About us
This project is taking a co-design approach with stakeholders to create an intervention that will directly benefit patients with SCD to support the transition of patients with SCD from pediatric to adult care. SMART Youth aims to improve the transition readiness of youth with SCD from pediatric to adult healthcare. SMART Youth is funded by the Young Researchers’ Award Program and is operating in partnership with the Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario (SCAGO).
Capstone defense video
Watch the capstone defense video.
Team members
Geil Astorga
Geil is interested in using communication and multimedia strategies to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice. As a Communications Specialist at Upstream Lab, St. Michael's Hospital, she supports the knowledge translation and communication initiatives of more than 30 projects tackling the social determinants of health. She is also part of a national adaptive platform trial of treatments for COVID-19 in community settings.
Peola Ellis
Peola has obtained her undergraduate degree at the University of Ottawa in which she obtained an Honours Bachelors in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences with a Minor in Life Sciences and a Specialization in Integrative Health Biosciences. Her academic journey has been enriched with many research opportunities along the way. However, her passion to research nanotechnology and its application to medicine was first ignited in high school where she received the opportunity to conduct research at the University of Toronto and publish a scientific journal article that explored the field of nanodentistry.
Fairuz Karim
Fairuz is a recent graduate of McMaster University where she completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, alongside a double minor in Sociology and Sustainability. Fairuz is passionate about the connections between health equity, intersectionality, and sustainability.
Janine Noorloos
Janine Noorloos is currently pursuing a Master of Health Science in Translational Research after completing a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance. Janine has held a variety of leadership positions within social services and healthcare organizations. Through these experiences, she became interested in program evaluation, knowledge mobilization, and design thinking. Janine currently works in the field of knowledge development and exchange.
Jaspreet Randhawa
Jaspreet is beyond excited to be working with her incredible team on their Capstone Project focused on supporting patients with sickle cell disease and their families transitioning from pediatric to adult healthcare.
Project Advisory Committee
James Bradley
James Bradley is the transition navigator with the Hemoglobinopathy program working between the Hospital for Sick Children and Toronto General Hospital. He supports adolescents and young adults with hemoglobinopathies with their transition from pediatric to adult care including transition readiness, psychosocial support, resource navigation, goal setting, developing self-management skills, and ensuring a seamless overall transition to adult care.
Jim Slotta
Jim is a professor of education, interested in media and their impact on our various practices and (in turn) the communities in which those practices occur. Schools are one such place — both K-12 and university levels — and he has spent my career looking at the impact of the Internet, computers, mobile phones, social media, and many forms of interactive technologies.
Serena Thompson
As a single mom living in Toronto with sickle cell anemia, Serena is dedicated to helping those who are also affected, by sitting on The Sickle Cell Association of Ontario’s Transition Team. Her main focus is to reach out to the community through information sessions, conferences and social media.
TRP Supervisors
Dr. Edyta Marcon
Edyta loves to encounter new questions, apply new knowledge, and meet new people. As a Senior Research Associate at the U of T Donnelly Centre, she currently studies how RNA modifications regulate gene expression and how they relate to human health and disease. Her interests extend beyond the laboratory into the application of scientific research using human centric design thinking.
