Team

Our
Team

We are a collaboratory of students, fellows, researchers, healthcare professionals, and collaborators with diverse professional backgrounds, multidisciplinary areas of content expertise, and lived experiences.

We are always looking for thoughtful and talented people to join our team. Please get in touch!
Contact us

Team
members

Daniel Z. Buchman
Esther Davies
Lucy Panko
Kristie Serota
Brooke Magel
Headshot_ZH
Zahra Hasan
Rachel Katz

Collaborators

Karen D. Davis, Ph.D., FCAHS, FRSC
Professor; Department of Surgery and Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto
Senior Scientist and Head; Division of Brain, Imaging and Behaviour. Krembil Brain Institute, Krembil Research Institute, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network 
@kren27

Gord Garner
Vice President Strategic Partnerships 
Community Addictions Peer Support Association (CAPSA)
@GordGarner1

Quinn Grundy, PhD RN
Assistant Professor
Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto
@QuinnGrundy

Sean L. Hill, PhD
Scientific Director, Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Professor, University of Toronto
@wake_sleep

 Jenny Lau, MSc, MD CCFP (PC)
Medical Director, Harold and Shirley Lederman Palliative Care Centre, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network
@JelauPC

Sarah Levitt BA.Sc, MSc, MD FRCPC
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto & Staff Psychiatrist (IMPACT & Inpatient Programs), University Health Network

Melissa McCradden, PhD, MHSc
John and Melinda Thompson Director of Aritificial Intelligence in Medicine and Bioethicist, The Hospital for Sick Children; Peter Gilgan Centre for Research & Learning (SickKids); Assistant Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health
@MMccradden 

Aaron Orkin MD MSc MPH PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Family & Community Medicine, University of Toronto
Clinician Scientist, Unity Health Toronto
Department of Emergency Medicine, St. Joseph’s Health Centre, Unity Health Toronto
Director of Population Health, Inner City Health Associates

Sanjeev Sockalingam, MD, MHPE, FRCPC
Clinician Scientist and Vice-President, Education, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto
@SanjSockalingam

Sophie Soklaridis, PhD
Senior Scientist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health 
Associate Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Family and Community Medicine
@SSoklaridis

Gillian Strudwick, RN, PhD, FAMIA
Scientist & Chief Clinical Informatics Officer, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
@gstrudrn

Abhimanyu Sud, MD CCFP
Assistant Professor, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Research Chair, Primary Care and Population Health Systems, Humber River Hospital 
@doc_sud

Past Students, Fellows, and Research Assistants

  • Grace Bannerman, M.Sc.Com
  • Rachel Cooper, MBE
  • Samuel Dale, BA
  • A. Lee de Bie, PhD, MHSc
  • Monica de Oliviera, MHSc
  • Rachel Hong, BA
  • Katrina Hui, MD, MS
  • Daphne Imahori, BA
  • Amy Kim, BA
  • Sarah Levitt, MSc, MD
  • Lauren Notini, PhD
  • Rajita Sharma, BA
  • Robert Ure, MD
  • Dawn van Engelen, MHSc, RD
  • Denitsa Vasileva, BSc, MSc
  • Sapna Wadhawan, BA
  • Charlotte Wun, BA
  • Yezarni Wynn, MD

Daniel Buchman, PhD, RSW (he/him/his)
Director, Everyday Ethics Lab
Bioethicist and Independent Scientist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)
Assistant Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

Dr Daniel Buchman is a Bioethicist and Independent Scientist at CAMH, an Assistant Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at U of T, a Member of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, and an Affiliate Scientist at the Krembil Research Institute at the University Health Network. Daniel’s leading research, scholarship, and education in bioethics draws upon a transdisciplinary toolkit of theoretical as well as empirical approaches. He has also taught a graduate seminar in Empirical Approaches to Bioethics at the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics since 2015. Daniel has held Bioethics leadership positions throughout his career and is currently a Board Member of the Canadian Bioethics Society and a Member of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Standing Committee on Ethics. He is a widely sought-after mentor and speaker.

Daniel has a background in social work, and it was during his training that he became attuned to how densely woven patterns of disadvantage and privilege shaped the lives of the people he worked with. “My training in social work and as a practising healthcare ethicist was pivotal in grounding my theoretical orientation towards issues of justice as well as everyday ethics,” he says. “I witnessed the types of ethical decisions patients, families, healthcare teams, and administrators faced daily. These were not only big ethical decisions, but ordinary ones as well—the ethically charged and often deeply distressing moments during routine healthcare encounters. This has informed my research ever since.”

Twitter: @DanielZBuchman

Esther Davies, PhD Student, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

Esther is a PhD student in Social and Behavioural Health Sciences at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. She completed a Master’s in Health Science (Bioethics) at the University of Toronto and an Honours bachelor’s in Health Science (Specialization) at Western University as a Western Scholar. 

Esther’s research interests are broad but lie at the intersection of Women’s health, innovative technologies, and bioethics. For her doctoral research, Esther will be exploring the use, design, and ethical considerations of innovative digital and reproductive technologies in (in)fertility care under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Gibson. 

Esther interest in mental health(services) stems from her family and community experiences of what she describes as silent suffering.  

As a researcher, Esther is trained in critical qualitative research methods and often employs an intersectional approach to her work. Esther is passionate about how health systems, services and tools produce or alleviate inequities in health and healthcare outcomes. Esther work is grounded in the value of community-generated wisdom as the starting point for equitable and transformative change. 

Esther has worked at several institutions and with great mentors throughout her training, including The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Trillium Health Partners, The North American Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (NAO), and the University of Toronto’ Institute for Pandemics. She is building expertise in clinical ethics, policy development, research and knowledge translation practices. 

Outside of her academic work, Esther enjoys reading memoirs, learning how to cook traditional dishes and spending quality time with friends and family.

Lucy Panko, Undergraduate Research Practicum Student, University of Toronto

Lucy Panko is a Research Practicum Student completing her Undergraduate Research Project under the supervision of Daniel Buchman. Her lived experience with mental illness fuels her interest in the intersection of bioethics and psychiatry. She is in her last year of a Health Studies Specialist Degree with a minor in Buddhism, Psychology, and Mental Health at the University of Toronto. The majority of her course work has focused on mental illness including psychosis, eating disorders, mood disorders, and opioid addiction. Lucy hopes to pursue a medical career and use her research project experience to inform future patient interactions and treatment. She is passionate about investigating the ethical dilemmas present in psychiatry and is excited to be working on a project with Dr. Buchman that will examine physician perspectives on Palliative Psychiatry. 

Outside the lab and her academic commitments, you can find Lucy participating in endurance sports, volunteering for a crisis line, playing the violin, and teaching yoga to marginalized communities. She is looking forward to learning from her peers and mentors in the Everyday Ethics Lab at CAMH and seeing where this opportunity takes her. 

Kristie Serota, MA
PhD Candidate

Kristie is a PhD Candidate in Social and Behavioural Health Sciences at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and is completing a Collaborative Specialization in Bioethics through the Joint Centre for Bioethics. While completing her Master’s degree in Applied Social Psychology at the University of Guelph, she helped facilitate public deliberation events across Canada and the United States as a member of the Discourse, Science, Publics Lab. She first met her now co-supervisor, Daniel Buchman, when she cold-emailed him to inquire about a possible practicum placement. The ensuing summer placement in Bioethics at Toronto Western Hospital inspired her current academic trajectory.

During the PhD, Kristie has earned a certificate in advanced methodological training in qualitative health research from the Centre for Critical Qualitative Health Research, attended Yale University’s summer institute in bioethics, and worked as an administrator, research coordinator, and teaching assistant. Her publications span topics including clinicians’ perspectives on medical assistance in dying (MAiD), the medicalization of sleep, and media representations of alcohol-related liver disease. Kristie’s dissertation study explores how disagreement, stigma, and disenfranchised grief impact loved ones’ MAiD bereavement experiences. She finds joy in learning to quilt and caring for her rescue animals

Brooke Magel (she/her)
Research Analyst

Brooke Magel is a Research Analyst in the Education department at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She completed her Bachelor’s degree at Western University in Honours Psychology and Disability Studies. During her undergraduate degree, she worked as a Research Assistant in the Child Health Research Lab. She is currently completing her Master of Arts degree at York University in Health (specializing in Health Policy and Equity). At York University she previously worked as a Research Assistant in the i.r.i.s. lab on the AcTinSite and ACTon project that explores accessibility and inclusion for students with disabilities in clinical placements and practicums.

Brooke’s passion for health equity alongside her lived experience with concussions and mental illness drew her to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Outside of the lab, you can find Brooke enjoying a bubble tea, dismantling the patriarchy on the hockey rink, playing video games, and focusing on a life goal of traveling to every single continent (currently visited 4/7 continents). 

Zahra Hasan (she/her)
MHSc Bioethics Practicum and Capstone Student

Zahra is an MHSc in Bioethics student at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She is passionate about issues in health equity and their intersections with the mental health care system, with specific interests in the subjectivity of pain, the stigma surrounding opioid use, and patients with concurrent disorders. Zahra is completing her practicum and capstone experiences under the supervision of Dr. Buchman where she will be exploring how clinical ethics services are evaluated and researching the ethics of and stigma surrounding chronic pain.

Zahra’s interests in the field began while working as a pharmacy assistant and observing the ethical dilemmas that patients face in receiving equitable access to treatment for opioid use disorder. While completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Waterloo, Zahra explored topics in public health, philosophy, and psychopathology, writing about the ethical implications of compassion fatigue, and the roles of power and privilege in psychotherapeutic relationships. To date, her graduate work has focused on harm reduction approaches to Canada’s overdose crisis, compassionate technologies and cultural safety in psychiatry, and psychosocial constructs of chronic pain. As a researcher, she is committed to empowering the voices of patients and integrating their lived experiences into research in a way that meaningfully translates into clinical practice.

After her MHSc, Zahra intends to pursue a PhD in the ethics and stigma of chronic pain and mental health, and a career in clinical ethics. Outside of bioethics, Zahra is an avid baker, coffee enthusiast, and enjoys solving jigsaw puzzles.

Rachel Katz
PhD Student, Institute for the History of Philosophy of Science and Technology, University of Toronto

Rachel is a PhD student at the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IHPST) at UofT. Most of their work focuses on issues that bridge academic and applied bioethics. Rachel’s dissertation examines the nature and role of interpersonal trust in the context of large-scale health emergencies. Rachel is also interested in scrutinizing the role AI will come to play in health care, especially mental health care and access to psychotherapy.
 
Prior to the start of their PhD, Rachel completed an MA in philosophy at McMaster University, where she produced a thesis critically examining the ethical issues in crowdfunding academic research projects, producing one of the first long-form explorations on the topic. 
 
Rachel has research experience in ethical issues related to COVID-19 and Ebola, and has also worked on a number of projects related to global health ethics.
 
Outside of her research, Rachel is a competitive ultrarunner and powerlifter and an avid baker.