Fellows

Khulud Alharbi is an Assistant Professor specializing in health economics and health services management research. She has been actively involved in various projects aimed at developing tools to screen for frailty in Saudi Arabia, collaborating closely with the Ministry of Health. Additionally, she leads the research unit in the Faculty of Public Health and Health Informatics, where she spearheads projects focused on improving the health of the elderly and caregivers in the country.

Alharbi's dedication to addressing the healthcare needs of the elderly population in Saudi Arabia is evident through her leadership in several initiatives and collaborations with key stakeholders. Her expertise in health economics and management research has positioned her as a valuable asset in advancing the understanding and implementation of effective healthcare strategies.

Furthermore, Alharbi is a member of the Saudi Society of Home Care, showcasing her commitment to promoting and enhancing home care services for those in need. Through her work and leadership roles, Alharbi continues to make significant contributions to the field of healthcare in Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Sophiya Benjamin is a geriatric psychiatrist with extensive experience in clinical practice, research, and education. She holds an MHSc from Duke University and an MBBS from Christian Medical College in India. Dr. Benjamin is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in both Psychiatry and Geriatric Psychiatry.

Currently, Dr. Benjamin serves as an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at McMaster University and holds the Schlegel Chair for Mental Health in Aging. She is also the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of GeriMedRisk, a consultation and education service aimed at optimizing geriatric pharmacology.

Dr. Benjamin's clinical expertise is complemented by her active involvement in research, focusing on evidence-based interventions for older adults, particularly in the areas of insomnia and medication optimization. She has received numerous awards for her contributions to education and clinical practice, including the Excellence in Postgraduate Teaching and Mentorship Award from McMaster University.

An active member of several professional organizations, Dr. Benjamin has made significant contributions to the field of geriatric psychiatry through her leadership roles, scholarly activities, and dedication to improving mental health care for older adults. Her work is widely recognized and respected both nationally and internationally.

Aynie Berhane, M.Sc., M.P.H., is a senior monitoring and evaluation and public health expert with over twenty years of experience in Ethiopia's higher education sector. He currently serves as the Academic and Research Vice President at KEA-MED University College in Addis Ababa. Specializing in the health and wellbeing of the elderly, Aynie is a seasoned healthcare researcher with extensive experience in qualitative research. His expertise extends to strategic planning, project implementation, resource mobilization, capacity building, and monitoring and evaluation.

As a lecturer and senior professional, Aynie prepares and delivers course materials using various methods and platforms, advises undergraduate and graduate students on their research, and engages in community services to address local health issues through community-based education (CBE) programs. He is also the Ethiopia Country Coordinator for the Pan African Utilization of Lay Assessment Systems (PAULAS) research project on aging. Aynie holds a Master’s degree in Monitoring and Evaluation and a Master of Public Health from Addis Ababa University, along with a Bachelor of Education from Bahirdar University. He is proficient in English and Amharic and communicates in two other Ethiopian languages.

Dr. Iwona Bielska is an epidemiologist and health services researcher with work experience in academic and government settings. She is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Health Policy and Management, Institute of Public Health at Jagiellonian University, as well as an Assistant Professor (Part-Time) in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact at McMaster University. Dr. Bielska is certified as a Project Management Professional. Previously, she held the position of Lead for Business Intelligence and Analytics at Ontario Health, where she worked on health system planning and resource allocation among various populations, including those from marginalised communities. Her research focuses on investigating healthcare access and healthcare use patterns among vulnerable groups, such as refugees, immigrant populations, patients with multiple chronic conditions, residents of long-term care homes, and those experiencing homelessness. Dr. Bielska is leading the Polish-Ukrainian arm of a qualitative study for the Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict and Forced Displacement, where she is investigating the humanitarian response system and the health needs of refugees from Ukraine who were displaced to Poland due to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Through this project, she is also researching the barriers and facilitators to accessing health services, and the resulting healthcare system adaptations. Dr. Bielska is involved in international research projects with academics from the United Kingdom and Canada. She is on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

Dr. Enock Madalitso Chisati is an Associate Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS), Malawi. He holds a PhD in Exercise Physiology obtained from the University of Malawi, College of Medicine in 2020, and a Master of Science Degree in Exercise Physiology and Sports Sciences obtained from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway in 2014.

Dr. Chisati is a member of the Academic Standards and Compliance Committee (ASCCo), a subcommittee of the KUHeS senate. Since 2020, he has been the Country Contact for Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA), As a GoPA country representative, he is part of a strong global network of over 164 countries dedicated to physical activity and health research, policies, and surveillance at the national level. Additionally, he is a member of the Malawi Anti-Doping Organisation and an Academic Editor of the PLOS ONE Journals since 2022. Dr. Chisati’s research interests are in physical exercises and health as well as sports performance and injury prevention. He has a number of peer-reviewed publications and book chapters in the area of exercise and health associated with his name (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5596-9386).

Andrew Costa is the Schlegel Research Chair in Clinical Epidemiology & Aging and an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact as well the Department of Medicine at McMaster University (https://experts.mcmaster.ca/display/acosta). He serves as the Scientific Director of the St. Joseph’s Centre for Integrated Care (https://stjoescic.ca/) and is an Associate Scientific Director of the Canada Longitudinal Study on Aging. He is an interRAI Fellow, and member of the Instruments and Systems Development (ISD) Committee. His program of research makes use of health information (‘big data’) to target, develop, and evaluate models of care in home and community care, emergency departments, hospitals, and long-term care (https://bdg.mcmaster.ca/). He also leads work on digital platforms that help patients and their caregivers navigate home and community care services (https://www.yourcareplus.ca). From 2014 to 2022, he has over 100 publications and has held more than $8 million CAD in research funding as the nominated primary investigator.

Kathleen De Cuyper is a scientist/practitioner at the University Psychiatric Center of the University of Leuven (KU Leuven, Belgium). As a clinical psychologist and behavioral therapist, she worked with persons with an anxiety disorder, personality disorder and/or eating disorder. Her clinical expertise includes exposure therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy. Her doctoral research was on the predictive value of directly and indirectly measured perfectionism in students and persons with an eating disorder. She now works as a post-doctoral researcher and coordinator of the Flemish Policy Research Centre Welfare, Public Health and Family. The focus of here policy- and practice-oriented research includes (1) the development, evaluation and implementation of BelRAI instruments in mental health care, elderly care and home care, (2) the prevention of seclusion and restraint in residential mental health and youth care services, and (3) the organization of mental health care at the level of services and regions.

Dr. Bon Egbujie is an accomplished researcher in aging and public health, holding a PhD from the University of Waterloo, completed in 2023. His dissertation, titled "Understanding Longitudinal Changes in The Performance of Activities of Daily Living in Long-Term Care Settings: Trajectories, Transition Patterns, Predictors, and Associated Health Outcomes," delves into the complexities of aging in long-term care environments. Dr. Egbujie began his career in medicine with a Dean's Award as one of the top 20 graduating medical doctors from the University of Nigeria in 2003. His professional journey includes significant roles such as Medical Officer in various hospitals in Nigeria, where he managed both acute and chronic conditions and coordinated large-scale vaccination programs.

Currently, Dr. Egbujie serves as the Senior Lead for Evidence Integration at the Ontario HIV Treatment Network in Toronto, Canada. Since November 2022, he has been instrumental in bridging knowledge, practice, and policy gaps by synthesizing complex scientific evidence into actionable strategies to enhance provincial HIV services. His role involves the development of monitoring indicators, evaluation of funded projects, and provision of technical support for evidence integration. Previously, as Program Manager for Strategic Information at Kheth’Impilo in Cape Town, he led initiatives that improved data management and quality, reduced patient waiting times, and enhanced capacity building in data use for health program management.

Dr. Claudina E. Cayetano, MD, MPH, is a psychiatrist with more than thirty years of experience in the delivery of mental health services, formulation and implementation of mental health policy in the Caribbean and Latin America; and advising governments on national policies related to public mental health and service delivery.

In 2013 Dr. Cayetano joined the Pan American Health Organization, initially based in Panama, and working very closely with the Central American Countries, and later at the headquarters in Washington DC, as the Mental Health Regional Advisor. In her role, she provides technical cooperation to PAHO’s Member States in all matters related to mental health as a public health issue.

Prior to joining PAHO she served as a consultant for the organization providing technical support to various Caribbean countries on the organization of mental health services. She also served as the Director of the Mental Health Program for the Ministry of Health, Government of Belize from 1995 to 2012 where for over a decade she was the only psychiatrist in the country.

After obtaining her Medical Degree at Universidad de San Carlos in Guatemala, she completed her Postgraduate Degree in Psychiatry at McGill University, Department of Psychiatry in Montreal, Canada and her master’s in public health from the University of Liverpool.

Dr. Cayetano is a strong advocate for the rights of people with mental health issues, and over the years has contributed to and co-authored numerous publications on mental health.

Danielle Fearon is an Assistant Professor in the Arthur Labatt School of Nursing at Western University. Danielle is passionate about the use of applied biostatistical approaches to health data. Her work spans several research areas, including mental health, health

systems, and health equity. Through each of these interests, Danielle’s research focuses on bridging gaps between health data and clinical practice. Her interdisciplinary approach, integrating public health and analytic expertise, strives to improve quality of care for

diverse populations.

Elton Ferlin is a research engineer at the Biostatistics and Data Analysis Unit at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil. He holds Bachelor of Science degrees in both Physics and Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, and an MBA in Data Science and Analytics from the University of São Paulo. He has developed software and hardware solutions for instrumentation, acoustics, and teaching applications, holding 10 patents in Brazil and 2 abroad. His expertise encompasses a wide range of areas including heart rate variability, hypertension, non-invasive blood pressure monitoring, and the modeling of electrophysiological signals. Research interests include spatio-temporal analysis in epidemiology, big data models and data-driven decision-making.

Professor Jason Ferris is a drug and alcohol epidemiologist and biostatistician with over 20 years of public health research experience. He leads the Global Substance Use and Mental Health Unit and is the Director of the Research and Statistical Support Service (RASSS) in the Faculty of Medicine. University of Queensland. His extensive research portfolio, at the intersection of Substance Use and Mental Health, represents his efforts to increase public understanding of the harmful impacts of substances on mental and physical health. Involved in more than 50 funded research projects (over $50M) as a chief investigator. He is also the Chief Biostatistician for the Global Drug Survey since 2013. 2020 The University of Queensland recognised his contributions to his research field: he was awarded and Academic Leader of the Future Award, and in 2019 The Outstanding Mid-Career Researcher within the Centre for Health Services.

Head of Psychiatry and Mental Health Department. Complejo Asistencial de Zamora/Zamora Hospital. Head of Psychiatry Research Group of the Biomedicine Research Institute (IBSAL). Associate Professor of the Salamanca University (Dpto. PETRA). Member of the Salamanca Medicine Academy. Secretary of the Ethical Committee for Research of Zamora. President of the Spanish Geriatric Psychiatry Association. Member of the board of Interdem Network (www.interdem.org) and the European Association of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Brant E. Fries, Ph.D. L.L.D. is a founder and President of interRAI, and Professor Emeritus of Health Management and Policy and Research Professor Emeritus of the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Michigan.  He is a principal author of the Resource Utilization Groups system for classifying nursing home residents, used as the basis nationwide to pay over $33 million per year to United States nursing homes under the federal Medicare system, as well as case-mix systems for persons with intellectual disability and inpatients in mental health facilities.  He co-authored the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) used in every US nursing home and the interRAI-Home Care used in half of US states.  Within interRAI, he also has co-authored assessment systems for aging persons, prisoners in correctional facilities, and caregivers.  In his research he has worked with US states and international governments to develop better decision-making, from the clinical to policy level.  He has authored over 40 books (plus over 50 translated into other languages) and over 150 peer-reviewed articles on care of vulnerable populations and quantitative modelling of health care systems.

Dr. Vjenka Garms-Homolová, has PhD in Psychology, is Professor Emeritus for Health Management at the Alice Salomon University, and Honorary Professor for Theory and Practice of Health Services Research at the Technical University of Berlin. She worked as a Health Scientist for most of her academic career. Her research focuses on health care for chronically ill and elderly people and on coping with disabilities in the social context. She is an active member of the State Network for Women's Health (www.frauengesundheit-berlin.de), and member of the German Society for Gerontology and Geriatrics (https://www.dggg-online.de/). As an interRAI-Fellow she cooperates with a worldwide network of researchers on the development and implementation of standardized assessments for various care settings (interrai.org). She is the author and co-author of numerous scientific and popular publications. Since 2016, she has been writing textbooks for students of social psychology and psychological diagnostics.

Sospeter Gatobu, PhD has progressive experience in research (qualitative and quantitative), monitoring, evaluation and learning, knowledge translation/implementation science, communication (corporate, development, health), strategic planning, project management, resource mobilization, and capacity building. Sospeter has worked with local and international organizations to translate research into practice to improve health, food security, health and general community development especially for the rural poor in Africa. Sospeter has managed large-scale programmes and projects in Canada and in Africa in research, health, education and development, in non-profits, and academics.  Sospeter is a trained teacher with experience lecturing at different levels of education in Kenya and in Canada. He is a member of the Centre for leading Research in Education (CLRiE) of the Wilfrid Laurier University, and the Canadian Association for Global Health. He is also a visiting lecturer/scientist at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, where he is currently developing a gerontology course for the University. He is also the Kenya coordinator of the Pan African Utilization of Lay Assessment Systems (PAULAS) research project on ageing. Sospeter has a PhD in Health Studies and Gerontology from the University of Waterloo, Master of Arts (Communication) from Daystar University (Kenya), and a Bachelor of Education from Kenyatta University (Kenya). He is proficient in English, Swahili, and four other Kenyan languages.

Dr. Darius GISHOMA is a Senior Lecturer at the Mental Health Department, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda. He is holding a PhD in clinical Psychology obtained from Catholic University of Louvain/ Belgium. For the last ten years, he have been involved in training of mental health professionals in Rwanda at different levels: Mental Health Nurses, Psychologists, General Practioners, Counselors and nonprofessional volunteers. In addition to being a lecturer at University, he maintains a clinical practice for individuals affected by genocide-related consequences and other Mental Health issues in Rwanda.

Darius Gishoma has research interests in treatment development and evaluation of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Depression and Substance Abuse, Global Mental Health, Maternal and Child Mental Health and Community-based interventions.

He is a member of the Rwanda National Ethics Committee.

Dr. Goldfarb is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine at Florida State University College of Medicine. She received her Doctorate of Public Health (DrPH) in the Department of Health Care Organization and Policy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health. Dr. Goldfarb’s degree holds a concentration in Maternal and Child Health Policy, and her research is focused on these issues, particularly as they relate to the life course perspective which holds that there are a complex set of risk (e.g., stress, perceived discrimination) and protective (e.g., education, mental health counseling) factors that impact individuals’ health throughout their life span which must be addressed for optimal prevention of poor health outcomes. She is particularly interested in understanding the impact of state health and drug policies on maternal and perinatal populations. She has taught (and continues to teach) undergraduate and master’s level courses related to conducting research, public policy, community-based needs assessments, and program evaluations. She has also been involved in several state and federal contracts in both Florida and Alabama aimed at improving population health through surveillance and assessment. In particular, she has led the evaluation for Florida’s Opioid Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) grants funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Len Gray is a Professor in Geriatric Medicine and a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Health Services Research at the University of Queensland in Brisbane Australia.
Within interRAI he is a Board member, leads the interRAI Network for Acute Care, and fills the role of international Contracts Director.
Beyond his interRAI research interests, his work focusses on clinical informatics, decision support systems and telehealth.

Jeffrey Harman, PhD, a health economist, is a Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine at the Florida State University College of Medicine. He received his Ph.D. in Health Services Research, Policy, and Administration from the University of Minnesota. His research explores utilization and expenditures of health services, with an emphasis on the impact of health policies on costs and services for vulnerable populations, such as individuals with limited incomes and individuals suffering from mental illness. Dr. Harman currently leads two evaluations of Florida’s Medicaid programs, which provides health insurance for Florida’s poorest residents.  He is an active member of AcademyHealth, which brings together stakeholders to inform health policy and practice, and the interrRAI Network of Mental Health (iNMH). Dr. Harman’s research has resulted in over 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles.

Dr. Hermans has a degree in Psychology and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences. She defended her doctoral thesis on the validation of the interRAI Palliative Care instrument in nursing homes in 2017. Currently, she is working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Universities of Leuven (LUCAS) and Brussels (End-of-Life Care Research Group). Her research mainly focuses on quality improvement in palliative care in nursing homes and home care using interRAI Palliative Care and interRAI Home Care data. Dr. Hermans became an Associate interRAI Fellow in 2018. She is a member of the interRAI Network of Integrated Care and Aging (iNICA).

Dr. Joanna Hikaka (Ngāruahine) is a pharmacist and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her clinical and research work focuses on older adult and Māori health, spanning primary, secondary, and aged residential care settings, with a current focus on exploring Māori experiences and expectations of aged care in the residential and community settings. Joanna is a Co-director of the Centre for Co-Created Ageing Research at the University of Auckland https://ccreateage.auckland.ac.nz/ and holds a number of regional and national governance and advisory roles relating to the responsible use of medicines, gerontology, and aged residential care.

Elizabeth P. Howard is a Professor in the Connell School of Nursing, as well as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Faculty Development, at Boston College. Dr. Howard is an Adjunct Scientist at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, and Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. Dr. Howard is a member of interRAI’s Network in Integrated Care and Aging and the Instrument and Systems Development Committee. Dr. Howard has experience examining healthy aging interventions including web-based arts intervention, comprehensive geriatric assessments, and wellness coaching program. She also contributes nursing expertise to development, testing and implementation of geriatric models using interRAI’s national and international data to address risks for common geriatric syndromes such as cognitive decline, falls, and frailty. As a certified adult/geriatric primary care nurse practitioner and an acute care nurse practitioner, Dr. Howard maintains a practice in an internal medicine clinic setting.

Her scholarly activities focus on vulnerable, underserved older adults with 2 intersecting domains. Dr. Howard has experience examining healthy aging interventions including web-based arts intervention, comprehensive geriatric assessments, and wellness coaching program. She also contributes nursing expertise to development, testing and implementation of geriatric models using interRAI’s national and international data to address risks for common geriatric syndromes such as cognitive decline, falls, and frailty.

Dr. Iantosca is a Professor in the School of Early Childhood Education at Seneca College in Ontario, Canada and supervises undergraduate research in the Bachelor of Child Development program. Dr. Iantosca obtained her PhD from the Faculty of Education, specializing in Applied Psychology at Western University. She has a Master of Education degree, an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Developmental Psychology, and Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Windsor. Dr. Iantosca is also an Ontario certified teacher (OCT) and registered early childhood educator (RECE).

Dr. Iantosca’s research focuses on developmental trajectories in the early years with a focus on early assessment. She authored the interRAI 0-3 instrument, associated collaborative action plans, and validated the developmental domains of the interRAI 0-3 for her doctoral dissertation. Dr. Iantosca has successfully received community and provincial grants for her doctoral research and volunteers in the non-profit sector as a grant proposal manager.

Naoki Ikegami is Professor Emeritus at Keio University, Tokyo. He was Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Keio School of Medicine, from which he received his MD and PhD. He also received a Master of Arts degree with Distinction in health services studies from Leeds University (United Kingdom). During 1990-1991, he was a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Medical School. He is a founding member of interRAI (a non-profit international consortium of researchers and clinicians focused on care planning instruments), and served as a consultant to the WHO and the World Bank. He has been President of the Japan Society of Healthcare Administration and of the Japan Health Economics Association. He has sat on various national and state government committees, including the Chair of the Investigative Specialist Sub-committee on Case-mix Based Reimbursement for Chronic Inpatient Care and member of the Reforming Elder Healthcare Council and of the End-of-Life Health Care Council. His research areas are health policy, long-term care and pharmacoeconomics. His publications include “The Art of Balance in Health Policy - Maintaining Japan’s Low-Cost Egalitarian System” (Cambridge University Press, 1998) with John C. Campbell, “Japanese universal health coverage: evolution, achievement, and challenges” (lead author) (Lancet, 2011), “Universal Coverage for Inclusive and Sustainable Development: Lessons from Japan” (editor) (World Bank, 2014). He has contributed a chapter in “Regulating Long-Term Care Quality” (edited by Vince Mor et al, Cambridge University Press, 2014) and in “Long-term care reforms in OECD Countries (edited by Chistiano Gori et al, Policy Press, 2016).

Inga Kristinsdóttir is a PhD student at the University of Iceland and an Advanced Practical Nurse at the Home Care Center of Iceland’s Primary Care of the Capital Area. She implemented the interRAI Home Care (HC) assessment in the Home Care Center at the Primary Care of the Capital Area in Iceland. She was a coordinator in Iceland to gather data for the IBenC study, and is using them in her PhD project, in which she has also presented results from studies using interRAI data. She is also in a research group where a doctoral student uses the interRAI ScaN assessment to explore the well-being of caregivers.

Dr. Ljunggren earned his medical degree from Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, and is a specialist in internal medicine and geriatric medicine. Between 1990 and 2006 he ran the Centre for Gerontology and Health Economics (CGH), based in Stockholm County, after which he joined the county council as a medical advisor. Now retired, he is linked as a researcher to Karolinska Institutet. His dissertation in 1992 included a validation of the RUG system in Swedish nursing homes and the first articles on cross-national comparisons, using interRAI instruments.

In addition to performing training in the various interRAI instruments, Dr. Ljunggren has been involved in studies in health economics and health services research for older persons as well as for people in mental health, palliative care, and acute care settings. Dr. Ljunggren is one of the two interRAI Fellows in Sweden and has served on the interRAI board. He has also been involved in several projects funded by the European Union. From its start almost twenty years ago, he has been a member of the Instrument and Systems Development (ISD) committee, developing new instruments and scales.

Currently, most of his time is spent evaluating health care using the administrative databases available in Stockholm and some local studies on care for older persons.

A registered medical practitioner and professor of medical physiology with over thirty years of experience in teaching undergraduate, postgraduate and supervision of doctoral students; a mentor and researcher. Holder of MD and PhD degrees, I have accumulated vast experience and skills in leadership and management of academic institutions from heading departments, college Deputy Principal (planning, finance and administration), Director, planning and development (University of Dar es Salaam), Director, Postgraduate Studies and Research; Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences (University of Botswana); Adjunct Professor of Medicine (UPenn, USA)  and current Vice Chancellor, Kairuki University, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I have experience in research methods (qualitative and quantitative) and management of donor funded projects; ethical issues in research involving human subjects and, in monitoring and evaluation of implementation of research projects. Former Chairman of the Southern Africa Nordic Centre (SANORD) and Co-Director, Afya Bora Consortium for Global Health, I am committed to research on the elderly (InterRai); eradicating trachoma disease in Tanzania (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation); assessment of HIV infection and risks factors among refugees in campus in Tanzania (UNHCR); recently, completed study on Assessment of prescribing of antibiotics in surgical and ICU wards among hospitals in Dar es salaam Tanzania (Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association).

Amanda Mofina is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo. She completed her PhD in Rehabilitation science and MSc in occupational therapy at Queen’s University. Prior to pursuing her clinical degree, Amanda completed a thesis-based MSc in Kinesiology at Wilfrid Laurier University. Amanda has clinical experience across the care continuum in acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, and complex continuing care settings. Her current research interests combine her clinical experiences as an occupational therapist with her previous areas of research. Areas of research interest include health care and care transitions, mental health, primary care, community care, health care in correctional services, health care for adults with multiple chronic health conditions, and use of population-level health data.

Mauricio Molinari Ulate graduated from the Universidad de Costa Rica where he obtained my psychology degree and from the University of Glasgow with a MSc in Applied Neuropsychology. Throughout his studies, he has examined the use of technology for the assessment and rehabilitation in clinical neuropsychology and the development of assistive technologies for cognition (ATC). He developed and provided initial validation of a Virtual Reality shopping errands task for use in brain injury rehabilitation. He worked as the clinical neuropsychologist of the Gerontology Unit for the attention of people with cognitive impairment-Alzheimer and other dementias in Costa Rica. He also coordinated the Memory Clinic at Fundación Intras in Zamora, Spain. He completed his PhD at the University of Salamanca Spain with a dissertation entitled “Psychosocial Applications of Technology for Health and Wellness Coaching of Older Adults with Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment and their Carers in Rural Areas”.

Fabrice Mowbray is Assistant Professor & Research Methodologist at the Michigan State University College of Nursing. Dr. Mowbray has extensive clinical experience as a trauma trained Registered Nurse. Trained at McMaster University, Dr. Mowbray is a quantitative research methodologist, with particular interest in prognostication and pragmatic experimental methods. Dr. Mowbray is interested in the design and evaluation of geriatric emergency management models as well as advanced care planning.

Dr. Reem Mulla is a medical practitioner with over ten years of experience in patient health assessment and treatment, supported by extensive training in health management. She holds an MBBS from the University of Medical Sciences and Technology in Sudan, a Master's in Community Medicine from the University of Khartoum, a Master's in Health Management from McMaster University in Canada, and a PhD in Public Health Science from the University of Waterloo, in mood transitions among long-term care residents.

Her professional journey includes roles such as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Waterloo, focusing on the appropriate use of antipsychotics in long-term care homes with Choosing Wisely Canada. She has also served as a Co-investigator for the PAULAS Africa Project with interRAI Global, leading efforts in Sudan and Egypt. Dr. Mulla has held significant teaching and leadership roles, including Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant at the University of Waterloo, part-time Lecturer at the Khartoum State Ministry of Health, and leadership positions at Dar Alelaj Specialized Hospital and Yastabshiroon Hospital in Sudan.

Dr. Mulla has been recognized for her teaching excellence and is certified in Community-Based Research and SAS Programming. Her research focuses on the mood, mental health, and quality of life of older adults, particularly in long-term care settings.

Dr Ng Wai Chong is the Founder and CEO of NWC Longevity Practice, a start-up providing aged care consultancy, training, and research, as well as direct clinical services. For more than 20 years, Dr Ng has worked as a community aged-care physician in a non-profit organization in Singapore. He currently consults and trains for international and regional organisations, government agencies, healthcare institutions and universities. His areas of expertise are person-centred care, frail care, dementia care, end of life care, healthy ageing, and population health, spanning clinical work from policy formulation and implementation to care system design. Dr Ng has also been the chair and member of various government committees. Dr Ng received the Minister for Health Award 2018 from Singapore’s Ministry of Health and The Courage Fund Healthcare Humanity Award 2016 and was named the Global Ageing Influencer by Ageing Asia in 2018.

Dr. Paraiso is an accomplished academic and public health expert, who serves at the Regional Institute of Public Health (IRSP) in Ouidah. He is a University Professor at CAMES and the Deputy Head of the Health Promotion Department. He also holds the position of Scientific Secretary for the Doctoral Training Program IRSP - CAQ and coordinates the HELP course (Health in Relief Operations and Health, Ethics, Law, and Policy). Dr. Paraiso teaches various subjects, including Biostatistics, Descriptive and Analytical Epidemiology, Nutritional Epidemiology, Aging Epidemiology, Health Management for the Elderly, and Emergency Health Management Principles.

Dr. Paraiso has contributed significantly to evaluative epidemiology, acting as the focal point for the ACUIS project, funded by the Global Fund and AEDES in 2023, and a member of the PAULAS Consortium with funding from the University of Waterloo, Canada. He has researched post-accident disabilities and social response mechanisms in Cotonou and Abomey-Calavi, supported by ULB, ESP, HI, and Pole Santé. Additionally, he evaluated Benin’s emergency preparedness at entry points, funded by the CDC.

Dr. Gabriel Ignacio Rendón González is a distinguished psychiatrist in Curacao with dual Venezuelan and Dutch nationality. Dr. Rendón completed his medical degree at the Central University of Venezuela in 1999 and specialized in General Psychiatry in 2004. He further pursued postgraduate studies in Penal Sciences and Criminology in 2014.

Dr. Rendón has extensive experience in psychiatry, having served in various capacities across Venezuela, Aruba, and Curacao. He is currently the Medical Director and Psychiatrist at Capriles Clinic in Curacao, where he oversees the application of medical protocols and collaborates with postgraduate academies. His previous roles include positions at the Idea Psychological Center in Aruba and several mental health institutions in Venezuela. He serves on the Steering Committee for interRAI’s Community Health Assessment for Recovery in Mental Health (CHARMH) project in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Fluent in Spanish, English, and Papiamento, with basic proficiency in Dutch, Dr. Rendón is an active member of several prestigious medical societies, including the American Psychiatric Association, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and the European Psychiatric Association. His professional certifications span multiple countries, reflecting his commitment to excellence in mental health care. Dr. Rendón's career is marked by his dedication to improving psychiatric services and his active involvement in both clinical practice and academic mentorship.

Annie Robitaille, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa and holds the Research Chair in Frailty-Informed Care at the Centre of Excellence at The Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre. Annie completed her PhD at the University of Ottawa’s School of Psychology in 2010. Her dissertation examined the role of social support on psychological distress among older Canadian using the National Population Health Survey. Following her PhD, Annie completed a postdoctoral research position in the Department of Psychology and Centre on Aging at the University of Victoria and the Integrative Analysis of Longitudinal Studies on Aging and Dementia (IALSA) research network. Her research focused on the analysis of longitudinal studies in order to answer questions about between-person and within-person change in aging-related processes. She also completed a postdoctoral research associate position with the Centre for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care at the Bruyère Research Institute and the Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa. Her postdoctoral research focused on better understanding responsive behaviours for people living with dementia throughout the continuum of care.

Annie’s current research focuses on better understanding the biopsychosocial factors related to the aging process with much of her research focusing specifically on those living with frailty in the community and in long-term care homes. Her research also aims to improve the quality of life and reduce social isolation of older adults living with frailty across the continuum of care and their caregivers.

Aynharan (Eye-ng-ah-run) Sinnarajah holds the Dr. Gillian Gilchrist Chair in Palliative Care Research with Lakeridge Health and Queen's University, and Associate Professor at Queen’s University. His research focuses on quantitative health services research in palliative care, as well as designing, implementing and evaluating early palliative care models of care across the care continuum. He co-founded and co-leads the PaCES (Palliative Care Early and Systematic) project (www.pacesproject.ca), which aims to improve systematic early palliative care for patients living with advanced cancer and non-cancer illnesses. He also has an active interest in informatics and is leading a project looking at clinical decision support in electronic medical records to screen for patients living with advanced illnesses and high palliative care needs.

Dr. Lina Spirgienė has a PhD in Nursing, and is associate professor in nursing at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing (https://lsmuni.lt/). Her areas of expertise are patient safety, geriatric nursing, patients, and caregivers’ need. She is a principal investigator in international of the Baltic-German University Liaison Office project, as well as national projects. She cooperates with an interRAI worldwide network of researchers on the development of standardized assessments for long term care and home care settings (interrai.org). She is a member of Editorial board of the journal Nursing Education, Research and Practice – NERP. She is the author and co-author of 153 scientific and popular publications, textbooks, learning materials and other articles.

Dr. Stewart is a Full Professor and Clinical Training Director at the School and Applied Child Psychology Program at Western University, Faculty of Education, London, Ontario Canada. Additionally, she is an Adjunct Assistant Professor within the Department of Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Division at Schulich School of Medicine at Western University.  She is also an Associate Scientist at the Children’s Health Research Institute (CHRI), interRAI Research Fellow and Associate Editor for the Canadian Journal of School Psychology.  Dr. Stewart is leading the international development and implementation of the interRAI suite of instruments for children and youth with mental health needs within a variety of service sectors (e.g., education, health).

Katarzyna Szczerbińska, MD, PhD, Professor of Geriatrics with expertise in Long-term Care and health promotion among elderly people. Head of the Research on Aging Society Laboratory at Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Medical Faculty, Jagiellonian University Medical College in Kraków, Poland; a specialist in geriatric medicine and long-term care at the Geriatric Clinic in the University Hospital. A principal investigator in several high-budget international research projects (FP5 CLESA, FP7 PREDICT, FP7 PACE; SPRINT-T. Currently, in I-CARE4OLD and NAVIGATE funded from HORIZON.  Since 2004 a Fellow of InterRAI, and ISD member. Since 2019 the Secretary General of the ExCom IAGG-ER; a Board member in the Polish Society of Gerontology and the Collegium of Geriatrics Specialist in Poland. A member of the EUGMS task for FRIDs and the EAPC RG on Aging and Palliative Care. Author of over 250 scientific publications available on JU Repository, and on Scholar Google.

Gilbert Tremblay is a Clinical Psychologist at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in Montreal Quebec. He specializes in the assessment and treatment of complex disorders as well as co-occurring mental health and substance-related disorders, including as an expert witness in juvenile courts assessing parenting skills of parents with substance use disorders and young people in difficulty. He also serves as the interRAI mental health assessment coordinator for the Douglas Mental Health University Institute. He has a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and has served as project manager in research and development of mental health technologies and intervention methods since 2011.

Dr. Vadeboncoeur is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Department of Medicine at the University of Ottawa and a Pediatrician who works with the Palliative Care Program at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, at Roger Neilson house and in the community.  She is involved in a Canadian network of pediatric palliative care researchers, and collaborates on population data research in Ontario.  She is involved in piloting the interRAI Pediatric Home Care instrument in Ontario and developing the Clinical Assessment Protocols for the PedsHC instrument.

Prof. Dr. Chantal Van Audenhove is full professor at Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (Belgium). She teaches psychology and applied communication for medical students and for students in dentistry. She is the director of LUCAS, Center for Care Research and Consultancy of the KU Leuven. As an expert in practice- and policy-oriented research her focus is on mental health and the care for people with dementia. Previous research projects dealt with – among others – the relationship between informal caregivers and patients, the quality of the living environment, Expressed Emotion in the professional and informal care relationship, vocational rehabilitation, stigma and discrimination, prevention of depression and suicide. She is an active member of international networks, such as: the European Alliance Against Depression (EAAD), the interRAI Network of Mental Health (iNMH) and INTERDEM, a pan-European network of researchers focusing on psychosocial interventions in dementia.

Dr. Vetrano is a geriatrician and epidemiologist, and works as an assistant professor at the Aging Research Center of Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. His main research focus is to investigate the longitudinal trajectories of multimorbidity and frailty in older adults, understanding their determinants and their impact on survival, quality of life and healthcare use. He is currently the PI of three projects on multimorbidity and frailty funded by the Swedish government, and WP leader in two Horizon2020 projects on multimorbidity (one of which is based on interRAI data). Dr. Vetrano is author of more than 170 articles published in peer-reviewed journals (H-index 33) and several book chapters. He is currently main supervisor of two PhD students, two postdoc fellows, and several research assistants.

Dr Nasir Wabe is a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, with a multi-disciplinary background (pharmacy, epidemiology, data science). He has expertise in the areas of outcome-based health services research, health informatics, pharmacoepidemiology and quality use of medicine. Dr Wabe has extensive experience in conducting data linkage and analysis of big health data obtained from primary care, hospitals, and residential aged care. Dr Wabe has a strong track record of research outputs including >80 peer-reviewed articles. Within the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Dr Wabe leads the Aged Care Evaluation and Research (ACER) stream. CI Wabe has secured >$6.5 million in research funding as a chief investigator.

Julie Weir is a Masters prepared nurse with extensive experience in acute care, long term care, infection control, and health system management. She is currently completing a doctorate in interdisciplinary studies with a research focus on use of interRAI systems to support enhance quality of care and quality of life in long-term care homes. She served as the CEO of the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes providing strategic guidance as those homes implemented the interRAI LTCF and began using that system to improve quality of care and clinical practice. As the Infection Prevention and Control and Informatics Lead for the Government of New Brunswick she led the COVID-19 response for all LTC homes in NB. She is President-Elect for IPAC Canada and is the Long-Term Care Co-Lead for Choosing Wisely Canada. She also previously served as the President of the Nurses Association of New Brunswick.