Daniel Perez, PhD (Candidate)
Daniel’s Master’s research focused on an innovative survey of exercise frequency and perceptions of ‘walkability’ in the Jane-Finch community of Toronto. His doctoral research focuses on the integration of qualitative and quantitative (survey) research in understanding attitudes towards ethical issues in the pandemic flu preparations of 2010. He is currently conducting qualitative research on multi-ethnic populations who fail to access cancer screening in Ontario and on the consultation process in determining research policy at Cancer Care Ontario. Daniel is the research manager of the Rogers Communications, Inc. Corporate Health project within the Federal Development Project.
Noah Wayne, RKin, CEP-CSEP, PhD (Candidate)
Noah’s Master’s research focused on factors affecting tobacco reduction before and after the Master Settlement Agreement (1998). His doctoral work focuses on changes in blood glucose regulation in response to mobile phone supported health coaching in individuals with Type 2 Diabetes at the Black Creek Community Health Centre. He is an active member of the Fusion Lab, a collaboration of health science and computer science students and professors (Dr. P. Ritvo, Dr. N. Cercone) in creating and testing health-oriented software applications. His work is described in his TEDx talk given at York University in early 2014: https://youtu.be/gloRs92UXGk.
Shalini Moonsammy, CPT-CSEP, PhD (Candidate)
Shalini Moonsammy Persaud is currently a Ph.D candidate at York University. She has recently completed her Master’s thesis which focused on assessing the effects of exercise training and cognitive behavioural therapy with patients diagnosed with Epithelial Ovarian Cancer in two stages of treatment. Results indicated significant positive changes in fitness outcomes over a six month period. Her research interests are health related quality of life, cancer, exercise and cognitive behavioral therapy and behavior change. She also holds certifications with the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology as a Certified Personal Trainer and Ontario Institute for Studies in Education as a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Certificate – Level I Counselor.
Meysam Pirbaglou, CEP-CSEP, PhD (Candidate)
As a first year Ph.D student, Meysam’s research interests revolve around health coaching and the integration of multiple counseling theories in promoting positive changes in physical and mental health. A strong sub-interest is exploring statistical methodologies in assessing mediation models. Previously, he has worked on several projects at the Health Behaviour Change Laboratory, notably the mentoring of high school youth (by university students) and the exercise training of Prostate Cancer Survivors treated with Androgen Deprivation Therapy. He recently finished analyses on a mediation model linking perfectionism and the effects of negative automatic thinking and anxiety sensitivity with distressing anxiety and depression symptoms.
Sarah Pludwinski, CPT-CSEP, MSc (Candidate)
Sarah’s research originates from a long term volunteer commitment at the Black Creek Community Health Centre in the Jane-Finch community of Toronto. She is now acting as a health coach on the Public Health Agency of Canada-funded clinical trial intervening with Type 2 diabetic patients with the assistance of smartphone technology. Her thesis research will involve interviews of participants aimed at deriving qualitatively derived findings re: intervention experience
Arsh Randhawa, CPT-CSEP, M.Sc (Candidate)
Arsh’s research focus on implementing healthy behaviour change interventions, involving novel smartphones technologies and health coaching in different chronic disease populations. She has worked as a health coach for employees at large Canadian Corporation on the Connected Health and Wellness Project funded by FedDev Ontario. She is currently working as a health coach for breast cancer survivors in University Health Network, Toronto. She is also a research assistant in Healthy Student Initiative (HSI) program at York University, which is aimed to increase awareness of mental and physical health issues of students by engaging students in Mindfulness Meditation practice.
Iqra Ashfaq, MSc (Candidate)
Iqra Ashfaq completed her undergraduate degree at McMaster University in Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour. She is now a Masters candidate interested in examining the neuroscience of religious practices (e.g., Islamic prayer). She is currently the Communication Officer for GRASP, and a member of the Healthy Student Initiative as an Experimental Administer and Research Advisor. She is also a co-designer for a new science course designed to introduce students to the variety of disciplines in science (Psychology, Biology, Earth Sciences, Chemistry etc.), research skills, learning strategies and different services offered at McMaster University.
KIara Clory, CEP-CSEP, MSc (Candidate)
Kiara is a second year masters student in Kinesiology and Health Science. As a Certified Exercise Physiologist (CSEP) she is passionate about the applications of physical activity and lifestyle interventions for individuals with chronic diseases. Kiara is currently working at the University Health Network ELLICSR centre on the iMOVE study which is assessing the effect of health coaching and structured exercise class for breast cancer survivors. She is also the study coordinator for a project funded by the Ministry of Health and Longterm Care and the Centre of Ehealth Innovation that uses remote monitoring to support patients manage multiple chronic conditions with the North York Family Health Team.
Emeritus Lab Members:
Daniel Santa Mina, PhD (2012)
Daniel is an emeritus lab member who currently is the Assistant Program Head of Kinesiology at the University of Guelph-Humber and a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Prostate Centre in the Princess Margaret Hospital. Daniel is also the Director of the Survivorship Exercise Program at the Prostate Centre at the Princess Margaret Hospital where he coordinates clinical-research exercise programming for men with prostate cancer. Daniel has obtained his certifications as an exercise physiologist from the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology, Cancer Exercise Specialist at the Rocky Mountain Cancer Rehabilitation Institute at the University of Northern Colorado, and Bonefit trainer from Osteoporosis Canada. Daniel’s Master’s Thesis examined the role of preoperative physical activity in the recovery from radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer (Santa Mina et al, 2010, Canadian Urological Association Journal). His PhD dissertation compared aerobic and resistance training in men with prostate cancer treated with androgen deprivation therapy (Santa Mina et al, 2013, Journal of Aging and Physical Activity). Daniel's dissertation cognate areas included the topics of secondary osteoporosis (Santa Mina et al, 2012, Open Bone Journal) and prehabilitation (Santa Mina et al, submitted for publication). These projects align with Daniel’s general research interests which are exercise in cancer survivors, ‘prehabilitation’ (pre-operative exercise), and bone health.
Crissa Guglietti, PhD (2012)
Crissa is a Post-Doctoral Fellow managing the Southlake Regional Health Centre research site of the Federal Development Project. Her research interests include the neurological and psychosocial benefits of health practices (e.g. meditation, exercise, etc) in clinical/non-clinical populations, and improving adherence to health-related behaviours. Her Master’s thesis focused on evaluating Post-Traumatic Stress in Women Undergoing Investigator for Ovarian Cancer (Guglietti et al., 2010) and PhD dissertation examined the Neurophysiological and Psychological Effects of Meditation (Guglietti et al, 2012). She is currently undertaking research assessing meditation effects in students and the effects of smartphone-based intervention in individuals with uncontrolled systolic hypertension. Crissa’s research interests are diverse and include use of survey and qualitative methods in investigating behaviour in cancer screening and pandemic flu policy.
Saam Azargive, MSc (2015)
Saam was a Master's candidate managing the Healthy Student Initiative (HSI) and Brain Networks of Focused Attention (FA) projects. His undergraduate studies include a Bachelor's in Biology and Psychology. His graduate work has ranged from the neural mechanisms of meditation, the underlying attentional systems at work during focused tasks, and health coaching cardiovascular rehabilitation patients through lifestyle change. His current projects include using fMRI to isolate the networks used during the FA component of mindfulness. He is also using transcranial magnetic stimulation coupled with electromyography to study the changes in the excitatory-inhibitory balance of the motor cortex that result from meditation.
