THE FFCR RESEARCH TEAM
Collecting and analyzing national-level data is a daunting task. Our team brings the skills and resources required to successfully complete not only this project, but independent projects branching off from it.
Funded by the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and The Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), the FFCR team is led by prestigious research professor Dr. Marisa Young and composed of top-tier Master's and PhD candidates. Hand-picked by Dr. Young based on the talents brought to the project, each member of the team brings a developing expertise in an area that is required for and will strengthen the scope and results of this project.
Each member of this team has also developed research endeavours that build on Dr. Young's work and that are designed to enhance the lived experiences of Canadians and global citizens more generally.
Take the time to read up on our team or check out their projects below.
TEAM MEMBERS
ANWESHA SIKDER
DATA ANALYST
Anwesha Sikder is currently working as the Data Analyst of the FFCR project. She has completed a Masters in Global Health Program from the McMaster University. As the data analyst she is responsible for connecting the community level data to the individual-level data and analyzing this information using advanced analyses for multilevel longitudinal data. She aspires to be a data scientist by contributing in diverse research sectors.
DIANA SINGH
RESEARCH COORDINATOR
Diana is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the department of sociology at McMaster University under the Faculty supervision of Marisa. After completing her PhD, Diana joined the Family-Friendly Community Resources (FFCR) project in the Fall of 2019 as the project/research coordinator. Diana assists Dr. Young with all phases of the project and is coordinating both research and knowledge mobilization efforts.
MARISA YOUNG
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Marisa is an Associate Professor at McMaster. Early in her career she has already secured grants from the Canadian government for a number of wide-ranging studies of work-family conflict and its effects on the mental health of Canadians. Alongside this Marisa balances her role as a researcher with her role as a professor, teaching undergraduate- and graduate-level statistics courses for the University.
Marisa has also been an active member of the academic community, refereeing for such journals as Acta Sociologica, American Sociological Review, and Gender & Society. Among her many honours, Marisa has contributed to a number of books and published numerous articles in such prestigious journals as Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Society & Mental Health, and Canadian Review of Sociology. Go to Marisa's website for more information.
SEAN LEIPE
DATA COLLECTION & GEOGRAPHICS
Sean Leipe is a 2nd year M.Sc student in the School of Geography and Earth Sciences at McMaster University. He has been working with the FFCR project since November 2017 as the team’s GIS consultant. His main role so far has been to acquire, quality-check, and process spatial datasets through various GIS packages and Python scripting so that they can be further analyzed by the group. His personal research focuses on evaluating vegetation change in northern catchments using multi-temporal LiDAR and other remotely sensed data.
JESSICA MONAGHAN
RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Jessica is a research assistant for the WMHICS and the YEP. Her roles for the WMHICS include, helping out with the survey administration, ethics applications, and reaching out to survey respondents to improve response rates. For the YEP, she has designed and will facilitate the online workshop at various high schools across Ontario. She is currently completing her Bachelors of Science in Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour from McMaster University, with a minor in Health and Aging. Jessica is working towards developing a better understanding of the circumstances that can impact someone’s quality of life, in the hopes of applying that knowledge as a counsellor later in life. Her previous research experiences include; a quantitative study that examines students’ choices when proactively managing their mental wellbeing, and a qualitative study that examines new fathers’ definitions of masculinity and mental health. Outside of work, Jessica helps to coordinate events that promote holistic wellbeing, through the McMaster Student Wellness Center Peer Educators.
DAVID VAZ
RESEARCH ASSISTANT
David is pursuing a Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) degree at McMaster University. His research interests include internet-based CBT, LGBTQ+ health, clinical misdiagnosis, and the intersection of mental health with education. As a Research Assistant for the McMaster Student E-Mental Health Project, David primarily works on survey distribution, administrative work, and developing communications resources for various stakeholders. Outside of this project, David also enjoys horror movies, cooking, and musical theatre.
SARAH COKER
RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Sarah Coker is a third year student and a level 2 Research Assistant for the FFCR-BHW project. Sarah provides project support for literature searches, reviews and report writing. Sarah is pursuing an undergraduate degree is social psychology with a minor in Women’s Studies at McMaster University. She is currently an executive with McMaster’s Aiding Women’s Shelters Club and is a Girl Guild leader (Ranger) in her spare time. She is hoping to pursue to Master’s in Mental Health Counselling.
