Meet Canada’s TB Researchers
To join our directory of Canadian TB Researchers please fill out the form at the bottom of the page.
Nancy Bedingfield
Nancy Bedingfield is a Calgary-based, PhD prepared tuberculosis researcher and with a strong interest in the social determinants of health as they relate to patient care and patient experience with tuberculosis. I have a depth of experience with qualitative methods and have coordinated the conduct of several randomized control trials. I have 14 years experience as a Tuberculosis Nurse in Calgary and am also working with the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases to translate tuberculosis research into improved outcomes for patients experiencing TB.
Dr. Yossef Av-Gay
Yossef Av-Gay is a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. He is also an associate member of the department of microbiology and immunology and holds an adjunct professorship at the medical school of Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. A microbiologist by training, his research interests lie with chronic lung diseases, primarily tuberculosis (TB), followed by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) diseases .
Dr. Claudyne Chevrier
Dr. Claudyne Chevrier is a community organizer and medical anthropologist with a PhD in Global Public Health working in knowledge translation as a project manager for the National Collaborative Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID). All of Dr. Chevrier’s work has focused on the intersections of systems of oppressions and health. Dr. Chevrier’s main focus at NCCID is now on tuberculosis and she looks forward to finding ways to support the wonderful efforts to stop TB.
Gabriel Rojas-Ponce
Gabriel Rojas-Ponce is a biologist with experience in the microbiology of M. tuberculosis since 2002. His research interest lies on the improvement of the classical laboratory methods to detect TB bacilli. He has experience developing and managing capacity-building initiatives as part of laboratory staff training. As consultant he has been responsible for monitoring TB clinical trials in Peru, Uganda, Tanzania, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Ethiopia, Brazil, and Haiti.
Dr. Simon Grandjean Lapierre
Simon Grandjean Lapierre directs a translational research program focusing on (1) the impact of molecular epidemiology for TB control in high burden settings and (2) new technologies including digital cough monitoring in TB screening, diagnostics and surveillance. He's involved in research and service partnerships in Canada, Tanzania and Madagascar. His research is supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Wellcome Trust and the Gates Foundation.
Dr. Jonathon Campbell
I am a health economist and epidemiologist interested in mechanisms and pathways for tuberculosis elimination in low- and high-incidence settings. My research primarily evaluates tuberculosis preventive treatment as a means to help eliminate tuberculosis, with additional focus on treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and correlates of treatment outcomes.
Dr. Uzma Khan
Uzma Khan is a physician and public health professional working in TB control in LMICs. A native of Pakistan and currently residing in Canada, Khan has extensive experience in overseeing, implementing and conducting MDR-TB research, and has provided technical assistance to TB programs in Asia and Africa. She holds a medical degree as well as a Masters in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. Her interests are health equity, advocacy and policy especially in the time of COVID-19.
Courtney Heffernan, PhD
Courtney is a researcher, and works as the manager of the Tuberculosis Program Evaluation and Research Unit in the Department of Medicine, at the University of Alberta. Her primary interests in research and advocacy include centering the experiences and wisdom of TB affected persons and communities in the development of prevention and care strategies. She studies the persistence of TB among Indigenous Canadians in select communities in the Prairies.
Madhukar Pai, MD, PhD, FCAHS
Madhu Pai did his medical training and community medicine residency in Vellore, India. He completed his PhD in epidemiology at UC Berkeley, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the UCSF. Madhu’s research is mainly focused on improving the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis, especially in high-burden countries like India and South Africa.
Dr. Kevin Schwartzman
I am a respirologist and researcher with a focus on the evaluation of the cost and effectiveness of interventions for TB prevention and care, such as migrant screening and digital adherence technologies. I am the current director of the McGill Respiratory Division. I also currently serve as the president of the North America Region of The Union (the International Union Against TB and Lung Disease) and the chair of the Union's TB Section.
Dr. James Johnston
Dr. Johnston is the evaluation lead at Provincial TB Services at BCCDC and Head of Respiratory Medicine at Vancouver General Hospital. He is an Associate Clinical Professor in the UBC Department of Medicine and Associate Member at the UBC School of Population and Public Health. He is the former vice president and conference chair of North American region of The Union. His research includes post-TB treatment outcomes, TB risk prediction in foreign-born populations, genomic epidemiology and clinical trials.
Dr. Paul Brassard
Dr. Paul Brassard is a Public Health and Preventive medicine specialist with more than 20 years of experience in TB control.
Dr. Mikashmi Kohli
Dr. Mikashmi Kohli's research is focussed on diagnostics, particularly for TB. She has been working with the Cochrane Systematic Review team on diagnostic accuracy of molecular tests in TB, especially extrapulmonary TB. She has also been working on the availability and accessibility of diagnostics at primary health care level in low- and middle income countries.
Dr. Suvesh Shrestha
Dr. Suvesh is a medical doctor with specialization in public health. He has more than 8 years’ experience working in the field of Tuberculosis and HIV in Nepal. He has worked with National TB program of Nepal as Senior Technical Advisor for Global Fund grant from Save the Children. He provided technical support to National and provincial TB program to develop strategies and guidelines, improve TB diagnosis and treatment, strengthen DR TB program, Childhood TB, PPM and TB HIV collaboration and conduct various national level surveys. Prior to joining Save the Children Dr. Suvesh was involved in HIV prevention program implemented by FHI 360, which was funded by USAID. Dr. Suvesh holds Master’s Degree in Public Health from Mahidol University, Thailand and Medical Degree (MBBS) degree from Sichuan University, China. He is currently an PhD student at University of Ottawa.
Dr. Amrita Daftary
Amrita Daftary is Assistant Professor at the School of Global Health at York University. She applies social science methods and frameworks to study TB stigma and treatment adherence, particularly in the contexts of TB-HIV co-morbidity and drug resistant TB. She contributes to the design and evaluation of complex interventions in South Africa and India, where her work helps to inform equity and person oriented approaches to TB care. She is also involved in several global activities.
Amrita holds adjunct appointments at the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa at University of KwaZulu-Natal and Dalla Lana School of Public Health at University of Toronto. She works closely with a number of public health, multilateral, community organizations and TB advocacy groups. In 2021, she has launched a global social science and health innovations for TB centre, SSHIFTB, to connect scholars, advocates and learners from across the world and elevate the social science gaze on TB.
Stephanie Law, PhD
I'm a mixed methods researcher using qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the sociocultural aspects of tuberculosis care, with a particular focus on the role of trust between tuberculosis patients and their health care providers, and building local TB and health care capacity in Nunavik.
Joel Klinton, MBBS
Joel is the Project Manager of the TBPPM Learning Network. He is a physician from India with experience in primary care, clinical trial management, health service coordination and private health sector engagement. He played a crucial role in several projects at the National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis including facilitating the initiation of STREAM Clinical Trial in India. Joel gained knowledge of the North American healthcare system by volunteering at several leading hospitals in USA and Canada. He has worked in diverse settings where the public and private sector have interlinked and has supported the development of several key resources on engaging private health sector towards universal health coverage.
Alice Zwerling, PhD
Dr. Alice Zwerling is an Assistant Professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa. As an infectious disease epidemiologist with a special interest in tuberculosis (TB) and a focus on health economics, her main areas of expertise and interest involve cost-effectiveness analyses to guide thoughtful implementation of new tools and treatment regimens for TB both globally and at home in Canada.
Lena Faust
Lena is a PhD student in epidemiology with Dr. Madhukar Pai at McGill University and the McGill International TB Centre. She is also involved in the Stop TB Canada Network.
Alexandra Zimmer, MSPH
Alex is a PhD student in epidemiology at McGill University. Her research will be focused on the application of artificial intelligence to improve TB care. Alex is also part of the Stop TB Canada Secretariat.
Emily MacLean
I am a doctoral candidate in Epidemiology in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health at McGill University and at the McGill International TB Centre. My research mainly focuses on TB diagnostics.
Dr. Hannah Alsdurf
Hannah’s research is focused on finding ways to improve the quality of TB patient care, and assessing the human resource needs of such care. She is currently focused on addressing the major gap in TB care among the Inuit in Nunavut, Canada.
Olivia Oxlade
Olivia Oxlade is an epidemiologist with research interests that focus on global health and tuberculosis (TB). Her specific areas of expertise are in TB modelling, economic analysis and program management. Her most recent experience relates to implementation of TB Preventive Treatment (TPT) programs in low and middle income countries. She is currently the Associate Scientific Director (Management) of the COVID-19 Immunity Taskforce (housed at McGill University), and an Associate Director of the McGill International TB Centre.
Genevieve Armstrong
Genevieve Armstrong is a Professor in Nursing at Humber College and a PhD candidate, collaborative in nursing and global health, at the University of Toronto. She was a former TB nurse in Toronto, Ontario, and has also contributed to TB care in Iqaluit, Nunavut and in Barcelona, Spain. Passionate about health equity and social justice, her PhD thesis examines how access to TB diagnosis and treatment can be improved for migrants with a precarious immigration status in Canada, through equitable TB policies and practices.