Post-Doctoral Fellows

Dr. Katherine (Kate) Kelly is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Health Centred Research Clinic at UPEI. She holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of New Brunswick (2021) and Masters in Psychology from the University of Toronto (2015). Her doctoral work investigated the use of social media to support caregivers of children with complex care needs. Her research interests include patient navigation, health literacy, and knowledge synthesis. Dr. Kelly serves as the Post Doctoral Representative on the UPEI Graduate Student Advisory Council and the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Health Research Committee. She holds certifications in JBI systematic/scoping reviews and Patient Oriented Research. Dr. Kelly is currently leading the development and evaluation of a province-wide COVID-19 vaccine literacy program in collaboration with the CHANCES Family Centre. Outside of her academic work, Dr. Kelly works as a Cadet Instructor Cadre (CIC) Officer (A/Slt) with the Sea Cadets (23 RCSCC Kent) in the Canadian Armed Forces.


Dr. Ahmad Abd-El-Aziz graduated from University of Prince Edward Island in 2021 with a PhD in Environmental Sciences.  Ahmad is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Health Centred Research Clinic at the University of Prince Edward Island and is currently working on a project with Janssen Pharmaceuticals on identification of disease profiles for patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).  His research interest is on the link between environmental impacts, such as climate change, and their measurable effects on health outcomes using biomarkers. He is also a founding and current member of the EDI health research committee within the clinic.


Current Trainees

Gemma Shea graduated in 2022 from the University of Prince Edward Island with a Bachelor of Kinesiology with Honours. Her Honours thesis investigated the impact of exercise on Parkinson’s patients. Gemma has been involved with sports her whole life and is currently working with the HRN Connections Program. During her time at UPEI, she was on the UPEI cheerleading team and track and field team. 

Past Trainees

Sarah Doak was a Research Assistant with the HRN from 2022-23. She graduated from Mount Allison University in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and then began a Masters in Applied Health Services Research at UPEI under the supervision of Dr. William Montelpare. Her thesis focuses on the journeys of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) patients in the PEI healthcare system and how considering patient perspectives can improve healthcare experiences. Sarah provides support for various ongoing research projects in the clinic. She hopes to continue her education and career in health research and is broadly interested in improving health systems and reproductive health. Outside of the clinic, Sarah spends a lot of time curling, both as a player and coach. She is currently working on completing her NCCP coaching certificate.

UPEI Dietetic Interns

The Health Research Network also provides placements to interns of the UPEI Graduate Dietetic Internship Program across a wide range of settings as supervised by Laurie Michael, RD, MPH and Anja Salijevic, BSc, CHES, CTE.