Scotia Scholars Award RECIPIENTS 2022/23


The Scotia Scholars Award provides financial support to research trainees with exceptional potential who are engaged in health research at participating Nova Scotia institutions.  This award will support the growth, acquisition, and retention of highly skilled individuals who are advancing and translating knowledge in disease detection, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, strengthening health care delivery systems, caring for vulnerable populations, and promoting better opportunities for future health and wellbeing.  Funding for this award is provided by the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness

$772,000

Funding

42

Students

5

Institutions

Doctoral Award

The value and duration of the Scotia Scholars Doctoral Award is up to $60,000 for four years. Funds were allocated to Acadia University, Dalhousie University and Saint Mary’s University. The number of awards issued were determined by each university.

Acadia University

Erika Kirk
Project:
Caring for the Instrument:  Fine Tuning Teacher Self-Care in Rural Nova Scotia
Supervisor: Dr. Tanya Surette
Amount: $15,000.00

Dalhousie University

Neda Akbari Nassaji
Project: Exploring the health needs of immigrant mothers in the postpartum period: A qualitative research study
Supervisor: Dr. Megan Aston, Dr. Jean Hughes
Amount: $60,000.00

Kitti Bessenyei
Project: Contributing factors to mental health issues in intense social media users among young female Nova Scotians
Supervisor: Dr. Igor Yakovenko
Amount: $30,000.00

Ashley Francis
Project: Characterizing the Neural Profile of Auditory Hallucinations in Bipolar Disorder
Supervisor: Dr. Derek Fisher, Dr. Phil Tibbo
Amount: $45,000.00

Hao Guo
Project: Optical medical device for detecting the proportion of fat and other biochemicals associated with liver transplantation outcomes in humans
Supervisor: Dr. Kevin Hewitt
Amount: $30,000.00

Mariana Gonzalez Lara
Project: The impact of diet and nutritional status on levels of frailty
Supervisor: Dr. Dustin Scott Kehler
Amount: $60,000.00

Michael Ibekaku
Project: Developing a theory-guided, evidence-based training program for rehabilitation providers working with residents with dementia in long-term care
Supervisor: Dr. Caitlin McArthur
Amount: $60,000.00

Jennifer McArthur
Project:
A Motivation-Facilitation Approach to Understanding Image-based Sexual Abuse
Supervisor: Dr. Julie Blais
Amount: $60,000.00

Alexa Wilson
Project: Stressed out: Investigating how Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus attacks the cellular stress response
Supervisor: Dr. Craig McCormick
Amount: $60,000.00

Saint Mary’s University

Gregory Anderson
Project:
Examining how health care professionals’ empathy profiles and work outcomes change over time
Supervisor: Dr. Debra Gilin
Amount: $15,000.00

Seyedehsan Etezad
Project:
Developing a Coaching Intervention to Prevent Burnout Among Medical Residents Post COVID-19 Pandemic
Supervisor: Dr. Debra Gilin
Amount: $15,000.00

Shea McInnis
Project: Understanding Cartilage Resorption on a Tissue and Molecular Level
Supervisor: Dr. Tamara Franz-Odendaal
Amount: $15,000.00

Master’s Award

The value and duration of the Scotia Scholars Master’s Award is up to $20,000 for two years. Funds were allocated to Acadia University, Dalhousie University, Mount Saint Vincent University, NSCAD University and Saint Mary’s University. The number of awards issued were determined by each university.

Acadia University

Olivia Cleary
Project:
Memories of Parents’ Reactions to Coming Out as LGBTQ+
Supervisor: Dr. Diane Holmberg, Dr. Karen Blair
Amount: $10,000.00

Tessa Cosman
Project:
Intolerance of uncertainty as a moderating factor in understanding relational turbulence
Supervisor: Dr. Kathryn Bell, Dr. Diane Holmberg
Amount: $10,000.00

Summer Fox
Project: Assessing Visually Induced Motion Sickness in a Diverse Population of Female Stroke Survivors
Supervisor: Dr. Daniel Blustein
Amount: $2,500.00

Meaghan Hymers
Project: Sexual Identity Development Trajectories and Their Associated Health Outcomes: Expanding Upon the Facilitative Environments Model
Supervisor: Dr. Diane Holmberg, Dr. Karen Blair
Amount: $10,000.00

Arthur MacDonald
Project: Examining attrition and predictors of adherence in a dual-control group study of brief online mindfulness
Supervisors: Dr. Anne Sophie Champod, Dr. Will Shead
Amount: $10,000.00

Taylor Swanburg
Project: Detecting the spread of invasive mosquitoes and disease potential in Nova Scotia
Supervisor: Dr. Neil Kirk Hillier
Amount: $1,500.00

Robb Tupper
Project: On the Turning Away: How Fear and Self-Esteem Affect Thought Accessibility
Supervisor: Dr. Joseph Hayes
Amount: $10,000.00

Dalhousie University

Annika Benson
Project: Integration of Ultrasound Endoscope with Surgical Navigation System
Supervisor: Dr. Jeremy Brown
Amount: $20,000.00

Haley Bernusky
Project:
Is Anxiety a Mediator in the Relationship Between Cannabis Use and Psychotic-Like Experiences in Emerging Adults? Investigating a Mediation Model in a Multi-Site University Sample
Supervisor: Dr. Sherry Stewart, Dr. Phil Tibbo
Amount: $10,000.00

Hailey Burns
Project: Attention bias and social skills in youth with anxiety disorders
Supervisor: Dr. Sandra Meier
Amount: $10,000.00

Alina Butova
Project: The role of the unfolded protein response in influenza A virus infection
Supervisor: Dr. Craig McCormick
Amount: $9,000.00

Hannah Cahill
Project: Investigating NRAD1-miR-4485-3p: a new lncRNA-miRNA axis with therapeutic potential in triple-negative breast cancer
Supervisor: Dr. Paola Marcato
Amount: $10,000.00

Emily Carter
Project: Prescriptive natural killer cell-based immunotherapy for leukemia
Supervisor: Dr. Jeanette Boudreau
Amount: $10,000.00

Shannen Grandy
Project: Characterizing the role of host stress and inflammatory responses during chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection
Supervisor: Dr. Zhenyu Cheng
Amount: $10,000.00

Justin Greige
Project: Model Optimization of Histotripsy in Neurosurgery Using Ultrasound and MRI Imaging
Supervisor: Dr. Jeremy Brown
Amount: $20,000.00

Benjamin Hewins
Project: Investigating Previously Infected SARS-CoV-2 Individuals in a University Setting for Antibody Waning and Variant Incidence: A Cross-Sectional, Seroprevalence Study
Supervisor: Dr. David Kelvin
Amount: $10,000.00

Alzena Ilie
Project: Evaluation of the Implementation of Better Nights, Better Days for Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders (BNBD-NDD)
Supervisor: Dr. Penny Corkum
Amount: $20,000.00

Andy Kim
Project: Depressed mood and relationship conflict: A three-wave longitudinal study of romantic couples
Supervisor: Dr. Sherry Stewart, Dr. Simon Sherry
Amount: $10,000.00

Sieun Park
Project: Investigating the role of PML in lung cancer cell migration and tumour formation
Supervisor: Dr. Graham Dellaire
Amount: $20,000.00

Mount Saint Vincent University

Amber Duynisveld
Project: Quality of work life in long-term care staff during and after COVID-19: The impact of for-profit/not-for-profit ownership models
Supervisors: Dr. Janice Keefe
Amount: $20,000.00

Devora Goldberg
Project: Iron supplementation among pregnant Nova Scotians: an exploratory cross-sectional study to assess perceptions and practices
Supervisor: Dr. Kyly Whitfield
Amount: $20,000.00

Emily Meier
Project: Cambodian factory workers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices towards maternal and infant and young child feeding and peripartum labour laws
Supervisor: Dr. Kyly Whitfield
Amount: $10,000.00

NSCAD University

Claire Drummond
Project: M(other) and Child
Supervisor: Mathew Reichertz
Amount: $8,000.00

Megan Hosmer
Project: Empowered Cycles
Supervisor: Adrian Fish
Amount: $8,000.00

Susan Willcocks
Project:
Dislocate(d)
Supervisor: Adrian Fish
Amount: $4,000.00

Saint Mary’s University

Fatimah Aiyelabegan
Project: Towards understanding the induction and development of the permanent scleral cartilage in the chicken embryonic eye
Supervisor: Dr. Tamara Franz-Odendaal
Amount: $6,500.00

Krystal Lowe
Project: The Detection & Prevention of Suicidality in Justice-Involved Populations: An Empirical Evaluation of the Three-Step Theory of Suicide
Supervisor: Dr. Marc Patry
Amount: $2,250.00

Theodore (Ted) Lownie
Project: Development and functional divergence of tendon
Supervisor: Dr. Samuel Veres
Amount: $2,250.00

Adam Mariotti
Project: Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Information Processing Stream
Supervisor: Dr. Derek Fisher
Amount: $6,500.00

Samantha Williams
Project: Risk Factors and Recidivism Rates of Victim Age Polymorphism: A Meta-Analysis
Supervisor: Dr. Skye Stephens
Amount: $6,500.00

undergraduate

Coming soon.