Our People

Jiahui Wong has over 15 years experience in research and program evaluation in pharmaceutical, educational, and health care contexts. Prior to joining the de Souza Institute, she was research manager at the Change Foundation, and project lead of the Provincial Diabetes Strategy at the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Jiahui is currently assistant professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. She holds a Bachelor of Medicine from China, an MSc in Epidemiology (Laval University) and a PhD (Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto.)

Shanna Brisebois is currently leading the communications at the de Souza Institute as the Senior Special Assistant- Communications.

She has an extensive background in a variety of senior roles in the Ontario provincial government and the federal government in the areas of communications, strategic planning, stakeholder relations and public policy.

Shanna’s experience in the public sector has included leading the communications on- Building Together: Ontario’s Ten Year Infrastructure Plan, Smoke-Free Ontario, the Healthy Eating Active Living Strategy, the Prime Minister’s Taskforce on the Four Western Provinces and the Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review.

Shanna has also been repeated called upon by Premier Dalton McGuinty to set up media events across Ontario during central campaigns. She was also part of the team that successfully won the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games bid.

Shanna has been a trusted advisor by international and national companies and organizations in her role as an Associate Vice-President at Fleishman-Hillard’s Toronto office as part of the Public Affairs team.

Shanna holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Communication Studies from Wilfrid Laurier University.

liat.brudnoy@deSouzanurse.ca | 416.581.8155
Liat Brudnoy is an instructional designer and writer with more than five years of experience in the higher education and corporate training spheres. Liat graduated with a B.A. in English Language and Literature from The University of Western Ontario and an M.A. in English from McMaster University. A combination of post-graduate teaching experience and professional editing and writing experience led Liat to embark on a career in instructional design. In her previous roles, Liat worked closely with subject matter experts (SMEs) from a variety of fields to develop innovative eLearning solutions for their training needs. In addition to designing and overseeing the development of distance education courses, her roles involved curriculum development, research, authoring of custom course content and communications consulting. Liat has also designed and written courses for the corporate mentoring and financial industries.

Thomas began his career as a freelance web designer and developer, specializing in website development for real estate and technology companies.  As a web developer, Thomas created customized content management systems for small business owners in the Greater Toronto Area. Now at de Souza Institute, Thomas uses his wide range of skills including web and graphic design, flash development, and audio/video editing to create dynamic and interactive educational tools for online learning.  He is also an integral member of the eLearning design team which are responsible for the overall style of the Institute’s online courses. Thomas holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Toronto in Communications Culture and Information Technology and a Certificate in Technology from Sheridan College.

Donalda has been an oncology nurse for 35 years working in both inpatient and outpatient units. For the last 25 years she has been a primary nurse in lung and GI oncology as well as working in the chemotherapy suite. For the last 10 years she has been the solo instructor for the Sinai C.A.R.E. Cancer Care education series that she and her chemo colleagues developed targeting nurses new to oncology. Donalda has served on the board of directors for the Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology for 7 years, 5 of which she was the treasurer. She has done item writing and exam review for the CNA Oncology Certification Exam and continues to be a mentor for nurses preparing for the exam. In 2008, Donalda was nominated by her oncology peers and was one of 100 nurses from across Canada to receive the CNA Centennial Award honoring her work in education of novice oncology nurses.

apugh@deSouzanurse.ca | 416.581.8579
Ashleigh began her nursing career in Palliative Care at Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie and then moved to Princess Margaret Hospital to work on a Medical and Radiation Inpatient Oncology Unit. She has a wide range of additional nursing experience ranging from forensic nursing to teaching in Seneca College’s Collaborative BScN program in both classroom and clinical settings. Her interests include nursing informatics, education, and psychosocial issues relating to nursing. Ashleigh holds an Honours BScN (York University) and completed her MN at the University of Toronto.

tracy.soong@desouzanurse.ca| 416.581.8578
Tracy Gifford brings over five years of both academic and hospital-based research experience to the Institute. She began her career at Queen’s University where she was an active member of a cardiovascular pharmacology lab. In addition to her research role, she also managed the undergraduate Pharmacology and Toxicology student teaching laboratories. More recently, Tracy was a member of a research group in the Division of Brain Imaging and Behaviour at Toronto Western Hospital that focused on the development of new treatments for Parkinson’s Disease. Her continued interest in health sciences research led her to complete the clinical research associate graduate certification program at the Michener Institute for Health Sciences.

Joy Richards is the Vice-President, Professional Affairs and Chief Nursing Executive at University Health Network in Toronto. Dr. Richards is the immediate Past-President of the Academy of Canadian Executive Nurses (ACEN) and holds a teaching position at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT). She holds clinical appointments at the University of Toronto, York University and Humber College.Dr. Richards focus and passion is in the area of clinical leadership, quality of work life environments and the development of client-centred practice settings, with a special focus on excellence in geriatric care. Her previous experience includes progressive senior nursing management positions in the acute care and long-term care sectors; nursing education and nursing informatics and has presented her work, both nationally and internationally.Dr. Richards holds a a PhD and a MA in Human and Organizational System (Fielding Graduate University), a BScN in Nursing and a MN in Nursing (University of Toronto). Dr. Richards is also a graduate of the Queen’s University Executive Program and is a Johnson & Johnson Wharton Fellow (University of Pennsylvania).

Mary Gospodarowicz is Medical Director of the Cancer Program at University Health Network and Regional Vice President of Cancer Care Ontario. She is also Professor and Chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto and Chief of the Radiation Medicine Program at Princess Margaret Hospital. Dr. Gospodarowicz has a major interest in cancer staging and prognostic factor classification and currently chairs the Task Force on Prognostic Factors for the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) TNM Committee. In the past 10 years she has co-edited three books in this area. She holds an MD (UofT) and specialty certifications in internal medicine, medical oncology and radiation oncology.

Claire Mallette is the Director of the School of Nursing at York University. She was formerly the Director of Nursing Education, Placement and Development at University Health Network. Her work focuses on fostering lifelong learning through leading and developing professional development initiatives and opportunities for staff across the learning continuum. Dr. Mallette’s career is diverse, with roles in administration, academia, research and clinical practice. She has adjunct appointments at York University and the University of Toronto and has had the opportunity to practice and teach nursing in Quebec, Alberta and Ontario. She holds her BScN (McGill University), and her Masters and PhD in Nursing (University of Toronto).

Pam Hubley is the Associate Chief of Nursing Practice at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. She has been a nurse for over 20 years. Always learning and keen to take on new leadership experiences, she is an active advocate for family centred care and collaborative practice. In addition to her leadership responsibilities, she maintains an active clinical & research appointment as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Burn Program at SickKids. She is cross-appointed to the University of Toronto, Faculty of Nursing and has a keen interest in graduate nursing education, fostering Advanced Practice Nursing roles, and building interdisciplinary collaborations that contribute to evidence based practice. Pam has previously held positions such as Recruitment and Retention Specialist, Policy Advisor & Project Consultant at the Ministry of Health in Ontario and Clinical Director of the Post Masters Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program at the University of Toronto. She has taught courses and been an invited guest lecturer at both Ryerson University and the University of Toronto. She has been an active member of several Boards and professional organizations. Pam obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Western Ontario (1987), a Master of Science from the University of Toronto (1993), and an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner diploma from the University of Toronto (1995). In addition, she has taken several courses in the Nurse Anaesthesia Program from the State University of New York (1997-99). Pam is a nursing leader who is known for her commitment to professional nursing and for building collaborative practices that advance child & family health.

Barbara Fitzgerald is Director of Nursing at Princess Margaret Hospital and a Clinical Nurse Specialist in locally advanced breast cancer. She has taught at the University of Alberta, University of British Columbia and University of Toronto and is committed to integrating research into the care of the patient/family. Ms. Fitzgerald applies a broad range of theories and relevant research to her clinical practice in caring for women diagnosed with breast cancer. She holds an MScN from the University of Pennsylvania.

Denise Bryant-Lukosius is Assistant Professor in the McMaster University School of Nursing and Senior Researcher for the CHSRF/CIHR Chair in Advanced Practice Nursing. An academic clinician, she also practices as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Juravinski Cancer Centre. She has held a Clinical Research Fellowship in Malignant Urology at the Hamilton Regional Cancer Centre and a CHSRF/CIHR Post-doctoral Fellowship. Her post-doctoral research focused on advance practice nursing roles in cancer care delivery. Dr. Bryant-Lukosius holds a BScN (McMaster University), a Masters of Community Health Nursing and Education (D’Youville College of Buffalo) and a PhD in Nursing (McMaster University).