PhD students
Katie Chong
Katie鈥檚 research interests are rooted in the relationships between human, environment, and community health, and draw on her experience in the health and global health sciences. Under the supervision of professor Nil Basu, her thesis focuses on designing human health and ecological risk assessment approaches that prioritize the perspectives and contexts of Indigenous rightsholders and advance multidisciplinary collaboration. This work is part of a larger project co-led by the Kanien'keh谩ka Nation of Kanesatake aiming to advance new environmental assessment methods to be adapted for, lead by, and ultimately benefit the communities in which they are used.
Revathi Sahajpal
Revathi obtained her Bachelor鈥檚 in Nutritional Sciences from Panjab University, India in 2015 and her Masters in Human Nutrition from 捆绑SM社区 in 2019. Post her master鈥檚 she joined professor Treena Delormier鈥檚 and professor Brittany Jock鈥檚 Indigenous Food Circle in Winter 2020 for pursuing her doctoral studies. Revathi鈥檚 doctoral project is a part of a cross Canada research study looking at the nutrition, health, and environment of First Nations Children and Youth between the ages of 3 to 19 called the Food, Environment, Health, and Nutrition of First Nations Children and Youth (FEHNCY) study. Revathi believes that food holds much more meaning than diet and nutrition, it is associated with history, relationships, culture, and sense of community that makes it an integral part of identity. In her Ph.D. she aims to understand First Nations food environment as an experience that shapes food access through community engagement and building relationships with participating First Nations.
Mathilde Lapointe St-Pierre
Since 2020, Mathilde Lapointe St-Pierre has been a full-time Wildlife Biologist at the Nunavik Research Centre (NRC), under Makivik Corporation, in Kuujjuaq. She leads multiple research projects, including her Ph.D. work on Atlantic walruses, as well as studies on beaver range expansion and Arctic charr monitoring. Her work focuses on integrating Inuit perspectives and traditional knowledge into scientific research, ensuring that Nunavimmiut priorities and insights are central to conservation and wildlife management efforts. Her Ph.D. research, supervised by Murray Humphries and Kyle Elliott, examines walrus habitat use and foraging behavior in the Hudson Strait. Atlantic walrus have been a significant part of Inuit culture and traditional activities for generations. To inform her research, Mathilde conducted interviews with local experts from communities in the Hudson Strait, gathering invaluable insights into walrus ecology and climate change. Using biologgers, her project explores how shifting sea ice conditions affect walrus movement and habitat use. She is also investigating walrus meat quality to help ensure food safety for Inuit communities. This community-based project is guided by Inuit knowledge and carried out in collaboration with local hunters.
Elizabeth Hern谩ndez-Castellanos
Elizabeth holds an M.Sc. in Human Nutrition (mother-child orientation) and a B.Sc. in Nutrition from the Universidad de Guadalajara in M茅xico. She has worked on research projects related to Nutrition Status in pregnant adolescents and Food Security in communities of Food Banks in Jalisco, M茅xico. Her interests include malnutrition in all its forms, including obesity, undernutrition, and the health effects of climate change, the synergy of epidemics that share underlying societal drivers. Elizabeth's current work focuses on participatory community-based interventions towards a positive impact on feeding practices and women's health in M茅xico.
Krystel Haydamous
Krystel holds a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from Notre Dame University, Lebanon, and a Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from Universit茅 de Moncton, Canada. She worked as a clinical dietitian and lecturer for eight years in Lebanon, where she gained extensive experience in nutrition counseling, dietary education, and public health initiatives. Currently, Krystel is pursuing a PhD in Human Nutrition at 捆绑SM社区 under the supervision of Dr. Hugo Melgar-Qui帽onez. Her doctoral research is centered on cultural food insecurity among Levantine immigrants in Canada, with a specific focus on understanding the sociocultural, economic, and environmental factors that influence their dietary habits. She aims to explore how adherence to traditional diets impacts nutritional health and well-being within immigrant communities. Through her work, she aspires to inform policies and programs that promote food security and cultural integration in diverse populations.
Msc Students
Ferial Hamdi
Ferial is currently pursuing her Master鈥檚 degree at 捆绑SM社区 School of Human Nutrition. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Sciences from Azad University, Tehran, where her passion for working with quantitative methods and recognizing the significance of social and behavioral approaches in research in partnership with marginalized populations took root. Ferial is actively engaged in several studies, including FEHNCY. Her thesis focuses on characterizing the food environments of First Nations' communities in Canada through latent class analysis.
Shabnam Hosseini
Shabnam holds Bachelor鈥檚 in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (Iran). In 2019, she obtained her Master of Business Administration from Tehran Business School (Iran). Shabnam has almost eight years of research experience in Iran, developing and implementing surveys, and working as a nutritionist at hospitals and her own office in Iran. She is currently pursuing her MSc at the School of Human Nutrition, 捆绑SM社区. Her research uses a mixed-methods approach to explore and understand neglected micronutrient deficiencies among women in rural Eastern Region of Ghana. She is eager to work in international institutions and help improve the well-being of women.
Mikaela Borgeaud LeBlanc
Mikaela completed her B. Sc. in life sciences with a specialization in animal biology at Mcgill University. Under the supervision of Murray Humphries, she is now completing her master's degree studying moose calving behaviour in the Cree territory of Eeyou Istchee in Northern Quebec. In this region, moose are a key subsistence species and impacts of forestry-related and natural disturbances on moose behaviour led to a collaborative co-knowledge production project named 鈥淢oose habitat quality in Eeyou Istchee Under the Adapted Forestry Regime鈥�. Camera and GPS collars were attached to moose located via helicopter and are being used to record 20-second videos and GPS locations of cow-moose which help describe calving behaviours, including date-of-calving, space use and habitat selection.
Ekua Manful
Ekua is currently pursuing her master鈥檚 degree at the School of Human Nutrition. She holds an MBA in Marketing and a BSc in Nutrition & Food Science from the University of Ghana. With extensive experience at Nestl茅 as a nutritionist, Ekua is passionate about influencing good food choices in socioeconomically diverse communities. She aims to provide nutritional interventions that improve well-being using local and culturally relevant healthy foods without financial strain. Her research focuses on 鈥楢ssessing Kahnaw脿:ke schools' readiness to revitalize primary prevention of Type 2 Diabetes鈥�. Ekua has excelled in roles such as consumer education, training sales teams, and promoting healthier eating in the food industry. Her voluntary work and commitment to public education highlight her dedication to empowering communities with knowledge-based nutritional choices. She aspires to lead in implementing nutritional solutions globally, especially in Indigenous communities and her home country.
Caroline Hunziker听
Caroline is a Registered Dietitian and has been a member of the Ordre des di茅t茅tistes-nutritionnistes du Qu茅bec (ODNQ) since 2023. She holds a Bachelor鈥檚 in Nutritional Sciences with a Dietetics Major from 捆绑SM社区. Throughout her bachelor鈥檚 degree, Caroline has participated in various volunteering initiatives and community-based work, where she developed a strong interest in health equity and the social determinants of health. Currently, Caroline works as a clinical nutritionist at the Villa Medica Rehabilitation Hospital while pursuing her Master鈥檚 in Human Nutrition at 捆绑SM社区, supervised by Professor Treena Delormier. Caroline鈥檚 work focuses on cultural safety practices within dietetics education and training offered at 捆绑SM社区, specifically regarding the Indigenous Peoples of Quebec.
Ana Maria Maldonado
My name is Ana Maria Maldonado, and I鈥檓 from Monterrey, Mexico. I graduated with a B.A. in Nutrition and Wellness from the Tec de Monterrey, and I am currently in my first year of the MSc. Human Nutrition (Thesis). I am part of Dr. Hugo Melgar-Qui帽onez鈥檚 laboratory research group, where my thesis project focuses on food insecurity and obesity in Mexican school-aged children. The aim of my study is to evaluate the association of food insecurity with overweight and obesity in children (aged 5-11 years) in Mexico through a retrospective longitudinal study, utilizing National Health and Nutrition Survey Data (ENSANUT) from 2020-2023. Additionally, I aim to determine whether the consumption of ultra-processed foods mediates this relationship.
Alumni
Jolian Wong
Jolian graduated with a B.Sc. in dietetics in 2019 at 捆绑SM社区. Since, she has gained experience working in clinical nutrition and foodservice management. She has also completed master's thesis under the supervision of professor Jock which focused on the application of knowledge from research findings with First Nations communities to inform policies and programs. After completing her master's, she now continues to work with professor Jock as a research assistant.
Patrick Gibeau
Patrick is a master鈥檚 student supervised by Murray Humphries. He is currently living in Whitehorse to help generate knowledge on the Summer Range of the Porcupine Caribou herd located in the Northern Yukon. This area is ecologically, nutritionally, and culturally important to the Inuvialuit and Gwich鈥檌n people, and it faces uncertain ecosystem trajectories in the era of climate change. Northern communities are concerned with climate-driven increases in moose abundance and whether their movement into tundra ecosystems will drive a change in predator-prey systems, potentially resulting in adverse consequences for the culturally important Porcupine Caribou Herd. Patrick鈥檚 research aims to better understand the mechanisms of ongoing change within the predator-prey relationships of wolves, to help decision-makers understand system shifts and their impacts on wildlife, people, and habitats.
听
Research Trainees
听