EpiDREAM

Sonia Anand

Senior Scientist

Sonia Anand is a Professor, Medicine and Epidemiology at McMaster University; Associate Chair, Diversity and Equity in McMaster’s Department of Medicine; Director of McMaster’s Population Genomics Program; inaugural Chair, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society; and Director, Chanchlani Research Centre for Global Health at McMaster, among other roles.

Her present research focuses upon the environmental and genetic determinants of vascular disease in populations of varying ancestral origin, women and cardiovascular disease. Sonia has published more than 200 articles in peer review journals. Shas been inducted into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Jackie Bosch

Scientist

Jackie Bosch is the Assistant Dean of the McMaster Occupational Therapy Program and a PHRI Scientist. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Therapy, a Master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and a PhD in Rehabilitation Science. She also serves as a Professor in the School of Rehabilitation and has an Adjunct Appointment with the University of Galway College of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Sciences.

Her research focuses on improving functional outcomes in clinical trials, particularly for stroke survivors in low-resource settings, and enhancing clinical trial methods. Bosch has taken on leadership roles in large-scale trials such as HOPE, HOPE-TOO, HOPE-3 (NCT00468923), DREAM (NCT00095654), ORIGIN (NCT00069784), TIPS-3 (NCT01646437), and COMPASS (NCT01776424). She leads the Organized Stroke Care Across Income Levels (OSCAIL) group, which has conducted a proof-of-concept study implementing key aspects of stroke unit care in hospitals within low-resource settings. Currently, the OSCAIL group is working on a community-based study aimed at improving outcomes for stroke survivors in these challenging environments. Bosch is also interested in optimizing how clinical trials are conducted, especially by finding new ways to make the start-up and execution processes more efficient.

Jackie Bosch has published 184 articles and received several awards, including the Lorna Reimer Award for Leadership from the Canadian Occupational Therapy Foundation in 2019 and the Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Programs Award for Graduate Students in 2014.

Dipika Desai

Program Manager

Dipika Desai oversees many epidemiologic studies, including the South Asian birth cohort, START, the South Asian Heart Risk Assessment (SAHARA), and the Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds (CAHHM), as well as management assistance and oversight in the utilization of samples from a number of other studies.

She has a Bachelor’s degree in Food and Nutrition from the M S University in Baroda, India, and a Master’s degree in Human Nutrition from the University of British Columbia.