Bridgepoint Chair in Complex Chronic Disease Research and TD Scientific Director, Bridgepoint Collaboratory for Research and Innovation
Renée Lyons is the Bridgepoint Chair in Complex Chronic Disease and the TD Scientific Director of the Collaboratory for Research and Innovation. Dr. Lyons has an academic appointment in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She is also a Professor and Tier One Canada Research Chair in Health Promotion, at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia (on leave). Over the past 12 years, she has been the Director and the Senior Scientist at the Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre. She holds appointments at Dalhousie University in the School of Health and Human Performance, Department of Psychology, School of Nursing, and in the Graduate Faculty at the University of New Brunswick. Dr. Lyons is a member of Health Canada’s Science Advisory Board. She is also a fellow and member of the review panel on chronic disease of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
Over the past 10 years she has been awarded more than $25 million in funding for research in chronic disease prevention and management, including studies in knowledge translation, rural health, stroke and health systems reform, public health, oral health of seniors, chronic disease prevention in midlife and youth, settings and health, and human relationships and chronic illness.
Postdoctoral Fellow, MSW, Ph.D.
Kerry Kuluski recently completed her PhD in Health Services Research in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Her research expertise spans home and community care, rural health, health policy, gerontology, and health services. While at Bridgepoint Health, Kerry will be leading the Bridgepoint Study; a two-year multi-method research study focused on understanding the characteristics and care requirements of individuals with complex chronic disease and their families. During her fellowship, Kerry will spend six months at Oxford University in the UK with the Health Experiences Research Group, allowing for international comparisons on patient experiences, delivery models, and best practices.
Dr. Celeste Alvaro
Research Scientist, Ph.D.
Celeste Alvaro is a Research Scientist at the Collaboratory for Research and Innovation. She currently holds an adjunct appointment in the Faculty of Health Professions at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Dr. Alvaro is leading the Design and Health Research theme and co-leading the Bridgepoint Study. She received a doctorate in Experimental Psychology (Specializing in Social Psychology) at Simon Fraser University. Dr. Alvaro held a two-year appointment as Assistant Professor (Research) at the Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre in the Faculty of Health Professions at Dalhousie University upon the completion of a three-year postdoctoral fellowship. Dr. Alvaro has expertise in quantitative methods (particularly experimental design and survey development) and considerable experience with qualitative methods (particularly focus groups and interviews). Her research focuses on the development and testing of social psychological theories in the context of knowledge translation in health systems, health consumer behavior, stress and psychosocial adaptation, as well as prejudice and discrimination.
Dr. Alvaro’s research has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation (NSHRF), and Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. Her publications appear in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Implementation Science, and Health Promotion International.
Research Intern, MPH Candidate (Epidemiology), University of Toronto
Alexis Schaink is a Master of Public Health Epidemiology student from the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Her focus is mainly on data, including collection methodologies, quality, extraction, and information management as it pertains to primary health care information in the hospital. She seeks to elucidate the strengths and limitations of the data for answering important epidemiological and other questions about the Bridgepoint population.