Our Team

Dr. Ripudaman Singh Minhas

Project Lead

Dr. Ripudaman Singh Minhas is a Developmental Paediatrician and Director of Pediatric Research at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto. His research interests are in the development, behaviour, disability, and rehabilitation of children in urban settings and in newcomer immigrant and refugee families. He is currently working to develop interventions to support the developmental potential of children in the unique context of their social determinants of health and inequity. His team uses Community-Based Participatory Research principles to guide the co-creation and implementation of family-based interventions and the evolution of health systems.

Caitlin Childs

Steering Committee

Caitlin is a digital marketer on the Digital Channels team at the World Health Organization based in Canada. Although she works remotely in Canada, her team is located at HQ in Geneva, Switzerland. Her team works to help people lead healthier lives by spreading more health messages through more channels. She has a particular interest in targeting vulnerable countries and communities that may have less access to information, resources, and funding.

Dr. Rageen Rajendram

Steering Committee

Dr. Rageen Rajendram is a subspecialty fellow in developmental pediatrics at Holland Bloorview Kids’ Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto and the lead of Tamil Kids’ Health.

Dr. Aisha Yousafzai

Steering Committee

Dr. Aisha Yousafzai is an Associate Professor of Global Health at the TH Chan Harvard School of Public Health. She is an international leader, consultant and scholar in the area of parenting and early childhood science and evaluation in marginalized populations. She has successfully conducted large-scale parent-child evaluation trials using randomized-controlled methods in a range of countries.

Dr. Kristy Roschke

Steering Committee

Dr. Kristy Roschke is a media literacy educator and scholar. She is the managing director of the News Co/Lab, a Cronkite School of Journalistm and Mass Communication initiative aimed at advancing media literacy via journalism, education and technology. Her research interests include misinformation, media literacy education and media trust. She has developed curriculum and taught journalism, digital media production and media literacy courses at the high school and university level for nearly 20 years. She currently serves on the board of the National Association of Media Literacy Education.

Dr. Preety Salh

Steering Committee

Dr. Preety Salh is a Developmental Pediatrician at Sunny Hill Health Centre / BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, BC. She specializes in working with children with complex developmental conditions including Intellectual Disability, Autism, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

Dr. Mandeep Mahal

Steering Committee

Dr. Mandeep Mahal is a General Pediatrician and fellow in Developmental Paediatrics at the Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children/BC Children’s Hospital. She has vast experience in working in predominantly Punjabi neighbourhoods in Calgary and Vancouver, both with community agencies and families of children with school difficulties, ADHD, complex developmental and behavioural conditions, autism and mental health challenges.

Dr. Clara Juando-Prats

Steering Committee

Dr. Clara Juando-Prats is a researcher at the Applied Health Research Centre at Unity Health Toronto, St. Michael’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on patient and public engagement, patient experiences, visual approaches, and socio-critical theory applied to study the relational aspects of the healthcare system as well as the inequities in the social structure that impact individuals’ well-being.

Expert review board

Dr Niraj Mistry

MD MSC FRCPC

Dr. Stephanie Hosang

BHSc, MD

Punya Ross

CHE, RD, MHSc, MPH

Dr. Shimi Kang

MD, FRCPC

Dr Javeed Sukhera

MD, PhD, FRCPC 

Dr Herbert “Joey” Bonifacio

MD FRCPC MSc MPH MA MTS MFA   

Dr Mariam Tokhi

MBBS, MPH, FRACGP, DRANZCOG, CPA (Narrative Medicine

Dr Mohamed Eltorki

MBChB FRCPC  

Nita Sharda

BSc (Human Nutritional Sciences), RD

Dr Hamish Graham

MBBS, MSSc, MPH, PhD Gen Peds

Dr. Sloane Freeman

MD FRCPC MSc Gen Peds

Dr. Fahed AlJaser

MD Endocrinology

Lesley Barreira

MADS, Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)

Althea Frank Esho

M. ADS Behaviour, BCBA

Dr. Anya McLaren

MD FRCPC MSc Respirology, Sleep Medicine

Priscilla Dutt

Registered ECE, BECE Early Childhood

Dr. Mohammad Zubairi

MD MEd FRCPC Developmental Pediatrics

Marisa Cicero

MSW RSW Child Welfare

Dr. Rae Brager

MD FRCPC Allergy/Immunology