{"id":49,"date":"2021-03-10T11:57:05","date_gmt":"2021-03-10T15:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/?page_id=49"},"modified":"2025-11-26T14:15:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T18:15:54","slug":"the-team","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/the-team\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Director<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" \/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/spor-pei\/files\/2018\/04\/DSC_2999-MP4.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/spor-pei\/files\/2018\/04\/DSC_2999-MP4-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-231\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Dr. William Montelpare, PhD Professor; Margaret and Wallace McCain Chair in Human Development and Health<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. William Montelpare is a Professor and the Margaret and Wallace McCain Research Chair in Human Development and Health at the University of Prince Edward Island. He graduated with an MSc from the University of Ottawa in Kinanthropology and a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in Community Health specializing in Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Exercise Science. Over the past 38 years, he&nbsp;taught and conducted research at Brock and Lakehead Universities in Ontario, Canada, and at the University of Leeds, UK. In his current position at the University of Prince Edward Island he teaches human health, biostatistics, health services research, and the effects of climate change on health, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr Montelpare collaborates with faculty, researchers, and colleagues from across Canada, the US, and in Europe. As part of his Research Chair in Human Development and Health he includes in his research projects an emphasis on epigenetics, climate change effects, and lifestyle effects on human development and health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Advisory Board<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" \/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/concussion\/files\/2020\/09\/gail.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/concussion\/files\/2020\/09\/gail-300x264.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-280\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Dr. Gail Macartney<\/strong> completed her PhD in Nursing from Queen\u2019s University in 2013. She maintains active licensure as a Nurse Practitioner with the College of Registered Nurses of Prince Edward Island and an Oncology Nursing Certification with the Canadian Nurses Association. Dr. Macartney has an extensive nursing background in clinical practice, education and research. She has broad-based nursing expertise with pediatric, adolescent and adult patient populations in the acute, ambulatory and community care settings. Dr. Macartney has been an active participant in nursing practice, education and research activities at the local, provincial and national levels. She has provided clinical mentorship and student supervision to many interdisciplinary health science undergraduate and post-graduate students. Before joining the Nursing Faculty at UPEI as an Assistant Professor in July 2019, Dr. Macartney worked at the Children\u2019s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa, Ontario as a Nurse Practitioner in Pediatric Neurosurgery and Concussion Care. Dr. Macartney was an expert panel member in the development of the Living Guideline for Diagnosing and Managing Pediatric Concussion. Her research interests in concussion care, cancer symptom management and the development of preventive health screening guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" \/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2023\/02\/M-Burns-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-319\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.667420814479638;width:200px;height:auto\" srcset=\"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2023\/02\/M-Burns-683x1024.jpg 683w, http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2023\/02\/M-Burns-200x300.jpg 200w, http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2023\/02\/M-Burns-768x1152.jpg 768w, http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2023\/02\/M-Burns-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2023\/02\/M-Burns-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2023\/02\/M-Burns-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Dr. Margie Burns<\/strong>, <strong>BScN (Dalhousie), MN (UPEI), PhD (Saskatchewan) <\/strong>joined the Faculty of Nursing as an Assistant Professor in June 2020. Margie has expertise in critical care nursing and has worked in a number of specialist intensive care units in Canada, Scotland, and Australia. Upon her return to Prince Edward Island, she worked as the Clinical Nurse Educator in ICU and CCU at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and most recently was the Health PEI coordinator for the Critical Care and Emergency Nursing Program and the Transition to Practice Program. Margie\u2019s program of research focuses on families\u2019 experiences of a relative\u2019s critical illness, &nbsp;rurality, and access to healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" \/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2025\/11\/McDuffee_Rue-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-689\" style=\"width:336px;height:auto\" srcset=\"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2025\/11\/McDuffee_Rue-1.jpg 900w, http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2025\/11\/McDuffee_Rue-1-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2025\/11\/McDuffee_Rue-1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dr. Laurie McDuffee, DVM, PhD, DACVS<\/strong> has been a veterinarian, large animal surgeon and researcher at the Atlantic Veterinary College for 23 years. She did her training at Colorado State University and the University of California, Davis. At the AVC\u2019s Large Animal Clinic, Dr. McDuffee works with many large animal species, but horses make up the majority of patients. \u200b Dr. McDuffee\u2019s past research interest focused on equine bone healing and fracture repair with an emphasis on biomechanics and stem cells in musculoskeletal regeneration. More recently, her research interest has evolved to equine behavior to better understand her equine patients. She applies this knowledge towards improvements in handling and treating veterinary patients in the Large Animal Clinic and teaching equine behavior to veterinary students in the large animal clinic. \u200b Dr. McDuffee, spent a sabbatical year gaining knowledge in learning and motivation of animals as well as in animal cognition with an emphasis on horses and continues to learn in this area. That continued learning led her to research in human horse interactions and certification in the Human Animal Bond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Our Staff<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" \/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2025\/11\/Anja_IMG_2072.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-666\" style=\"width:303px;height:auto\" srcset=\"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2025\/11\/Anja_IMG_2072.jpg 480w, http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2025\/11\/Anja_IMG_2072-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Anja Salijevic (she\/her), BSc, CHES, CTE &#8211;<\/strong>\u00a0 Anja graduated from the University of Utah in 2012 with a BSc in Health Promotion &amp; Education with an emphasis in Community and became CHES Certified (Certified Health Education Specialist). In 2014, she worked with the PEI Chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society as the Health Promotion Coordinator educating Islanders on Cancer Prevention and Smoking Cessation. During her time with the society, she became a Certified Tobacco Educator (CTE) implementing and evaluating a workplace wellness smoking cessation program. Anja has worked in the Health Centred Research Clinic as a Health Educator and Project Coordinator since 2017 for a variety of projects and programs. As a proud first-generation Bosnian, she is dedicated to applying her expertise through equitable, diverse, and inclusive health research through curriculum development, program implementation and evaluation, and overall engagement of various Island communities, with a focus on marginalized populations. She is a proud co-founder and member of the newly formed Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) health research committee within the clinic which works to uphold EDI practices across all health research activities in collaboration with various community organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide\" \/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"753\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2023\/06\/b1f29b8a-03bb-4caf-aad1-cc2324e57692-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-474\" style=\"width:305px;height:421px\" srcset=\"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2023\/06\/b1f29b8a-03bb-4caf-aad1-cc2324e57692-4.jpg 753w, http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2023\/06\/b1f29b8a-03bb-4caf-aad1-cc2324e57692-4-221x300.jpg 221w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 753px) 100vw, 753px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Laurie Michael (she\/her), BSc., RD, MPH<\/strong>&nbsp;&#8211; Laurie has been working as a Registered Dietitian since 2008 after completing the Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program following a BSc. in Nutritional Sciences at UPEI (2007). She has also completed the Toronto Metropolitan (formerly Ryerson University) Food Security Certificate (2012) and a Master of Public Health from Lakehead University (2019). She has been privileged to work in a variety of primary care, clinical long-term care, and community practice settings in Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.&nbsp;She is a past Board member of CHANCES Family Center and a member of the PEI Basic Income Guarantee Working Group. She also recently served as President for the 2023-2024 year and is now the Past President of the Primary Care Dietitian Association (PCDA) and co-facilitator of the PCDA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. As a proud mixed-race Lebanese Canadian, she has been dedicated to gaining perspectives of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all areas of her professional and personal life. She is also a co-founder and member of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) health research committee within the HRN clinic, which upholds EDI practices across health research activities in collaboration with various Island community organizations. Laurie&nbsp;is honored to have joined the Health Research Network in April&nbsp;2021 as an RD&nbsp;and project coordinator.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Health Impact System Scientist&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"820\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2025\/11\/LeyenaarPicture1-820x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-668\" style=\"width:263px;height:auto\" srcset=\"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2025\/11\/LeyenaarPicture1-820x1024.jpg 820w, http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2025\/11\/LeyenaarPicture1-240x300.jpg 240w, http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2025\/11\/LeyenaarPicture1-768x959.jpg 768w, http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/files\/2025\/11\/LeyenaarPicture1.jpg 871w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Matthew Leyenaar, PhD &#8211; <\/strong>Matthew began working as a paramedic in rural eastern Ontario after graduating from Conestoga College (2001).\u00a0 Then, he completed a BSc in Geomatics from\u00a0Carleton University (2012) part-time, focusing on geographic optimization of paramedic services.\u00a0 His interest in community paramedicine programs that improved health system access attracted him to McMaster University where he completed an MA in Geography (2015) before entering the Health Research Methodology PhD program.\u00a0 He completed a PhD in 2020 in the Health Services Research stream investigating assessment practices in community paramedicine programs \u2013 work that informed publication of the interRAI Community Paramedicine Contact Assessment.\u00a0 He went on to work as Provincial Coordinator of the PEI EMS Board and Director of Emergency Health Services with the PEI Department of Health and Wellness \u2013 modernizing paramedic service delivery and practice regulations.\u00a0 Embedding health services research and bringing an evidence-informed approach to health system transformation was a catalyst for his secondment with the Health Research Network. His research explores how health systems align service delivery with patient need.\u00a0 Over the course of his career, he has participated in numerous international, national, provincial, and regional committees and working groups \u2013 always aiming to make health services research practical and applicable in an effort to improve patient care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LinkedIn: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pub\/matthew-leyenaar\/31\/b50\/345\">http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pub\/matthew-leyenaar\/31\/b50\/345<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recent Publications: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/islandscholar.ca\/people\/matthew.leyenaar\">Matthew Le\u00ffenaar | IslandScholar<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Director Dr. William Montelpare, PhD Professor; Margaret and Wallace McCain Chair in Human Development and Health. Dr. William Montelpare is a Professor and the Margaret and Wallace McCain Research Chair in Human Development and Health at the University of Prince Edward Island. He graduated with an MSc from the University of Ottawa in Kinanthropology and &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/the-team\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\"><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49"}],"version-history":[{"count":78,"href":"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":700,"href":"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49\/revisions\/700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/projects.upei.ca\/hcrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}