STUDY TEAM

MEET THE TEAM

The talented people who work diligently to bring this toolkit to you. 

Dr. Sander L. Hitzig

Dr. Sander L. Hitzig

PhD, Principal Investigator

Dr. Sander Hitzig is the Program Research Director and a Senior Scientist at the St. John’s Rehab Research Program at the Sunnybrook Research Institute (Toronto, Ontario). He is also an Associate Professor (Status Appointment) in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute (Temerty Faculty of Medicine) at the University of Toronto. He is a founding member of the Accelerating Accessibility Coalition. Dr. Hitzig’s research interests include understanding and identifying factors that promote health and well-being in the community following disability.
Dr. Chester Ho

Dr. Chester Ho

MD, Co-Investigator

Dr. Chester Ho is a Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and Endowed Chair of Spinal Cord Injury Research at the University of Alberta. He is also the Facility Medical Director at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital and Senior Medical Director of the Alberta Health Services Neurosciences, Rehabilitation & Vision Strategic Clinical Network. Dr. Ho has a clinical and research interest in the delivery of health service and rehabilitation of persons with spinal cord injury, as well as the management and rehabilitation of complications following spinal cord injury. 
Dr. Sara Guilcher

Dr. Sara Guilcher

PhD, Co-Investigator

Dr. Sara Guilcher is the Principal Investigator and Scientific Director of the Optimizing Health and Healthcare Experiences (OPTI-HEx) Laboratory.  She is an Associate Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto and holds graduate appointments in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. Dr. Guilcher’s research focuses on self-management support and self-management health behaviors, rehabilitation, aging, and quality of life.
Dr. Krista Best

Dr. Krista Best

Ph.D, Co-Investigator

Dr. Krista Best is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation at Université Laval and a Researcher at Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation / Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation in Laval, Quebec. Dr. Best’s research focuses on mobility and adapted physical activity at home and in the community to improve social participation and general health.
Dr. Jeremie Larouche

Dr. Jeremie Larouche

MD, FRCSC, Co-Investigator

Dr. Jeremie Larouche is a Staff Physician and Researcher in the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery and Spine Surgery at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Dr. Larouche’s clinical expertise is in the area of spinal surgery and orthopedic trauma.
Dr. Christine Sheppard

Dr. Christine Sheppard

PhD, Co-Investigator

Dr. Christine Sheppard is a Researcher at Wellesley Institute in Toronto, Ontario. Dr. Sheppard is a trained Social Worker and Credentialed Evaluator with expertise in participatory action research and knowledge translation for urban housing and health. Her work focuses on the promotion of health equity, social inclusion, and well-being for older adults.
Dr. Anita Kaiser

Dr. Anita Kaiser

PhD, Co-Investigator

Dr. Anita Kaiser is a Scientific Associate at Spinal Cord Injury Mobility Lab at UHN’s KITE Research Institute in Toronto, Ontario and is also the Director of Research at the Canadian Spinal Research Organization. She completed a Master of Science and a Doctorate degree specializing in activity-based therapy at the University of Toronto. Dr. Kaiser has mentored over 80 individuals with spinal cord injury through the Peer Support program at Spinal Cord Injury Ontario and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre’s Accessible Care Pregnancy Clinic. 

Dr. Vanessa Noonan

Dr. Vanessa Noonan

PhD, Project Advisor

Dr. Vanessa Noonan is the Director of Research & Best Practice Implementation at Praxis Spinal Cord Institute in Vancouver, British Columbia. Dr. Noonan has a background in physiotherapy and clinical epidemiology. Dr.Noonan has extensive experience engaging individuals with lived experience and supporting knowledge translation of research findings into practice in the area of spinal cord injury.
Kirstin Yuzwa

Kirstin Yuzwa

MSc., OT Reg, (Ont), Research Associate

Kirstin Yuzwa is a Research Associate at the St. John’s Rehab Research Program at the Sunnybrook Research Institute (Toronto, Ontario) and is the Project Manager for the Home Accessibility Tool-kit Study. Kirstin is a registered Occupational Therapist with clinical experience working in neurological rehabilitation and expertise in executing qualitative and quantitative health and rehabilitation research.
Peter Athanasopoulos

Peter Athanasopoulos

Co-Investigator

Peter Athanasopoulos is the Director of Public Policy and Government Relations at Spinal Cord Injury Ontario. Peter is an expert in health policy and has provided research support, advocacy, and health policy advisory services for Canadians living with spinal cord injury for more than 20 years. Peter has personal experience living with a spinal cord injury for more than 25 years. He works actively to engage the spinal cord injury community across Canada within his work to improve care and quality of life for those living with SCI.
Sarmitha Sivakumaran

Sarmitha Sivakumaran

HBSc, Research Trainee

Sarmitha Sivakumaran is a Research Trainee at the St. John’s Rehab Research Program at the Sunnybrook Research Institute (Toronto, Ontario). She recently obtained her Honours Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences from University of Toronto. Sarmitha is interested in rehabilitation research, knowledge translation, and health policy.
Eva Cohen

Eva Cohen

HBSc, MSc Candidate, Research Assistant (Alumnus)

Eva Cohen was a Research Assistant at the St. John’s Rehab Research Program at the Sunnybrook Research Institute (Toronto, Ontario) in 2023-2024. She is currently completing a Master of Science degree in Aging and Health from Queens University, Kingston, Ontario. Eva has experience conducting mixed-methods psychosocial and health research with diverse populations in Canada.

SPREAD THE WORD

We aim to make the Home Accessibility Toolkit free and widely available to support the spinal cord injury community.

We aim to publish the study results and make study materials and de-identified study data available to support research and knowledge transfer on accessible house for people living with disability.

This work is made possible by funding from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation 

Play video

We'd Love to hear from you Say Hello! 🙂

Our Phone Number: (416) 226-6780 Ext 57605
Email Address: HousingStudy@Sunnybrook.ca

SEND US A MESSAGE OR APPLY NOW

12 + 6 =

Sunnybrook-St.John's-Rehab_Logo

The information provided through this Site is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, assessment and evaluation. This includes all Content that is made available on, or otherwise accessible through, the Site by Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (“Sunnybrook”). You should consult a qualified physician or other applicable health professional before making any decision or taking any action that might affect your personal well-being as there is no substitute for the consideration of an individual’s circumstances by a qualified professional. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear (and release Sunnybrook and all Sunnybrook health care practitioners, agents, contractors, officers, directors, or employees from any claims regarding) all risks associated with the use of any information on the Site (including any reliance on the availability, accuracy, completeness, usefulness or appropriateness of such information) or of the Site generally, of every kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, including without limitation in the event that you have a dispute with one or more users of the Site.

Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy