Research Trainees

 

Post Doctoral Fellows

 

Jenny Leese, MA, PhD
Visiting Post-Doctoral Fellow

Jenny is a post-doctoral fellow supervised by Dr. Ian Graham in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, and Centre for Implementation Research at The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. She is also a visiting post-doctoral fellow at Arthritis Research Canada. Jenny’s research interests lie in relational ethics, integrated knowledge translation and qualitative methodologies. Her post-doctoral work is centred around ethical issues experienced in partnerships between patients and academics in research.

Funded by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Doctoral award, Jenny completed her PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences with the supervision of Dr. Linda Li at the University of British Columbia. Her PhD research focused on supporting the self-care of people with arthritis. She examined benefits and downsides experienced by people with arthritis when using wearable technology to promote their physical activity.

 

PhD Students

 

Ellen Wang, MSc
MPT/PhD student

Ellen is a MPT/PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Linda Li at the University of British Columbia. She is also the Programs Coordinator at Arthritis Consumer Experts, a Board Member at the Sjögren’s Society of Canada and a patient living with Sjögren’s disease, Raynaud’s and chronic hepatitis. She received her Master and Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology at the University of Waterloo. During her time in Ontario, Ellen was involved in multiple implementation projects for older adults living with chronic conditions and mobility impairments. From this experience, she developed a keen interest in knowledge translation. Her current research is in patient engagement in health research. Broadly speaking, her work aims to uncover how research teams can best support patients, caregivers and community members to step into roles of leadership. Ellen is also interested in tailoring physical therapy treatments and self-management techniques for individuals liking with different forms of arthritis

 

Heather Worthington, BSc, MSc
MPT/PhD Student

As an MPT/PhD student in the Graduate Programs in Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of British Columbia, Heather is conducting research on access to physiotherapy services and training to become a physiotherapist. She received her Master’s of Science degree in Epidemiology from Queen’s University, and her Honours Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Waterloo.

Heather has been involved in health services and policy research projects for many years – primarily in the area of pharmaceutical policy. After experiencing a life changing injury, she became acutely aware of the gaps in care experienced by outpatient physiotherapy patients, and the integral role physiotherapists play in the health system.

She plans to use her knowledge and experience to provide evidence that will be able to inform policy to address these gaps.

 

Maribeth Gelisanga (Fortune)
MSc Student

Maribeth (Fortune) is an MSc student in the Graduate Program of Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of British Columbia under the supervision of Dr. Linda Li. She received her Bachelor of Science and Master in Physical Therapy from the University of the Philippines. Maribeth is a clinician-researcher focused on geriatric rehabilitation, informed by the concepts of patient safety, quality improvement, and gender sensitivity. Her research projects include the investigation of clinimetric properties of a strength assessment tool for patients with stroke, and the development and implementation of falls prevention and arthritis program for older adults.

Maribeth is currently involved in a patient-initiated research about tools to help people with chronic pain communicate with health professionals about the nature of their pain. She intends to further understand the underpinnings and dynamics of shared decision-making between patient and health professionals in the context of physiotherapy.

Beyond her studies, Maribeth travels to learn history and culture. She also volunteers for an organization devoted to keep our reefs and seas plastic-free.