Research Members

Annette Schumann, PhD, MSc, Research Coordinator

Annette Schumann is a research coordinator with the Sam Katz Community Health & Aging Research Unit. She obtained a PhD in medical science and worked for over seven years in healthcare focusing on gerontological research. With her background as a Speech-Language-Pathologist with a German Master's Degree in Special Education, she developed a strong interest to improve communication difficulties in vulnerable populations. She has previously worked in auditory rehabilitation, where she provided listening and communication training, and developed and evaluated listening training interventions for older adults. She is committed to use her research and clinical experience and skills to help optimize high-quality care and improve quality of life for people living with dementia. 

Denise Bedard, PhD Student

With 45 years of experience in the Long-term Care sector, Denise has always strived to enhance the quality of life for seniors. Denise has a deep understanding of geriatric care dynamics, LTC policies, and Regulations and has been involved in various initiatives and projects to improve the quality of care and services for residents and their families. She is passionate about meeting residents' unique needs and challenges and providing them with tailored and compassionate care that respects their dignity, preferences, and autonomy. She strongly believes every senior deserves to live a fulfilling and meaningful life, regardless of physical or cognitive limitations. Denise is also committed to advancing her knowledge and skills in the field of aging and is doing her Ph.D. program at the University of Western Ontario, focusing on resident-centered care and biopsychosocial factors impacting quality of life and care for residents in Ontario. Her research interests include innovative models of care, digital technologies, and best practices in LTC and one of the reasons for joining the CARE Lab because it is so progressive and so needed today in long term care today and towards the future. Denise is a visionary leader passionate about the culture change movement and transforming long-term care homes from traditionalized to more homelike environments.  

George Philip, PhD Student

George Philip is a third year PhD student in the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences program at Western University. He obtained his MSc in Translational Medicine from Queen’s University and his BSc with Honours in Medical Sciences from Brock University. His prior experiences of volunteering at Sunnybrook Veterans Centre and The Alzheimer Society have led him to pursue dementia-related research. Specifically, George’s research aims to understand dementia-related stigma among racialized persons living with dementia, their care partners, and community. Recognizing the expression of stigmatizing behaviour and language can provide insight into effective education, training, and knowledge translation efforts. George aspires to have his research findings contribute to the improvement of dementia care, diagnosis, and treatment, particularly among racialized communities. 

Grace Norris, Master's Student

Grace Norris is a Master's student in the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences program. Her research interests are focused on improving person-centred care for older adults, specifically those with chronic illnesses and disabilities, familial and spousal caregivers, formal caregivers, and knowledge translation and implementation. Grace obtained her Honours Bachelor's degree in Health Sciences with a concentration in Disability and Chronic Illness at Carleton University. Her interest in research developed as she worked directly with older adults living with complex developmental and physical disabilities as a formal caregiver and as a holistic boxing instructor for individuals living with Parkinson's disease and their informal caregivers. Grace hopes to continue directly contributing to improving the quality of life of older adults and informal and formal caregivers through her professional career and community volunteering.   

Grace Moniz Malheiro, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Grace Malheiro is a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Health Sciences with an Honours Specialization in Biology at Western University. Her interest in dementia care began through personal family experiences and volunteering at Parkwood Institute in the Veterans Dementia Care Program. Her current research interest focuses on virtual reality as a training tool for health care providers. She hopes to gain a better understanding of person-centered communication between people living with dementia and their caregivers. 

Julie Vo, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Julie Vo is a third year Honours Specialization in Computer Science. Julie has always had an interest in the application of Computer Science and how it can help people, especially in the healthcare field. Hearing firsthand experiences from her sister, who is a nursing student, has provided her with valuable insights into the vital role of healthcare professionals. What stood out to Julie about CARE Lab was not just the way their Be EPIC-VR program aids healthcare professionals in learning skills necessary to provide quality care, but also how their training enables participant to directly apply those skills in realistic scenarios in VR. Julie is eager to learn more about person-centred communication and apply her technical skills to assist in solving their solution to optimize their qualitative data analysis. 

Vishnu Sripathi, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Vishnu is a fourth-year undergraduate student pursuing an Honours Bachelor of Medical Sciences at Western University. His interest in dementia care began as a volunteer at the Freedom Psychiatry Clinic in Wilson, North Carolina where his interactions with family members of persons living with dementia inspired him to learn more about the field of long-term care. His current research interest focuses on the commercialization and spread of virtual reality training tools for personal support workers. Through this, Vishnu aspires to learn more about challenges in long-term care and help improve the quality of life for older adults and their caregivers.

Audrey Gruneberg, Medical Student Research Assistant

Audrey is a medical student at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. She obtained her B.Sc.H (Life Sciences) from Queen's University in 2020. With a passion for family medicine and working with the full spectrum of the population, Audrey is excited to better understand and help improve person-centered communication with the CARE Lab. Her current research focus is on exploring stigmatizing language in conversations between people living with dementia and their care partners. With her future medical career, Audrey hopes to further translate this into improving the communication and relationships between the physician, patient, and care partners.

Sharon Pritchard, Medical Student Research Assistant

Sharon is a fourth-year medical student at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. She obtained her Bachelor of Science (Biology and Physiology) from McMaster University in 2020. After experiencing a family member who was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia move into long-term care home, she became interested in dementia research that aims to improve care for individuals in this population. Her current research is studying effective communication strategies for individuals living with sensory and cognitive impairments, which she is hoping will provide useful insights for caregivers looking after loved ones with dementia.