Webinars

Smita Pakhale is a pulmonologist (respirologist) and a senior-scientist at The Ottawa Hospital, leading The Bridge Engagement Centre (The Bridge), a research centre conducting community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) projects under the auspices of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. Her primary research focus and collaborations includes research on health inequities, lung diseases, tobacco and cannabis dependence, and Sickle Cell Disease, both locally and globally. She is also the Founder and Principal Investigator of the Canadian Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) Registry in collaboration with the Sickle Cell Disease Association of Canada and CanHeam. The Bridge projects employ intersectoral approaches supported by interdisciplinary collaboration of health care practitioners, allied health professionals, community practitioners, community peer researchers (People with lived/living experience of marginalization and poverty), and academics. The aim of the centre is to co-develop and co-implement sustainable solutions to persistent health inequities with marginalized populations and the health system alike, as realized through the Bridge ModelTM, an innovative comprehensive compassionate community-based health care model.

Johnathon Brizard is a proud half-Inuk/half-Oji-Cree man. Johnathon participated in the COVID Impact Study at The Bridge Engagement Centre 2 years ago and was impressed with their work. He inquired about job openings and started as their Community Peer Researcher. He now fulfills the role of Clinical Research Assistant. These roles required the incumbent to have lived experience. At 14, Johnathon lost the biggest part of his life - his mother. This resulted in alcohol and drug addictions that accompanied him off and on for the next 20 years. Holding on too much of the pain from losing his mother, he self-reflected, and attended treatment. In 2021, he got clean from his addictions. The Bridge helped him to see his worth. Peers and staff were incredibly supportive and understanding, and he felt that they truly cared about him. He now feels that when his peers look at him, they see his life experiences as an asset, not a setback. He is grateful that he found The Bridge, or maybe The Bridge found him.

Adar Shire is a passionate advocate for social justice and harm reduction. She is a peer researcher with the Bridge Engagement Centre, where she actively supports the development and implementation of research projects. Formally a graduate of Algonquin College with a diploma in Community Justice Services, Adar is currently pursuing a degree in Social Work at Carleton University. She is a person who identifies as a woman with lived experience, bringing a unique perspective to discussions around community support. As a mother and harm reductionist, Adar is dedicated to promoting compassionate, evidence-based approaches to substance use and advocating for the rights and dignity of marginalized individuals. 

Dr. Dana Mowls Carroll is an epidemiologist and certified tobacco treatment specialist addressing commercial tobacco use disparities, particularly among American Indian and rural populations. She has over 50 peer-reviewed publications that include describing the co-design and evaluation of digital smoking cessation interventions for American Indian persons. Also, she contributes through epidemiology and clinical trials to the evidence base on potential cigarette product standards, such a reducing levels of nicotine which she views as another avenue for reducing commercial tobacco use disparities. In her community-engaged research, she devotes considerable effort to ensuring that the results of her research do not just land in scientific journals, but also shared with research participants and community partners via community facing reports and infographics. In 2023, her contributions to co-creating smoking cessation resources for American Indian persons was highlighted by the White House as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Cancer Moonshot Agenda to end cancer.

Wyatt Pickner is an enrolled member of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe (Hunkpati Dakota) in South Dakota. He received his undergraduate degree in American Indian Studies and Health Sciences from the University of South Dakota and earned an MPH in Community-Oriented Public Health Practice from the University of Washington. He has over decade of experience working with tribes, tribal organizations, and American Indian serving organizations at local, regional and national levels on research projects, capacity building, training and community engagement. Wyatt is currently the Research Manager at the American Indian Cancer Foundation. In this role he works with Indigenous communities through culturally-rigorous methods to design and implement research projects that assess the burden of cancer and potential contributing factors with the aim to identify culturally relevant solutions.

Dr. Claradina Soto (Navajo/Jemez Pueblo) is an Associate Professor at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences and Director of the Initiative for California American Indian Health Research and Evaluation. She has over 20 years of working with the American Indian and Alaska Native populations in public health, collaborating with urban and Tribal communities in CA to reduce and prevent mental health disparities, cancer prevalence, commercial tobacco use, and substance use and opioid use disorders. Dr. Soto is a longtime advocate for the American Indian and Alaska Native communities and other priority populations to advance health equity and reduce health disparities.

Brianna N. Tranby, MA is the Senior Research Program Coordinator in the Behavioral Health Research Program at Mayo Clinic – Rochester.  She received a Master of Arts from the University of Minnesota in Educational and Counseling Psychology and has been engaged in research and educational activities for over 15 years.  In her current role, Ms. Tranby is engaged in community-based participatory research with several underserved populations through partnerships with the Rochester Healthy Immigrant Community, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Southcentral Foundation in Alaska, and The Ohio State University and Vanderbilt University serving rural populations.  Since beginning her career at Mayo Clinic in 2015, she has contributed to clinical research through professional and educational presentations, publications, and advocating for research participants to ensure they are treated respectfully throughout their engagement in clinical research.  She lives in Rochester, Minnesota with her family and enjoys traveling, gardening, and crafting.