Staff
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Dr. Jo-Ann Episkenew Dr. Jo-Ann Episkenew is a Métis woman originally from Manitoba but long-time resident of Saskatchewan. She is a Professor of English at the First Nations University of Canada but has taken a leave of absence to serve at the Indigenous Peoples’ Health Research Centre. As an English Prof., she is not your typical health researcher, but then she's not your typical English Prof. either. She is interested in studying the connection between story and healing and in applying literary analysis skills—a close reading of the text—to her work with Indigenous youth. She is also a member of the Regina Riel Métis Council. She lives in Regina with her husband, Clayton, and Ethan and Paulina, two of her grandchildren. |
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Dr. Carrie Bourassa Dr. Carrie Bourassa is an Associate Professor of Indigenous Health Studies at First Nations University of Canada. Carrie completed her Ph.D. (Social Studies) in 2008. Her dissertation is entitled Destruction of the Métis Nation: Health Consequences. Carrie’s research interests include the impacts of colonization on the health of First Nations and Métis people; creating culturally safe care in health service delivery; Aboriginal community-based health research methodology; Aboriginal end of life care and Aboriginal women’s health. Carrie is Métis, belonging to the Riel Métis Council of Regina Inc. She resides in Regina with her husband, Chad and her daughters, Victoria and Lillie. |
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Dr. Jennifer Poudrier
tel: (306) 966-1793 Dr. Jennifer Poudrier is a sociologist and Métis community-based researcher with background and interests in First Nations health, visual imagery, Indigenous knowledge and photography. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Saskatchewan. She completed her Ph.D. (Sociology, Queen's University) in 2004 with a specialization in Science Studies. Her dissertation is entitled Decolonizing Genetic Science: The Thrifty Gene Theory, Aboriginal Health and Empowering Knowledges. Her current projects include community based health research with Battleford Triblal Council Indian Health Services on the topics of healthy body weight and body image through photovoice. She is also involved on other projects that attempt to demystify the binary relationship between science and society. Jennifer resides in Saskatoon with her daughter, Ellorah. |
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Cassandra Opikokew Cassandra is from Canoe Lake Cree First Nation and was raised in Meadow Lake in Northern Saskatchewan. She graduated at the top of her class in 2009 with her Certificate in Indian Communication Arts and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Regina. In 2012, she completed her Master’s of Public Administration from the U of R Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy where she is now a PhD candidate researching Indigenous health and education policy. As Associate Director, Cassandra assists with knowledge translation, policy development and the strategic initiatives of the centre. Cassandra resides at Echo Lake, SK, with her partner Justin and their pack of five dogs. |
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Cassie Ozog Cassie is originally from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, but moved to Regina to pursue her education at the University of Regina. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in 2009 with a double major in Sociology and English. She completed her Master of Arts in Sociology at the U of R in December, 2012, where she focused on popular culture, and in particular zombie films as reflection of our society’s culture of fear. Her current research interests include perceptions of race and class in popular culture, race and physical space, apocalyptic thinking in the media and emergency preparedness, and the social determinants of health. As Research Officer, Cassie guides communications and social media planning, assists with project research coordination, student funding, and grant writing. Cassie lives in Regina with her husband, Eric, and their dog and two cats. |
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Stacey Shand
Research Coordinator
fax: (306)585-4854
Stacey Shand brings with her 11 years of experience working with the University of Regina in education, health-care, program evaluation and community-based research. She possesses a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Education and has recently completed her Master of Education thesis, which explored how past educational experience influences professional self. An accomplished educator, Stacey has extensive experience managing health-care training initiatives at the clinical, health-region, ministerial, post-secondary and departmental level and has worked with a number of health-care staff and patient groups. Prior to joining the IPHRC team, Stacey held Research Coordinator positions in both the Faculty of Arts’ Community Research Unit (CRU) as well as the Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit (SPHERU). Stacey resides in Regina where she enjoys the company of her extensive family as well as her dog and two cats.
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Dr. Nuno F. Ribeiro
Postdoctoral Fellow
tel: (306)337-2461
fax: (306)585-4854
Dr. Ribeiro´s research deals primarily with the comparative study of culture and behaviour and their connection to risky health behaviours among youth. He is also interested in the development and application of culturally relevant research methodologies. His research interets include comparative studies of culture and behaviour in leisure and tourism, research methodologies,young people's risky health behaviours, and Aboriginal youth health cultural impacts of tourism. Nuno graduated from the Pennsylvania State University in 2011 with a doctorate in Recreation, Park and Tourism Management and a minor in Cultural Anthropology (dissertation title: Culture, consensus and behavior among North American spring breakers). While at Penn State, he was the recipient of the Harold F. Martin Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow with the IPHRC’s Aboriginal youth theatre project. He has published extensively, been the recipient of several research grants, and has presented his research in numerous international conferences. Nuno lives in Regina with his wife, Toni, and their two cats, Dani and Jordan. |
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