Meet the Team
Dr. Marshall leads a diverse team that leverages a variety of skills and perspectives to conduct rigorous, meaningful health research.
Dr. Deborah Marshall, PhD – Professor
Dr. Deborah Marshall is a health economist and health services researcher leading a programme of applied research using patient preferences, patient engagement and simulation modelling methods. Dr. Marshall is also the Svare Chair in Health Economics, Value and Impact, University of Calgary.
Dr. Marshall leads the health economics, socioeconomic benefits, patient preferences and patient engagement activities for several national and international research programmes (funded by CIHR and/or Genome Canada as well as The Canada First Research Excellence Fund) in precision health and patient-oriented research to develop health economic tools and approaches to evaluate outcomes: 1) UCAN CAN-DU (Understanding Childhood Arthritis Network Canada-Netherlands) and 2) UCAN CURE (Precision Decisions for Childhood Arthritis personalized medicine networks in childhood arthritis combining genomic techniques, machine learning methods and simulation modelling to predict response to treatment and its associated health outcomes and economic impact; 3) SOLVE Care4Rare Canada - harnessing multi-omics to deliver innovative diagnostic care for rare genetic diseases; 4) TIGeR (Translational Implementation of Genomics for Rare diseases), partnership with Medical Genetics and Alberta Provincial Laboratory for the clinical application of genome wide sequencing; and 5) IMAGINE Strategy for Patient Oriented Research (SPOR) Chronic Disease Network (Inflammation, Microbiome, and Alimentation: Gastro-Intestinal and Neuropsychiatric Effects, CIHR SPOR) on inflammatory bowel disease and the microbiome. 6) OCEC (One Child Every Child) - Dr. Marshall is leading the Impact, Evaluation and Knowledge Mobilization Cross-cutting Accelerator of this national child health and wellness research initiative.
Dr. Marshall is the Principal Applicant of the CIHR Health Systems Impact Fellowship National Training Program - "Enhancing a Community of Practice for the Health System Impact Fellowship Program: Advancing Capacity for Sustainable & Patient-Centered Learning Health Systems across Canada" to create a community of practice towards achieving high-performing, patient-centered learning health systems across Canada. In addition, she is both the Svare Chair for Value and Impact in Child Health Research; and the Scientific Director, Research Evaluation, Partnership and Impact at Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI). Deborah is also the former chair of both the Arthur J.E. Child Chair of Rheumatology Outcomes Research; and Canada Research Chair, Health Services and Systems Research (2008 - 2018). Deborah also holds various memberships in University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services: 1) Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI) Member as well as Scientific Director of Research and Partnership Evaluation and Impact; 2) O’Brien Institute of Public Health Member; 3) McCaig Institute of Bone and Joint Health Member; 4) Senior Scientist at Arthritis Research Canada.
She is a Founding Member of the Global Economics and Evaluation of Clinical Genomics Sequencing Working Group (GEECS). Dr. Marshall is also a founding co-investigator of the innovative Patient and Community Engagement Research (PaCER) programme at the University of Calgary which trains patients to design and conduct health research, using specific adapted methods of qualitative inquiry. She is an active member of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) as the Past President of the Board of Directors, the Chair of the Dynamic Simulation Modeling Applications in Health Care Delivery Research Task Force and as a member of the Patient Preferences Special Interest Group, the Optimization Methods Task Force and co-author of related ISPOR Task Force Reports. She has also served as a member of the Board of Directors for Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) and is a member of the HTAi Patient Preferences Working Group. She was co-chair of the Scientific Research Committee and Board of Directors of the Arthritis Alliance of Canada (AAC), and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Alberta PROMs & EQ-5D Research & Support Unit (APERSU).
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8467-8008
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=HmWrRZEAAAAJ
Deborah Marshall | UCalgary Profiles | University of Calgary
Featured Awards and Honours
Dr. Deborah Marshall is recognized nationally as a Royal Society Canada Fellow; and as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. She also received a Killam Professorship Award, a CIHR Celebration of Excellence in Health Research Knowledge Translation Prize and the Dr. Jill M Sanders Award of Excellence in Health Technology Assessment Award from the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health (CADTH). Dr. Marshall was elected President, Board of Directors for the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), the leading professional organization in this field with 11,000 members worldwide.
Scholarly and Community Contributions
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International Academy for Health Preferences Research, tenured member
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International Health Economics Association (iHEA), member
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Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi), Founding Board of Directors
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International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), member
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International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), Student Council Faculty Advisor, member
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Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM), member
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Health Affairs, Deputy Editor, 2023 to present
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International Journal for Technology Assessment in Health Care, Editorial Board, 1998 to present
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The Patient, 2010 to present
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International Groups
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Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) Patient and Community Interest Group (PCIG), ___ to present
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Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) Patient Preference Working Group (PPWG), ___ to present
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Founding Member, GEECs (The Global Economics and Evaluation of Clinical Genomics Sequencing Working Group), 2017 to present
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Panel Member, UCAN (Understanding Childhood Arthritis Network, 2017 to present
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Member, Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi), Board of Directors, 2013 to present
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Scientific and Organising Committee, Conjoint Analysis in Health Care (CAHC) Conference, Florida, 2012
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Scientific Committee, Conjoint Analysis in Health Care (CAHC) Conference, Newport Beach, CA, October 3-8, 2010, Member 2009-2010
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Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Working Group member, US National Cancer Institute, January 2010 to present
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CADTH/NCIC Working Group on Guidelines for Economic Evaluation in Oncology, 2006 to 2009
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Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi), founding Board Director, 2003-2004 (elected)
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Scientific Program Committee, member, International HTAi Annual Meeting in Krakow, Poland, 2004
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International Society for Technology Assessment in Health Care (ISTAHC), Board Director, 1998 to 2003 (elected)
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ISTAHC Board liaison to Special Purpose Interest Group on Information Resources, 1998-2000
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ISTAHC Education Committee Chair, 2000-2003 (elected)
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ISTAHC Education committee member, 1998-2000 (elected)
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International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment, representative for The Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care, 1993-95
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Organizing Committee and Local Working Group for the Eleventh International Meeting of the International Society for Technology Assessment in Health Care, 1993-95
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Coordination and Development of Health Care Technology Assessment in Europe (EUR-ASSESS), Subcommittee on Dissemination and Evaluation of Impact, 1993-96
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National Groups
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Co-Founder, Patient and Community Engagement Research (PaCER) Advisory Group, 2019 to present
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Council of Canadian Academies Workshop on Gene Therapies, 2019 to present
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Co-Chair, Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research (CAHSPR) Program Committee for 2020 CASHPR Meeting
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Member, Canadian Institutes of Health Research College of Reviewers
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Panel Member, Arthritis Society Strategic Operating Grant Review Committee, 2016
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Scientific Committee Co-Chair, Arthritis Alliance of Canada, 2015
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Arthritis Alliance of Canada Research Committee, National Framework for Improving Pan-Canadian Co-operation and Co-ordination for Arthritis, December 2011 to present
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CIHR Institute of Genetics and CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research, Health Services for Genetic Diseases Priority & Planning Committee, Member 2010 to Present
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Local Groups
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Co-PI, SPOR IMAGINE Project with Paul Moayyedi
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Chair, O’Brien Institute of Public Health, Internal Peer Review Committee 2019 - Present
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Member, UofC Strategic University Proposal and Platform Opportunity Review Team (SUPPORT) Committee, 2019
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Member, Health Economics Scholar (Fellowship) and Graduate (Internship) Evaluation Committee, 2017
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Member, UofC CRC Support – Chair & Professorships Committee, 2017
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Member, McCaig Research Committee, 2016
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Neutral Chair, UofC Community Health Sciences Student Thesis Defense, 2015
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Member, Division of Rheumatology -- University of Calgary, April 2013
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AHFMR Osteoarthritis Team Grant, Training Committee Member, 2010 to Present
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Alberta Improvements for Musculoskeletal Disorders Study (AIMS) member, Scientific Committee, 2003
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The Nordic Cochrane Centre, Advisory Board, 1993-94
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Member, ISPOR Measuring Patient Preferences Task Force, 2020
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Member, ISPOR Optimization Methods Emerging Good Practices Task Force -Application of Constrained Optimization Methods: Report 2 of the ISPOR Optimization Task Force, ISPOR, 2016 to 2018
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Chair, ISPOR Simulation Modeling Emerging Good Practices Task Force - Selecting a Dynamic Simulation Modeling Method for Health Care Delivery Research, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, 2015 to 2016
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Member, ISPOR Optimization Methods Emerging Good Practices Task Force -Constrained Optimization Methods in Health Services Research—An Introduction, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, 2015 to 2016
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Member, ISPOR Conjoint Analysis Good Research Practices Task Force - Statistical Methods for the Analysis of Discrete Choice Experiments, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, 2014 to 2016
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Chair, ISPOR Simulation Modeling Emerging Good Practices Task Force - Applying Dynamic Simulation Modeling Methods in Health Care Delivery Research—The SIMULATE Checklist, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, 2014 to 2015
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Member, ISPOR Good Research Practices for Conjoint Analysis Task Force - Conjoint Analysis Applications in Health—a Checklist, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, 2009 to 2011
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Member, ISPOR Conjoint Analysis Experimental Design Good Research Practices Task Force - Constructing Experimental Designs for Discrete-Choice Experiments, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, 2011 to 2013
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Member, ISPOR, Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) Special Interest Group: Patient Preference Methods – Conjoint Analysis Working Group, 2007 to present
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Member, ISPOR Task Force on Real World Data in Coverage and Reimbursement Decisions, 2004-2006
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Co-Chair, ISPOR Task Force Review Committee, 2019
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Chair, ISPOR Avedis Donabedian Outcomes Research Achievement Lifetime Awards Committee, 2017 to present
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Chair, ISPOR Nominations Committee, Board of Directors, 2014 to present
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Chair, ISPOR Health Science Policy Council, Board of Directors, 2015 to present
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Past-President, Board of Directors, ISPOR, 2013 to 2014
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President, Board of Directors, ISPOR, 2012 to 2013
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President-Elect, Board of Directors, ISPOR, May 2011 to May 2013
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ISPOR, Co-chair, Scientific Program Committee for 2007 meeting, 2006
Staff
Gillian R. Currie, PhD – Associate Director
Dr. Gillian Currie is Associate Director, Health Economics Research with Dr. Marshall’s research team. She also holds an Adjunct Associate Professor position with the Department of Paediatrics and the Department of Community Health Sciences. Gillian trained in economics at Yale University, with additional postdoctoral training in health economics at the University of Calgary. Prior to joining Dr. Marshall’s team in 2018, Gillian was a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics, with a joint appointment in Community Health Sciences. She brings twenty years of research experience in child health and economics to the Marshall team. Dr. Currie is a member of the International Association of Health Preferences Research (IAPHR), and a member of the Honorary International Editorial Board of the journal The Patient-Patient Centred Outcome Research.
A key focus of her current work is on childhood arthritis, including examining parent and child preferences regarding discontinuation of biologic treatment. Gillian is passionate about mentorship and supporting the postdocs, trainees and staff on the team.
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4681-9893
Karen MacDonald, MPH – Research Manager
Karen MacDonald is a Research Manager and Research Scientist at the University of Calgary in the field of health services and health economics research. Since 2012, Karen’s research within Dr. Marshall’s team has focused on stated preference methods and patient health preferences. Karen manages numerous large scale national and international grant funded research projects using stated preferences research methods. She has experience in the design, administration and analysis of stated preferences methods in diverse patient populations and a range of health care topics.
In addition to her role as a Research Scientist, Karen functions as the team’s Research Manager, working with Dr. Gillian Currie and Dr. Deborah Marshall to support the research team and the research projects conducted within the team.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7739-4296
Scopus: https://scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=56379666500
Cassandra McLaughlin – Administrative Coordinator
Cassandra completed her Applied Business Technology Certificate at Okanagan College in Kelowna, B.C. She has been working with Dr. Marshall’s team since 2009 helping with literature findings, accounting, grant applications, and more.
Cassandra McLaughlin | UCalgary Profiles | University of Calgary
Shakib Rahman, MSc – Senior Research Associate
Shakib completed his Masters in Experimental Medicine (Neurology) from the University of Alberta in 2011. He has since worked in clinical research in cardiology, neurology, and orthopedics. Shakib has worked at the Edmonton Arthroplasty clinic for five years, as researcher on the BEST Knee research project and then as an analyst for the clinic. He has a detailed knowledge of how the clinic works and has integrated and implemented various research projects within the clinic setting, including helping devise a conservative management program still in use.
In addition, Shakib also worked for the provincial government for three years. as part of a clinical analytics unit where he created reports on key performance indicators from administrative data for senior leaders and directors. These reports highlight areas of strength and potential improvements in the healthcare system targeted towards healthcare delivery, capacity, accessibility, and appropriateness. While there, he managed a team of analysts and developed project roadmaps for new reporting and analytics tools and software platforms for the department.
Now back with Dr. Marshall’s team, Shakib is supporting various projects related to osteoarthritis.
Toni Tagimacruz, PhD – Research Analyst
Dr. Toni Tagimacruz holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering, Master’s Degrees in Information Technology and in Management Engineering from St. Louis University in the Philippines and a Doctoral degree in Operation Management from the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary (PhD thesis title: “Queueing analysis of two healthcare systems where physician activity is offloaded to supporting health professionals).
Toni researches healthcare operations management, focusing on stochastic operations research model building and applications as a tool for decision making. Her current research is centred around modelling and analyzing centralized referral intake systems in the Calgary rheumatoid arthritis clinic and for the Edmonton general surgery referrals.
Brittany Gerber, MA – Senior Research Associate
Brittany completed her master’s degree in Sociology at the University of Calgary in 2012, where she explored discourse surrounding animal use at the Calgary Stampede through interviews and a content analysis of local media. Since graduating, Brittany has been involved in health research through roles with Alberta Health Services, the University of Calgary, and Medlior Health Outcomes Research Ltd.
Within the team, Brittany draws on her passion for research methodology and evidence synthesis to help conduct research.
Trevor Seeger, MSc – Research Analyst, Data Science Specialist
Trevor completed Master's Degrees in Clinical Neuroscience and in Data Science and Analytics (MDSA) at the University of Calgary. Trevor's neuroscience graduate research explored the relationship between persistent pediatric brain injury symptoms and neuronal response to non-invasive magnetic brain stimulation in his master’s thesis. He then went on to work in Cardiac Electrophysiology and Orthopedic Surgery Clinical research labs. As part of the MDSA, he completed an internship using unsupervised machine earning techniques to investigate patient care pathways and resource use in rare diseases.
His other work in the lab includes coordinating projects for big data management and analysis systems, point of contact for data analysis issues, and liaising for multisite/interprovincial studies.
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5280-7696
Simron Sidhu, BS – Training Program & Research Associate
As a training program and research associate with the team, Simron is helping to coordinate the prestigious CIHR National Cohort Training Program (NCTP). Simron’s academic background is in Cellular, Molecular and Microbial Biology, complemented by ongoing studies in Patient Engagement in Research. Having contributed to research projects addressing youth mental health and the equitable involvement of immigrant populations in research, Simron is committed to provincial and national quality improvement initiatives in patient safety.
Nicolle Hua, MSGC – Research Associate
Nicolle completed her Bachelor of Science in Cellular, Molecular and Microbial Biology at the University of Calgary and her Master of Genetic Counselling at the University of Melbourne in Australia. From the master’s program, she received clinical training in helping patients and families to be fully informed of genetic conditions and testing. Her master’s research project explored the current landscape of stem cell science in genetic counselling and the feasibility of introducing a new subspecialty, with an emphasis on stem cells, in the profession.
Nicolle draws on her genetic and research background to support the team’s research endeavours across several studies. She is interested in public health and health economics in the context of genomic medicine to support and advocate for patients, families, and healthcare professionals of genetic and rare diseases.
Rodrigo Dal Ben, PhD - Senior Research Analyst
Dr. Rodrigo Dal Ben is joining Dr. Marshall’s research team in January 2024 as a Senior Research Analyst. Rodrigo trained in psychology at The Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil, and at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He also had postdoctoral research training on open science at Concordia University, Montreal, and a Data Science certification from HarvardX. Currently, Rodrigo is a faculty member of Ambrose University, Calgary, where he teaches research methods, applied statistics, and child development. Rodrigo brings years of experience in data management and quantitative data analysis to the team and his work will focus on outcomes from the UCAN-CAN-DU network.
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2185-8762
Personal website: https://roddalben.github.io/
Postdoctoral Associates
Carina Oedingen, PhD- Postdoctoral Associate
Dr. Carina Oedingen joined the team in April 2024 as a Postdoctoral Associate in the Eyes High Postdoctoral Match-Funding Program at the University of Calgary. She holds a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, a master’s degree in public health from the University of Bielefeld and a doctoral degree in public health (summa cum laude) from the Hanover Medical School in Germany. In her PhD project, which she finished by the end of 2022, she investigated public preferences regarding the allocation of scarce deceased organ donors using discrete choice experiments. During the PhD thesis, she worked as a research associate at the Hannover Medical School. After her PhD, she joined as a Postdoc the Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
Her research is focused on stated preference methods and eliciting patient preferences. She has experience in the conduct, design, and analysis of health preference research in various topics and diverse populations. She is interested in how stakeholders make decisions and how these can be incorporated in health-policy making aiming to improve people’s health and the healthcare system.
She also is a member of the International Academy of Health Preference Research (IAHPR), of the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) and of the European Public Health Association (EUPHA), as well as of the German Society for Public Health (DGPH) and of the German Society for Health Economics (DGGÖ).
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5070-284X
Ana Claudia Fuhrmann, PhD – Postdoctoral Associate
Ana is a nurse by training with eight years of experience working with hospitalized patients in Brazil. She completed her master’s degree in 2019 and her PhD in 2023 at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Her dissertation focused on the cost-effectiveness of two treatments for venous ulcers. As part of her doctoral program, she also had the opportunity to complete a research visit and training at the University of Alberta.
Ana’s research interests center around the intersection of quantitative and qualitative methodologies in healthcare research, particularly in the context of chronic diseases. She has been focused on economic evaluation studies, patient-reported outcome measures and person-centered care.
PhD Students
Master's Degree Students
Former Trainees
Solomon Tarfasa Faro, PhD – Postdoctoral Associate
Solomon is a Postdoctoral Associate with Dr. Marshalls team working on the health preferences research. Trained in environmental economics at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam), he specialized in the development, testing, and application of discrete choice experiments to inform environmental policy and decision-making. Before his current role, Dr. Solomon engaged in teaching and research at Hawassa University, Ethiopia, where he covered both graduate and undergraduate courses in economics. With over a decade of experience in preference studies and economics, Dr. Solomon brings a significant breadth of knowledge and expertise to the team.
His work with the team focuses on designing, analyzing, and interpreting health-related preferences data using discrete choice experiments.
Adrijana D'Silva, PhD - Postdoctoral Associate
Dr. Adrijana D'Silva is a Health System Impact Fellow with the Primary Health Care Integration Network Strategic Clinical Network, Alberta Health Services. She is a health services researcher by training specializing in digestive diseases and chronic disease management. In 2022 she completed her PhD in Health Services Research from the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary. Adrijana is passionate about healthy living and inspiring others to improve their physical and mental well-being. She is interested in working with patients and their healthcare providers to design, implement, and evaluate complex healthcare interventions and clinical care pathways.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1976-7685
Darren Mazzei, MPT – PhD '23
Darren received a Master of Physical Therapy from the University of Saskatchewan and Bachelor of Science, Kinesiology from the University of Victoria. He is interested in using health economics methodology to inform resource decisions in Alberta’s learning health system. Darren’s thesis project is conducting an economic evaluation of the Good Life with Osteoarthritis in Denmark (GLA:D) program to estimate the value for money and affordability of first-line therapies for people living with osteoarthritis in Alberta. This research will provide foundational knowledge to support decision-makers as they strive to achieve the quadruple aim: better outcomes, better experiences, better quality, and better value for money.
Funding
- 2019 - 2022 Arthritis Society Training Graduate PhD Salary Award
- 2018 - 2022 Cumming School of Medicine Graduate Student Scholarship
- 2018 Mitacs Accelerate Internship
Awards
- 2020 Canada Bone and Joint Conference Presenter Award – Top Presenter in MSK Rehab Research Award
- 2020 McCaig Institute Open Access Fund
- 2020 MDCH 1st Author Publication Award Application
- 2019 3 Minute Thesis – University of Calgary Top 10 Finalist
Elena Lopatina, MD, PhD – Postdoctoral Associate
Dr. Elena Lopatina is a Health System Impact Fellow with the Alberta Pain Strategy, Alberta Health Services. She is a physician by training, specialized in Internal Medicine and Cardiology, and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Management and Economics. In 2021 she completed her PhD in Health Economics from the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary.
She is interested in the evaluation of complex healthcare interventions such as models of care delivery and clinical pathways. She brings an in-depth understanding of health systems provincially, nationally and internationally, clinical knowledge and extensive experience in applied health economics and health services research.
Funding
- 2021 Canadian Institutes of Health Research Health System Impact Post Doctoral Fellowship
- 2019 - 2022 Canadian Institutes of Health Research Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Scholarships – Doctoral Award (CGS-D)
Awards
- 2018 Arthritis Alliance of Canada Research Excellence PhD Student Award.
- 2019 - 2022 Canadian Institutes of Health Research Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Scholarships – Doctoral Award (CGS-D)
- 2018 - 2019 Canadian Institutes of Health Research Health System Impact Fellowship
- 2017 International Society For Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Student Travel Grant
- 2017 Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) Student Travel Award
- 2017 - 2019 Mitacs Accelerate Internship Award
- 2016 International Society For Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Student Travel Grant
- 2016 - 2017 Queen Elizabeth II Graduate (Master's) Scholarship
Xiaoxiao Liu, PhD – Postdoctoral Associate
As a health geographer and health services researcher, Dr. Xiaoxiao Liu is passionate about health equity in access to care and determinants of health with the application spatial analysis, statistics, epidemiological analysis, and geographical information systems. Xiaoxiao’s research focuses on how the determinants of health affect health care utilization and health care accessibility. Currently, Xiaoxiao is a Health System Impact Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Calgary, embedded within the Primary Health Care Integration Network within Alberta Health Services. Xiaoxiao’s project aims to improve access to care for patients with rheumatoid arthritis by identifying service gaps between primary and specialty care.
She developed a geospatial framework to analyze the spatial pattern of the prevalence of osteoarthritis, comorbidities, rheumatoid arthritis, health care utilization and accessibility. Her work examined associations of health outcomes with built environment, socioeconomic status, indigenous ethnicity, and rural-urban status.
Xiaoxiao completed her Ph.D. in Geography from the Department of Geography, University of Calgary, with a research interest in the effect of air pollution on myocardial infarction. She held a Master of Engineering in Cartography and Geographic Information Science, and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2479-897X
Funding
- 2021 - 2023 Health System Impact Postdoctoral Fellowship
- 2018 - 2020 O’Brien Institute of Public Health Postdoctoral Scholarship
- 2018 - 2020 McCaig Institute Postdoctoral Scholarship
- 2018 - 2020 Cumming School of Medicine Postdoctoral Scholarship
- 2012 - 2016 Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarships-Alberta Innovates
- 2015 Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship
Awards
- 2017 Best Presentation-Spatial Knowledge Information Canada 2017 Conference
- 2016 Faculty of Graduate Studies Travel Award, University of Calgary
- 2013 - 2016 Geography Excellence Awards, University of Calgary
Stephen Cantarutti, PhD – Postdoctoral Associate
Stephen's PhD research followed two primary tracks, both in the broader domain of behaviours in health: trust in healthcare systems and alcohol attentional bias. Stephen's research attempted to address two primary questions, corresponding to the two subject areas: how can healthcare systems communicate in ways that engender trust amongst patients; and can social priming effectively induce alcohol attentional bias? Stephen's thesis was entitled, Behaviours in Health: Assessing Trust and Attentional Bias in Health-Related Contexts.
Prior to completing his PhD, Stephen successfully completed his MSc in Behavioural Economics at City, University of London, earning his degree, with merit, after submitting his dissertation entitled, Controlling Alcohol Attentional Bias: Can Social Priming Induce AAB?
Finally, Stephen is also a graduate of the Schulich School of Business at York University, having completed his Bachelor's of Business Administration in 2016 with degree specializations in both Economics and Organizational Behaviour.
In his postdoctoral research, Stephen is interested in building a bridge between existing behavioural research and health preferences work, explored specifically through discreet choice experiments.
Sarah Cooper, BIE – MSc '22
Sarah completed her Bachelor’s Degree in International Economics at the University of British Columbia. Her seminal paper looked at the effect of birth spacing on child health in Ethiopia using a Demographic Health Survey dataset.
Sarah’s master’s thesis seeks to evaluate the key performance indicators in juvenile idiopathic arthritis to improve quality of care. This research includes conducting an extensive electronic chart review to evaluate the feasibility of measuring these key performance indicators in routinely collected data.
Funding
- 2020 - 2022 Genome Canada funded UCAN-CURE Precision Decisions for Childhood Arthritis
Awards
- 2021 MDCH Achievement Award
- 2020 MDCH Graduate Program Entrance Award
Luiza Grazziotin, MSc – PhD '22
Luiza earned a MSc in Cardiovascular Sciences and a BSc in Pharmacy from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, located in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Her master’s research project involved measuring the incidence of cardiotoxicity in patients diagnosed with breast cancer being treated with trastuzumab, a biologic therapy.
Her research interests include simulation modeling, personalized medicine, and treatment of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Her project is focused on juvenile idiopathic arthritis personalized care using simulation modeling and cost-effectiveness analysis.
Funding
- 2020 - 2022 Alberta Innovates Graduate Studentship
- 2020 - 2021 Eyes High International Doctoral Scholarship
- 2018 - 2019 Training Graduate PhD Salary Award
- 2017 - 2018 Strategy Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) Studentship
Awards
- 2021 Best abstract by Post-Graduate Trainee at Canadian Rheumatology Conference
- 2020 Alberta Children Health Research Institute Trainee Research Visit
- 2020 Canadian Agency for Drug and Technologies in Health Symposium Travel Grant
- 2019 Community Health Sciences First Author Award
- 2019 Community Health Sciences Achievement Award
- 2018 International Health Technology Assessment Meeting Travel Grant
- 2018 International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Travel Award
- 2017 Canadian Agency for Drug and Technologies in Health Symposium Travel Grant
Bryanne Kennedy, BS – MSc '21
Bryanne completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and a Minor in Business at St. Mary’s University. Her capstone research project involved designing a lab that crossed over between introductory chemistry and biology. It was centred around zinc hyperaccumulation in plants and the applications for phytoremediation.
Her research interests include stated preference methods (such as discrete choice experiments) and the non-surgical management of osteoarthritis. Her master’s thesis research seeks to understand what people with hip and knee osteoarthritis consider when choosing non-surgical management strategies and to explore their beliefs about who and what influences their OA symptoms and progression. This research involves conducting formative qualitative work, including semi-structured interviews with patients, that will inform a subsequent discrete choice experiment.
Funding
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2019 - 2021 CIHR grant: "Towards a patient-centered system: Integrating preferences of patients with osteoarthritis into evaluation of health services interventions to improve patient outcomes and health system efficiency"
Awards
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2021 Faculty of Graduate Studies Achievement Award
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2021 William H. Davies Medical Research Scholarship (declined)
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2021 University of Calgary Graduate Studies Scholarship
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2020 John William Cooke Graduate Scholarship
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2020 Faculty of Graduate Studies Achievement Award
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2019 ACHRI Research Trainee Visit Award
Claire EH Barber, MD - PhD '15
Dr. Claire Barber is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Calgary in the Departments of Medicine (Division of Rheumatology) and Community Health Sciences.
Glen Hazlewood, MD, PhD '16, FRCPC
Dr. Glen Hazlewood is a practicing rheumatologist and clinician scientist. Currently an Associate Professor within the Department of Medicine, he completed his rheumatology training in 2010 at the University of Calgary and his PhD in clinical epidemiology through the University of Toronto in 2016.