Dr Guilherme Sant’Anna is a Full Professor of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University. He did his medical school and residency in Pediatrics/Neonatology in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he worked as a neonatologist from 1997 to 2001. Dr Sant’Anna went to McGill University in 2001 for his PhD studies in respiratory physiology under the supervision of Dr J. Mortola. From 2002 to 2004 he did a fellowship in Neonatal Perinatal Medicine at McGill University. After that, he worked for 4 years as Associate Prof of Pediatrics at the Neonatal Division at McMaster University before moving back to McGill University. Dr Sant’Anna is actively involved in education and has participated and organized several national and international meetings. His research interests are to better understand and optimize the respiratory assistance in preterm infants and the use of innovation and new technologies in neonatal intensive care. In collaboration with Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science at McGill University, and multiple international collaborations, he is working on the development of a SMART NICU/HOSPITAL by using wireless technology and advanced monitoring systems.

Dr. Mandy M Archibald is an Associate Professor in Nursing at the University of Manitoba, a Research Scientist with the Children’s Health Research Institute of Manitoba, and a Senior Research Academic at Flinders University, South Australia. She is an applied health researcher and methodologist whose program seeks to extend the role of mixed methods and arts-based research in the health sciences, to advance equitable research practices and care for families across mental health and chronic illness contexts. She received her PhD (University of Alberta, 2016) and conducted postdoctoral training at Flinders University, South Australia (2016-2019). She holds New Investigator awards from Research Manitoba and CIHR-SickKids, and has received numerous awards for her work, including a Terry G. Falconer Memorial Winnipeg Rh Institute Foundation Emerging Researcher Award (2023). Mandy co-leads the Illumination platform for ENRICH.

Dr. Bob Connelly is a neonatologist, and medical educator in the Department of Pediatrics at Queen’s University. He is interested in design thinking, whether it is to deliver a more compelling presentation or improving patient care. He is a self-described “geek wannabe” and is constantly on the lookout for new mobile technologies to improve productivity.

Nakeisha Lodge-Tulloch is a researcher passionate about maternal and perinatal health, driven by an interest in the developmental origins of health and disease. After earning a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in life sciences from Queen’s University, Nakeisha began conducting research under the mentorship of Dr. Charles Graham, Dr. Tiziana Cotechini, and Dr. Maria Velez.Now pursuing her doctoral studies, Nakeisha is investigating pregnancy complications and the potential role of innate immune reprogramming in shaping the long-term health trajectories of mothers and their babies. She hopes her work will contribute to developing tailored care plans and therapeutics that enhance the well-being of future mothers and their infants.

Kathleen Lounsbury comes from the Kwakwak’awakw traditions of the Namgis First Nations of Alert Bay, BC. She is a PhD nursing student at Trinity Western University and the Indigenous curriculum consultant for their School of Nursing. She is a doctoral fellow on the Indigenous Digital Health Ecosystem Project and a research associate on an Arts-based response to the violence in the MMIWG report. She has recently completed a Braided Knowledges project that examined traditional birthing practices of Kwakwaka’wakw elders. This project has helped refine her proposed doctoral dissertation focused on Kwakwaka’wakw’s situated traditional knowledges regarding food sovereignty within our local community. She will study land-based knowledge using digitally mediated storytelling to pass on vital health-related knowledge to the next generation. Kathleen is a recipient of the 2024 CIHR CGS-Doctoral scholarship and her dissertation work is being supported by the Path Forward Community Fund for the next two years. She is currently a RISE ENRICH scholar and is grateful for all the opportunities afforded her during this busy academic season of her life.

Dr. Samantha Louie-Poon (she/they) is a Registered Nurse, Assistant Professor, and community advocate. Their philosophy is rooted in building meaningful human and community connections through stories, art-based methods, and thinking and imagining differently to improve the health, wellbeing, and rights of future generations. Specifically, Sam is passionate about storying the untold narratives of Asian diasporas across healthcare and social systems. Her
clinical nursing background is in pediatric oncology/haematology and pediatric medicine. Their program of research, RAW: Reimagining Asian Wellbeing, is dedicated at advocating for the rights and wellbeing of Asian children and youth. Through a combination of research and community engagement, Sam is passionate about storying the intergenerational experiences of anti-Asian racism and (re)imaging knowledge systems used to support Asian youth well-being.

Dr. Wissam Shalish is a Neonatologist at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Montreal Children's Hospital. His research focuses on using biomedical signals for better understanding and improving various aspects of respiratory care in preterm infants, including weaning from mechanical ventilation, non-invasive respiratory support provision and respiratory control of breathing.

From a young age, Anne-Laure has been passionate about science and medicine, particularly in understanding the capabilities of the human body. She earned a degree in biomedical engineering in France before moving to Montréal, where she completed a PhD at Polytechnique Montréal in 2015. Over the past decade, she has undertaken an industrial postdoc at CCM hockey and worked at INÉDI an applied research center in industrial design, as the head of research. There, she collaborated on industry-based projects across various fields from ergonomics in agriculture to circus arts. In November 2024, she joined the TransMedTech Institute as a program coordinator where she continuously learns and supports industries in innovating medical technologies.

Yi Wen (Jenny) Wang (RN, BScN, M.Ed., PhD(c)) is a trained nurse, educator, and PhD candidate in Nursing at McGill University. She completed her Master of Education in 2021 at McGill University. Her work integrates childhood ethics and arts-based methodologies to foster children’s voices and ensure that educational health resources are created with children, for children. Her doctoral research focuses on co-designing an educational virtual reality software to help children prepare for their orthopaedic surgery. Yi Wen is a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation scholar (2024-2027), ENRICH learner, and the recipient of the CIHR Fellowship. She speaks English, French, and Mandarin.

Despoina Manousaki is a pediatric endocrinologist and an assistant professor at the CHU Sainte-Justine University Hospital affiliated with the University of Montreal. She received her MD from the University of Athens, Greece, her post-graduate training in pediatrics in Switzerland (University Hospitals of Geneva) and in pediatric endocrinology in Canada (Sainte-Justine Hospital in Montreal). Subsequently, she obtained a PhD in genetic epidemiology from McGill University. Despoina's research focuses on the genetics of complex disease in childhood. Her team uses genomics, bioinformatics, and genetic epidemiology methods to better understand the genetic architecture of complex disease, and to apply these findings to predict disease risk and develop new disease biomarkers. Her research interests lie in the field of genetics of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in children, vitamin D levels, youth-onset osteoporosis, pediatric obesity, growth and puberty. Despoina is a FRQS Junior 1 Clinician researcher and has received an ENRICH career development award, and funding as a PI from CIHR and Breakthrough T1D.