About

Dr. Jennifer Zwicker is an emerging leader in child disability policy who recently received the Cardwell Award for Top 40 under 40 in Canada. She brings a combination of interdisciplinary research and training, established national networks and collaborators and commitment to knowledge translation to ensure research findings reach community members and decision makers. As the Director of the Health Policy Program at the School of Public Policy and an assistant professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary, Dr. Zwicker has interdisciplinary expertise that cuts across neurobiology and child development, economic evaluation, health services research and policy to translate knowledge from “research to evidence-based disability policy”. She holds the Canada Research Chair (II) Disability Policy for Children and Youth and is an investigator of several research projects that aim to inform disability policy.

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My name is Brittany Finlay and I am the External Relations Coordinator for the DiPo team. I am also a Senior Research Associate and currently involved in several different projects that focus on improving delivery and design of disability services and supports in Canada. My academic background includes a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from McGill University and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Calgary.

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I am Angela Senevirathna, a Kinesiology PhD student with a focus on enriching the lives of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families. In my research, I delve into the complexities of the continuum of care and eligibility for essential services and supports for youth transitioning to adulthood. I have a masters degree in Biomedical engineering from University of Calgary.

My name is Erin McCabe and I am a post-doctoral fellow with the DiPO Research Program. My research focuses on amplifying the patient voice within the healthcare system. I am working to make patient-reported outcome measures (questionnaires that ask patients about their health and well-being) a regular part of care for children and youth with mental health conditions. My PhD focused on measuring the quality of the relationship between physiotherapists and their patients. I am also a physiotherapist for people with rare blood disorders. Outside of work, I spend my time chasing after my two girls and being outdoors whenever I can.

I am a Research Associate under Dr. Zwicker in the DiPo Research Program. I am primarily working on Kid’s Brain Health Network projects to help conduct economic analyses of interventions and quantify the value created for patients, families and society. I have a European Master in Health Economics and Management and a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy. Outside of work, I enjoy travelling, hiking and trying different cuisines.

I am Patricia Basualto, a Kinesiology PhD student with DiPo. My current research focuses on assessing the continuum of care and eligibility for services and supports for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families. I bring experience in research projects related to early childcare interventions, mental health, and occupational health, with an emphasis on the experience of caregivers in different healthcare settings. I have a Master’s degree in Health Psychology and a Licentiate Degree and Professional Certificate in Physiotherapy.

I am Christiane Roth, Research Associate at the School of Public Policy and DiPo Program Coordinator. I primarily work on a project to develop an indicator measurement framework for child health and well-being in Alberta. I also provide program coordination support to DiPo in the areas of knowledge mobilization, communication, result monitoring and resource management. I am a certified Project Manager (PMP) and Prosci Change Manager with an MSc in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE).

I am Ash Seth and I am a Research Associate with DIPO research program. I am a part of several multi collaborative research projects that aim to enhance the mental health and service access needs of youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families. I also have working experience in livelihood, youth and disability studies in Southeast Asia. I have a Master of Public Policy from the School of Public Policy (SPP) at the University of Calgary and Master in Business Management degrees from Northeastern University, USA.

I am a DiPo Research Assistant. I bring research experience in child health, family newborn health and population and community health. My current research and interests are focused on caring for children and youth with complex care needs including rare diseases and neurodevelopmental disorders, care coordination, and family engagement in health care and research.

I’m Ken Fyie, and I’m a research associate in the Social Policy and Health team at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy. For the DiPo team, I’m working on quantitative issues, specifically using administrative datasets to see how governments are providing assistance, and where gaps in assistance exist, to those with neurodevelopmental disabilities. My previous work has looked at health-related questions, from small-scale variate analyses to system analyses of healthcare delivery. Making sense of data that otherwise would be siloed away is what I’m happiest to contribute to our team. I have Master’s Degrees in Economics and Public Health, and outside of work I enjoy music, sports and time exploring the outdoors.

I am a post-doctoral fellow with the DiPO Research Program. I am studying provincial self-managed home care policies and access to funding for family caregivers. I have a background as a lawyer (J.D., University of Toronto ‘09) and I am a member of the Law Society of Ontario. I completed graduate studies in law at McGill University (LL.M. ‘14, D.C.L. ‘21). I have been a wheelchair user since 2014 so I bring both lived and academic experience with disability to my research projects.

Bishnu Bajgain is a Research Coordinator with one of the DiPO Research Programs, primarily working on implementing and evaluating patient-reported outcome measures (measurement-based care) in child and adolescent mental health. Along with his mixed methods research training, he brings research experiences in primary care and immigrant populations. His academic background includes an MSc in Health Services Research from the University of Calgary. He also holds an MSc in Healthcare Management from Pokhara University, Nepal. Prior to that, he was a faculty member of healthcare management at various universities in Nepal. Along with his academic career, Bishnu holds a wide range of healthcare experiences, working in various leadership positions in setting and managing corporate and community hospitals over 10 years, including the Grande International Hospital and the Medicare National Hospital & Research Centre, Nepal. Honoring his academic and leadership commitment to excellence, Bishnu has received Teaching Recognition as well as leadership Awards time and again.

Bishnu’s research interests include health services research, with a focus on learning health systems, implementation, and family/patient-centered care.