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Faculty Researcher

Lois Jackson, Ph.D.
Acting Scientific Director
Professor, Faculty of Health Professions,
Dalhousie University

Phone: (902) 494-6316
Fax: (902) 494-3594
Email: lois.jackson@dal.ca

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Lois Jackson, Ph.D.

Dr. Lois A. Jackson is currently the Acting Scientific Director at AHPRC and a full Professor in the Health Promotion Programme, Faculty of Health Professions, Dalhousie University where she has taught since 1997. She holds appointments in the Women and Gender Studies programme, International Development Programme, and the School of Nursing . She is also a Scientist with the IWK Health Centre ( Halifax , Nova Scotia ). Since 2005 Dr. Jackson has been the lead for the Communities & Health Research Unit of the Atlantic Networks for Prevention Research (ANPR). She is also the first ever recipient of the Faculty of Health Professions Research Excellence Award at Dalhousie University.

Dr. Jackson's research analyzes the multiple and complex forms of social, economic and political exclusion that impact the health of marginalized groups. She has worked for over 15 years with some of the most vulnerable sectors of the Canadian population including sex trade workers, injection drug users, rural youth, and teenage mothers. Her research challenges stereotypes and myths about addictions, the sex trade, and HIV/AIDS, and underscores the role of social factors in the formation of health inequities. She has led numerous large-scale collaborative research initiatives. Currently she is leading a multi-disciplinary, multisectoral team of academics, government policy makers, and community organizations from across Atlantic Canada which is analyzing how poverty and social exclusion are driving unsafe practices among injection drug users - thus exacerbating already serious social and health issues among people with addictions. Dr. Jackson's research has been nationally and internationally recognized. She has presented her research widely in diverse settings including community forums, public schools, University academic settings, at local, national and international conferences, and in the news media. She has published in such internationally recognized journals as Social Science & Medicine, Health Risk & Society; Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy ; and the Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality . She has received research funding from provincial and national funding bodies, and over the past 10 years has been the principal investigator or team member on nationally funded research grants worth over 10 million dollars.

From 2000-2005 Dr. Jackson was part of the 'Coasts under Stress' research initiative funded jointly by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). This interdisciplinary, multicentre research involved over 70 researchers across Canada , and was awarded the 2007 'Craigdarroch Award for Societal Contribution' (University of Victoria). Dr. Jackson's work with Coasts under Stress included leading a 5 year research project examining the impacts of economic restructuring on the health of youth in a small coastal community in Northern Newfoundland . As part of this research she collaborated with youth to develop a video that expresses their attachment to their community, and the stressors and trauma associated with having to leave in search of work ( It's our ways, It's who we are: stories and voices of the youth of rural Newfoundland) . Her research has been showcased in a number of peer-reviewed books: Making and Moving Knowledge: Interdisciplinary and Community-based Research in a World on the Edge (2008) ; Coasts under Stress: Understanding Restructuring and Social-Ecological Health (2007); Power & Restructuring: Shaping Canada's Coastal Society & Environment (2006); and Resetting the Kitchen Table: Food Security, Culture, Health and Resilience in Coastal Communities (2006).

Staff

Project Coordinators
Sandra J. Crowell, MPA Managing Director Phone: (902) 494-2880 Fax: (902) 494-3594 Email: sandra.crowell@dal.ca + View Biography
- Hide Biography Sandra J. Crowell, MPA Ms. Crowell oversees all aspects of the functioning of the Centre including human resource management, financial management, knowledge translation, communications, strategic planning, project management, quality control of project activities and products and liaison with similar research Centres nationally. She supervises, coaches and mentors staff and students and routinely provides advice and direction to multidisciplinary and multi university research teams. She is instrumental in the development of new research ideas and proposals often as a coinvestigator or collaborator. She has organized large research conferences and events and has presented AHPRC research findings internationally. Sandra holds a B.A. (Honors) in Sociolgy from Acadia University and a Masters degree in Public Administration from Queen's University.
Julie Hopkins Web Designer/Developer Phone: (902) 494-4537 Fax: (902) 494-3594 Email: julie.hopkins@dal.ca + View Biography
- Hide Biography Julie Hopkins As a highly self-motivated and goal-oriented creative professional, Julie has been perfecting her craft for over 10 years. She thrives on challenging herself to produce excellence in both design and functionality, while utilizing current and emerging technologies. As an honours graduate of the graphic design diploma from George Brown College in Toronto, she stepped immediately into the emerging world of the web. Julie worked successfully for several years as a freelancer with clients in Toronto, Halifax and Lisbon. In March of 2003, she began working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as their regional web developer for the four Atlantic provincial web sites. During the 5.5 years at CBC, she was responsible for supporting the online needs for 40+ Radio and TV programs, four online news editors, journalists and the communication department. While working at CBC Julie was awarded 2006 CBC.ca Award of Excellence and the 2006 RTNDA Award (Radio-Television News Directors Association of Canada) for best web site in the Atlantic Region - CBC.ca/ns. Julie then went on to work as the knowledge centre web specialist for the Canadian Council on Learning where she provided web development, design and technical expertise to five Knowledge Centres situated in offices across Canada. She joined AHPRC in November 2009 as the resident web developer/designer. View her online portfolio »
Susan Marsh, BPR Office Assistant Phone: (902) 494-2240 Fax: (902) 494-3594 Email: susan.marsh@dal.ca + View Biography
- Hide Biography Susan Marsh, BPR Susan Marsh joined AHPRC in September 2008 as Office Assistant. Susan has a background in administration, communications and event management, and has been has been a professional administrator for over 15 years. With a B.A. and B. Ed from Dalhousie University and a degree in Public Relations from Mount Saint Vincent University , she has worked in a wide range of fields, from cultural not-for-profit organizations to private businesses in the energy and the entertainment sectors. Most recently she has worked with the Association of Psychologists of Nova Scotia (APNS), a professional advocacy organization where she has been Office Manager since 2003.
Margaret Donahue Interdisciplinary Post-Doctoral Fellow and Project Coordinator for Addictions and Harm Reduction Phone: (902) 494-3189 Fax: (902) 494-3594 Email: margaret.donahue@dal.ca + View Biography
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Meredith Flannery, M.Sc. Project Coordinator, ENACT/Youth and the Built Environment Project Phone: (902) 494-8369 Fax: (902) 494-3594 Email: flannery@dal.ca + View Biography
- Hide Biography Meredith Flannery, M.Sc. Meredith recently completed her MSc in Psychology at Dalhousie University where she examined variables that play a role in pro-environmental behavior such as recycling and composting. During her graduate studies, Meredith worked as a Research Assistant at the AHPRC on several projects including providing editing assistance on documents such as Demystifying Knowledge Translation for Stroke Researchers: A Primer on Theory and Praxis, Knowledge Translation Planning Tools for Stroke Researchers, and The Social Sciences & Humanities in Health Research: A Canadian Snapshot of Fields of Study and Innovative Approaches to Understanding and Addressing Health Issues. Meredith is currently the Acting Coordinator of the project Optimizing Investments in the Built Environment to Reduce Youth Obesity. Meredith brings to the AHPRC a multi-disciplinary background in environment and behavioral sciences as well as experience in research design, project coordination, data collection and multivariate statistical analysis.
Karen McNeil, M.Sc. Project Coordinator for Ethics in an Aging Society & Oral Care in Continuing Care Settings Projects Phone: (902) 494-3094 Fax: (902) 494-3594 Email: karen.mcneil@dal.ca + View Biography
- Hide Biography Karen McNeil, M.Sc. Karen is a Project Coordinator for two research projects investigating the oral health of frail elders. The first project "Ethics in an Aging Society: Exploring influences and values on personal care practices in the provision of oral health care for frail dependent elders", is funded by CIHR. It examines the experiences of a variety of caregivers in providing or assisting with daily personal mouth care. The Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation provides funding for the second project "Oral Care in Continuing Care Settings: Collaborating to improve policies and practices", which looks at the integration of oral health care for frail and dependant older adults in three long-term care facilities and an adult day hospital in Eastern Nova Scotia. Karen recently completed her MSc in Kinesiology & Health Studies from Queen's University. Her Master's thesis examined effective methods of promoting wholistic health practices to urban Aboriginal families. She also holds a Bachelor of Kinesiology & Nutrition degree from Acadia University and is a Certified Exercise Physiologist (CEP) with the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP). In addition to her position with the AHPRC, she also works with Recreation Nova Scotia as the coordinator of their "Move More" program.
Sue McWilliam Ph.D. (cand.) Post-Doctoral Fellow in Addictions and Harm Reduction, AHPRC, Dalhousie University Phone: (902) 494-1152 Fax: (902) 494-3594 Email: smcwilli@dal.ca + View Biography
- Hide Biography Sue McWilliam Ph.D. Sue recently completed an Interdisciplinary PhD in Health Promotion and Sociology at Dalhousie University. Her thesis examined provincial HIV prevention and harm reduction policy development and content to determine whether it was addressing the needs of women who inject drugs in Nova Scotia. Sue had previously completed an MA in Health Promotion at Dalhousie University for which she interviewed women living with HIV or AIDS to determine their care, treatment and support needs. From 2005-2011 Sue worked in the Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine at the University of Ottawa, as a member of the HIV Prevention Research Team. Sue acted as Project Coordinator and interviewer on a number of projects designing and evaluating harm reduction-based programming for people who inject drugs and/or smoke crack. Sue also acted as Project Coordinator on The Ontario Women’s HIV Prevention Study and the Optimizing Prenatal HIV Testing in Ontario study. Sue is currently a post-doctoral fellow in Addictions and Harm Reduction at AHRPC where she is working on the HaRMS study which is aimed at understanding the complexity of improving access to emergency shelters and emergency health care for people who use drugs.
Cindy Shearer Ph.D. Post-Doctoral Fellow and Project Coordinator ENACT/Youth and the Built Environment Project TIME for Health – Tools Information Motivation Environment Phone: (902) 494-2604 Fax: (902) 494-3594 Email: cindy.shearer@dal.ca + View Biography
- Hide Biography Cindy Shearer, Ph.D. Cindy Shearer received her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Pennsylvania State University . Her graduate training at Penn State was grounded in developmental and ecological perspectives on human development and family relationships. Her research spans several developmental periods with a particular focus on individual development and its connections with family processes and psychosocial outcomes during the second decade of life. She has taught courses on adolescent development and interview methodology at the university level as well as provided mentorship to a number of honours students in her department at Penn State. Her research activities and graduate education provided her with a strong background in research methodology and quantitative statistics which she has used in her first role at AHPRC, as project coordinator in the final stages of the Yarmouth Stroke Project. Cindy is currently a postdoctoral fellow and project coordinator for the Optimizing Investments in the Built Environment to Reduce Youth Obesity project and also devotes a portion of her time to secondary analysis and dissemination of the Physical Activity of Children and Youth data.
Iona Worden Driscoll *Project Coordinator for the 'Kungatsiajuk': Supporting the Healthy Smiles of NunatuKavut Children* project Phone: (902) 494-6038 Fax: (902) 494-3594 Email**: iona.worden-driscoll@dal.ca + View Biography
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Research Assistants
Kelly Adamson Everett Stone, Videographer