Dr. Leah Cahill (she/her) is a registered dietitian who completed her PhD in Medicine at the University of Toronto before working as a postdoctoral scientist at Harvard University researching the nutritional and genetic epidemiology of cardiovascular disease. She moved to Halifax to establish her research program in Nova Scotia as the R. Howard Webster Research Chair in Medicine at Dalhousie University. She is an Affiliated Scientist at Nova Scotia Health and with the Maritime SPOR SUPPORT unit.

She has received many awards for her research in the last few years, including mentoring and research awards from Dalhousie University, and research honours from Harvard University and the American Heart Association. Since founding nourish in 2017, Dr. Cahill has received 9 grants as principal investigator (82% success rate) and her students have received an impressive number of scholarships and awards, are publishing their work, and are supporting each other well as a team. She is very proud of her team! 

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Rachel Warren is our team's amazing Research Associate with advanced training in biostatistics and epidemiology. She earned her Master's degree at Dalhousie University in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, conducting research in our group. Her thesis research focused on the genetic and biologic factors that influence risk of heart disease in type 2 diabetes, and she received a  BrightRed Graduate Student Research Award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Previously, Rachel completed a BSc. co-op in Microbiology and Immunology at Dalhousie University, where she gained experience as a Research Assistant in a variety of settings including the Atlantic Centre for Transplantation Research, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and the Halifax Division of Infectious Diseases. 

Allie Carew (she/her) joined our team as a Research Associate in January 2018, and worked with us for two and a half years before starting her PhD in our group (to our delight!) in September 2020. Allie, who is both a Killam Scholar and a Loran Scholar, obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario in 2015 and her Master of Science degree in Community Health and Epidemiology from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2018. She is passionate about patient-centered iabetes research, and she is developing expertise in both qualitative and quantitative research methodology during her PhD work, for which she has received scholarships from CIHR, Killam, NS Graduate Scholarship program, and Heart and Stroke. She is currently completing a practicum at the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).

Samantha Lavallée (she/her) is a Master's student in Epidemiology and Applied Health Research at Dalhousie University. She moved to Halifax from Northern Ontario to pursue her Masters after completing two undergraduate degrees at Nipissing University: Bachelor of Science Honours Specialization Biology, and a Bachelor of Commerce. Her master's thesis project examines “Haptoglobin phenotype, intensive blood pressure control, and risk of incident cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, and stroke within the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes randomized control trial”. Samantha is currently working at Nova Scotia Health as part of the Implementation Science Team and she is a recipient of a 2022 CIHR Master's Scholarship and a Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation scholarship. 

Aran Thanamayooran (he/him) is a 2nd year master's student Epidemiology and Applied Health Research at Dalhousie University. For his thesis, he is co-supervised by Dr. Karthik Tennankore at the Kidney Research Institute of Nova Scotia to work on his project entitled, "effects of pre-transplant hemodialysis timing on post kidney transplant outcomes".  He has received a 2023 Dalhousie Faculty of Medicine Graduate Studentship. 

Shirley Peters is a Clinical Dietitian with Nova Scotia Health at Glace Bay Hospital. She is also working with our team as a the Study Coordinator for the More-2-Eat Nova Scotia Phase 2 research project! Shirley leads site champions throughout the province to implement the Integrated Nutrition Pathway for Acute Care to prevent hospital malnutrition in Nova Scotia. 

Laura Jimenez (she/her) is a Master’s student in Epidemiology and Applied Health Research at Dalhousie University. She moved to Halifax from Southern Ontario to pursue her master’s after completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Waterloo, obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Health Studies with a minor in Gerontology. Her master’s thesis project will examine the impact of pandemic income supplementation (CERB, etc.) on the prevalence and severity of food insecurity in Canada in 2018-2022 working with our team and Dr. Daniel Dutton. She is a recipient of a 2023 CIHR Master's Scholarship, among other scholarships and awards. 

Yan Huang is a successful restaurateur and experienced business counsellor driven by the vision of creating a community where all can belong and grow. She moved to Canada over 20 years ago and she works to coach and support immigrants who want to start or grow a business in Nova Scotia. She also leads newcomers’ conversation groups and volunteers at the Spencer House Senior Center. In her free time, she enjoys planting vegetables in the garden and hiking in the park. She is also an excellent home cook! 

Karen Tang (she/her) is a PhD Clinical Psychology student at Dalhousie University. Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Karen graduated in 2019 with a B.A. Honours degree in Psychology from the University of Calgary. Her current doctoral research is on addictive disorders (primarily behavioral such as video gaming), as well as comorbid psychiatric conditions, and sociocultural factors (e.g., stigma, culture). She is beyond thrilled to join the Nourish Team as a patient/public team member! 

Teal Burns (they/them) brings a background in Environmental Policy, complemented by undergraduate degrees in International Development Studies & Global Business Management. Currently they serve as a Program Lead for the Electrify Rebate Program at Clean Foundation, a non-profit organization in Nova Scotia. In this role, they oversee the distribution of electric bike and electric car rebates within the province. Teal has always had a strong interest in food, and enjoys cooking and baking in their spare time. During their Master's program, Teal's final research paper delved into the concept of "Policy for Sustainable Diets," with a specific focus on examining the viability of government intervention in promoting sustainable dietary choices as a strategy to mitigate GHG emissions. Through this work, Teal found strong connections between sustainable diets, improved health and reduced GHG emissions. Outside of work, Teal dedicates their time to volunteering for environmental and social causes and enjoys playing board games.

We have a panel of 10 public/patient partners with diverse lived experience who are part of our research team. They participate in every stage of our research, from designing research questions to planning studies, interpreting results, and sharing findings. They have all had patient-oriented research training from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). 

Hasan Alfarhan is a second year medical student at Dalhousie University on our team. He is conducting a study of nutrition advice in social media, specifically on Youtube.

Omar Altourah is a second year medical student at Dalhousie University on our team. He is co-designing a study of nutrition advice in social media on TikTok.

Dr. Ellen T. Crumley (she/her) has been working as a consultant with Dr. Leah Cahill on the FIA-Q10 questionnaire development Delphi process and validation. She recently started as the new Executive Director to transition Solutions for Kids in Pain to a Dalhousie research centre. Ellen has decades of multi-disciplinary strategic planning and evidence-based practice experience as a researcher, consultant, professor, librarian, and volunteer with universities, hospitals, health authorities, and non-profits. She is an Affiliate Scientist and volunteer with Nova Scotia Health and an Associate Scientist with the Maritime SPOR SUPPORT Unit. Serving as a Director on 3 local non-profit Boards has been eye-opening and given her a more well-rounded perspective. Ellen is deeply interested in the lived experiences of patients, their supporters, and health professionals. 

Brice Peters is a masters student in the Epidemiology and Applied Health Research program at Dalhousie University co-supervised with Dr. Sanja Stanojevic. His Masters thesis research is exploring whether there are commonly collected biomarkers that can explain why people with a respiratory condition have a higher prevalence of comorbidities. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and Mental Health at Carleton University in Ottawa Ontario. His research in his undergraduate degree focused on how gram-positive bacteria in our gut influenced the etiology of Parkinson’s disease. During Brice’s undergraduate degree, he learned valuable laboratory skills such as how to work with animals, safely handle viruses, and grow cell cultures.

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Keji is a gentle cocker spaniel and poodle mix who enjoys eating apple slices, napping on peoples' feet, and playing fetch. Her role on the team is to make us smile and relax.

Meghan Day is a registered dietitian who completed her master's degree at Dalhousie University in the Community Health and Epidemiology program in our research group. For her thesis, she worked in collaboration with the Kidney Research Institute of Nova Scotia to answer the question 'Do all-cause hospitalizations (time to first hospitalization, hospitalization rates, length of stay) differ between incident home dialysis patients receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD) compared to those receiving home hemodialysis (HHD) and have these patterns changed over time?' After graduating with her master's degree, she worked full time as a Research Associate in our group supporting the development of the Household Foodwork Intersectional Analysis Questionnaire (FIA-Q) while she secured a long-term position as an Epidemiologist with the government. 

Sidra is currently a fourth-year medical student at Dalhousie University. She did her undergraduate degree in Human Kinetics (Kinesiology) and then did a Master’s degree in Human Health & Nutritional Sciences, specifically in cardiorespiratory physiology, all at the University of Guelph. She also worked at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, where she developed her interest in preventative health and nutrition by conducting research on the health benefits of lentils. As part of the Nourish team, she worked with her classmate, Joe Loung, to complete a project assessing the credibility of top-selling nutrition books in Canada. One of her favourite parts of the project was disseminating the results to the public through media interviews. She really enjoyed her research project with Dr. Cahill and the Nourish team, and strongly encourages students to get involved with the team!

Joe Loung completed his research project with our research group as a medical student. He completed his BSc in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2016) and MSc in Pathology (2018) at Dalhousie University. With his interest in nutrition and public health, he and fellow medical student Sidra Sarfaraz sought out to see how reliable publicly available sources of nutrition information is. Joe is currently training in family medicine and hopes to continue to improve public education and critical thinking regarding nutrition and health in his career. 

Michelle George successfully defended her master's thesis at Dalhousie University in the Community Health and Epidemiology program in the summer of 2021. Her thesis work focused on eating timing and frequency and the risk of coronary heart disease. Previously, Michelle completed a BSc in Microbiology and Immunology at Dalhousie University where she also learned excellent wet lab skills during her senior thesis work. She is currently working at Dalhousie University in the Office of Global Health.

Emily Rosta is a Killam Scholar who joined our team as she completed master’s degree in Community Health and Epidemiology at Dalhousie University. Her thesis work aimed to determine how risk factors for malnutrition may differ based on rurality in community-dwelling older adults, using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Previously, Emily completed a BSc. in Human Nutrition at Saint Francis Xavier University, where she was involved in piloting the Gluten-Free Diet Study (GFDStudy) in Nova Scotia. Emily has also completed a BSc. in Mathematics at Cape Breton University. In general, Emily is interested in how aspects of our society may negatively contribute to health in unfair or avoidable ways. In her spare time, Emily strives to create a vibrant and sustainable local food economy through her work with the Pan Cape Breton Food Hub Co-operative and the Halifax Grainery Food Co-operative. She is currently working as a Research Associate.

Rachel was a master’s student in Community Health and Epidemiology at Dalhousie University in our research group. Her thesis research focused on the genetic and biologic factors that influence risk of heart disease in type 2 diabetes, and she received a  BrightRed Graduate Student Research Award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Previously, Rachel completed a BSc. co-op in Microbiology and Immunology at Dalhousie University, where she gained experience as a Research Assistant in a variety of settings including the Atlantic Centre for Transplantation Research, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Halifax Division of Infectious Diseases. She is currently working as a Research Associate in our group.

Our first graduate student, Katherine Eckert successfully defended her Master’s of Community Health and Epidemiology thesis entitled, "Meal regularity and mental health in Nova Scotian children"  in July 2019. They are a registered dietitian, graduating from the Nova Scotia Health Authority Graduate Dietetic Internship program in 2016 and BSc in Nutrition & Dietetics at Acadia University in 2015. They are currently pursuing a PhD in nutrition at the University of Guelph. They are interested in modifiable factors in the association between meal regularity and mental health within vulnerable populations including children and youth and the LGBTQ community.  

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Samiah Alam has a background in molecular biology and a future in public health. She worked with our team as a Co-op Research Associate for a 12-week term, which resulted in one first-authored journal article and two coauthored journal articles. She worked with data from the Global Burden of Disease Study to complete a project entitled 'Assessment of the burden of diseases and injuries attributable to risk factors in Canada from 1990 to 2016'.