Announcing VHA’s 2023-2024 Fellows
November 30, 2023
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Each year, VHA Home HealthCare (VHA) invests in the future of home care research through fellowship programs that support graduate student researchers and clinician-focused programs that offer therapists, nurses and personal support workers the opportunity to develop their research skills.
As our current fellows begin their new research projects, here is an overview of the Fellowship Class of 2023-2024:
Graduate Research Award
VHA is committed to sponsoring promising young scientists to engage in research that will diversify the research capacity and expertise in the home and community sector. Each year, we co-fund up to three graduate students whose work is aligned with the strategic vision of VHA Research through our Graduate Research Award.
Current Fellows
 Alyssia Sanchez, Graduate Research 2023 |
Alyssia Sanchez (X: @_AlyssiaSanchez, LinkedIn) is a second year MASc student in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto.
She is currently conducting research on a novel home-based reminder system with the focus of enhancing communication between individuals living with dementia and their caregivers. Alyssia is also working on the development of machine learning models and data analytics to gain behavioral insights from reminder delivery and acceptance in various contexts. She emphasizes meaningful involvement of people with dementia and caregivers in the design process to create a co-collaborative, user-informed solution. Alyssia’s research explores innovative technologies for promoting active, independent lifestyles in the context of healthy aging. VHA Research Area of Focus: Better Care and More Connected |
 Gaya Bin Noon, Graduate Research 2023 |
Gaya Bin Noon (LinkedIn) is a PhD candidate in Public Health Sciences and the project coordinator for the Network for Aging Research at the University of Waterloo.
Her research focuses on standards and guidelines for active assisted living (AAL)-enabled smart homes to help older adults to remain in their homes and maintain independence for as long as possible. She is particularly interested in the clinical applications of AAL data and indicators, and examining how these can be feasibly integrated into the workflows of care providers. VHA Research Area of Focus: Better Care and More Connected |
 Rebecca Rios, Graduate Research 2023 |
Rebecca Rios is a MSc candidate at Brock University in the Applied Health Sciences department.
Rebecca’s work and research interests include Alternate Level of Care (ALC) patients, integrated care, healthcare funding allocation and care partner burden. Rebecca’s research focuses on the financial burden of the healthcare system, the individual and their care partners upon patient designation as ALC. Acknowledging and integrating care partners financial strain into her research, she wishes to voice and bright light to individuals who are involved in the care of their loved ones yet, many times, are overlooked. Rebecca hopes that her research will culminate in improvement and reallocation of health funding, reflecting in proper allocation of resources, the presence of an integrated approach when dealing with ALC patients and an overall more connected healthcare system. VHA Research Area of Focus: Better Care and More Connected |
Champions of Change Fellowship
Designed and run by the Innovation, Quality, Best Practice, Research & Education team at VHA, the Champions of Change fellowship program provides point-of-care providers with an opportunity to work together to design and lead a quality improvement project related to VHA’s strategic priorities. Through developing, implementing, and evaluating a Quality Improvement initiative, fellows will drive positive change within their clinical teams.
Fellows will design and implement a quality improvement initiative to understand and improve the supports and resources available to VHA providers for managing common ethical challenges at the point of care.
Current Fellows
 Janet Valenzuela, Champions of Change 2023 |
Janet H. Valenzuela is a Personal Support Worker and has provided exceptional care and respect to VHA clients for the past nine years. She firmly believes that being a PSW is not just a job, but a privilege to make a difference in someone’s everyday life. |
 Kasepae Mendono, Champions of Change 2023 |
Kasepae Mendono is a Personal Support Worker with previous experience in Early Child Assistance. She is passionate about supporting her clients as they have become apart of her family.
She sees being a Champion of Change as an opportunity to learn, discuss ethical tools, and to share her learnings with her colleagues. |
 Waneza Carvalho, Champions of Change 2023 |
Waneza Carvalho is a Personal Support Worker who has provided care to VHA clients for ten years and entered the PSW field because she loves helping others.
She looks forward to learning from and sharing her experiences with the other Champions and anticipates discovering new approaches and techniques to providing the best care for her clients. |
VHA-UHN Collaborative Academic Practice Fellowship
VHA-UHN Collaborative Academic Practice Fellowship was created through a partnership between VHA Research and the UHN Collaborative Academic Practice Department (CAP). This program was the first of its kind in the world and has a long history of supporting point-of-care providers to engage in successful quality improvement work.
The CAP Program at UHN provides unique opportunities for healthcare professionals at the point-of-care to improve quality of client care by leading a quality improvement project, related to the organization’s strategic priorities, and to engage in ongoing dialogue and learning about leadership and spearheading positive change.
Current Fellows
 Corinna Murray, Rehab Fellow 2023 |
Corinna Murray is a VHA Occupational Therapist and aims to protect the mental health of clients through an activity-based program where individuals can practice social skills and receive support to gain skills and confidence towards new levels of independence.
In addition to her expertise in acquired brain injury, splinting and physical medicine, Corinna is trained in mental health, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and trauma-informed approaches. |
 Teresa Hu, Rehab Fellow 2023 |
Miao “Teresa” Hu is a VHA Registered Dietitian and is looking to streamline the process of providing clients and carers with the necessary food preparation information based on their unique circumstances.
Her project focuses on developing and evaluating a more accessible method of sharing this information, and includes a strategy to acquire and incorporate feedback from clients, carers, and dietitians. |