lanzhou University (China). Before beginning her PhD, she worked as an intern at the Ministry of Health in China, focusing on health management and health policy development and was involved with the Chinese translation of Health Systems Evidence in cooperation with the McMaster Health Forum. Her thesis will focus on the development, adaptation and implementation of health-systems guidance. Qi is supervised by John Lavis

Jeonghwa You
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2019
youj25@mcmaster.ca

Jeonghwa is a student in the political studies field. She holds a Master's of Public Health degree from King's College London (England). Before beginning her PhD, she worked at South Korea's National Health Insurance Service on the annual price negotiations of fee schedules with medical service providers. Her research interests are in developing scientifically rigorous public engagement evaluation in health policy-making and improving its quality and use. She is supervised by Julia Abelson

Students specializing in Health Systems & Society

Students in the social organization field focus on the analysis of the social influences that shape the production of health (and illness), the organization of health services and systems, and their associated policies. Topics of interest, for example, may include the generation and use of information to inform policy, political economies of health and its production, policies to address the social determinants of health and professional roles and behaviour, etc. Relevant disciplinary perspectives include anthropology, business administration or management, health systems, history, ethics, philosophy, political science, psychology and sociology.

Alice Cavanagh

PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2017
cavanaam@mcmaster.ca

Alice is a student in the Social Organization field. Before beginning her PhD, she obtained an MA in Gender Studies and Feminist Research from McMaster University. Her doctoral work will consider the constituent pieces of a trauma-informed medical education, with an eye to better understanding how medical trainees learn to think about and respond to patients they encounter who have experienced sexual violence. She is supervised by Meredith Vanstone

Alexandra Cernat
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2020
cernata@mcmaster.ca

Alexandra is a student in the Social Organization field. She holds an MSc in Health Services Research, with a specialization in Health Technology Assessment, from the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation (IHPME) at the University of Toronto. Alexandra’s doctoral research will examine the interface between privately accessed health care services and Canada’s public health care system.She is supervised by Meredith Vanstone

Andrea Dafel
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2021
dafela@mcmaster.ca

Andrea is a student in the social organization field. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from Western University (Canada). Before beginning her PhD she worked in the field of quality improvement. Andrea intends to research the inclusion of marginalized populations during the design and implementation of health policy. .She is supervised by Julia Abelson

Le-Tien Bhaskar
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2020
duongl4@mcmaster.ca

Le-Tien is studying under the political studies field. She holds a Master's of Public Health from the University of Waterloo. Her research interests are in alternative models for mental health care systems and community-based care. She is supervised by Gillian Mulvale.

 
Monika Dutt
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2022
duttmj@mcmaster.ca

Monika Dutt is a student in the program’s Health Systems & Society field. She is a Canadian-trained physician specializing in Public Health and Preventive Medicine and Family Medicine. She has held Medical Officer of Health positions in several Canadian provinces and is a member of the Decent Work and Health Network. Her thesis research will seek ways to strengthen collaboration between community-based worker-led organizing and institutional public health, using the specific policy example of paid sick days. Monika is supervised by Dr. Meredith Vanstone

 
Rita Jezrawi
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2021
jezrawir@mcmaster.ca

Rita is a student in the social organization field. She holds a Master's degree in eHealth from McMaster University. Before beginning her PhD, she worked in developmental services and healthcare research. Rita intends to research jurisdictional policies with a focus on access to services relevant to children with developmental disabilities, particularly autism spectrum disorder. She is being supervised by Magdalena Janus.

Amanda Latchman

PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2021
latchmaa@mcmaster.ca

Amanda is a student in the social organization field. She holds a Master's degree in global health from McMaster University (Canada). Prior to beginning her PhD, she worked within the field of undergraduate medical education. Amanda is researching emotion-centred care within institutional care facilities. She is supervised by Michel Grignon

Midori Matthew
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2022
matthm14@mcmaster.ca

Midori is a student in the program’s Health Systems and Society field. She holds a Master of Arts in Socio-Legal Studies from York University (Canada). Prior to beginning her Ph.D, she worked in the bioethics field conducting research pertaining to medical assistance in dying legislation. Midori’s doctoral research will examine approaches to palliative care innovation in Canada and integrating end-of-life care as an upstream approach. Midori is supervised by Dr.Hsien Seow

 
Augustine Okoh
PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2021
okoha@mcmaster.ca

Augustine is a student in the Social Organization field. He holds a Master's degree in Gerontology from the University of Southampton, UK. His interests cut across aging and interdisciplinary research. His research will consider the educational antecedents that facilitate strong interprofessional collaborations in an Ontario Family Health Team working in long-term care. He is supervised by Lawrence Grierson

Ania Theuer

PLACEHOLDER TITLE

Year Started: 2016
theuera@mcmaster.ca 

Ania is a student in the Social Organization field. She holds a Master’s degree in Criminology (Applied) from the University of Ottawa (Canada). Before beginning her PhD, she worked in the mental health field. Her thesis will explore studying the historical, social and political contexts in the development of modern police, health and mental health systems' response strategies in Canada. Ania is supervised by Michael Wilson. 

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