Dr. Abhimanyu Sud is Assistant Professor at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto and Scientist at the Bridgepoint Collaboratory for Research and Innovation, Sinai Health. His clinical practice, education, and research focus primarily on the intersection of chronic pain, mental health, and opioid use. He leads work that uses a variety of research methods to investigate this area including systematic reviews, clinical trials, implementation evaluations, and bibliometric and media analyses. He is particularly interested in what the opioid crisis tells us about medicine as a field and how we can develop appropriate health policy responses.

Darren’s main role at the Subject Matter Lab is to coordinate a clinical trial investigating online non-pharmacological programs for treating depression in people with chronic pain. The trial is directly recruiting from six healthcare groups across the Greater Toronto Area and includes Women’s College Hospital, the Toronto Rehab Institute, and Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College clinics. Other work he’s involved in largely focuses on chronic pain and mental health, and includes conducting review papers, creating data visualizations, and fulfilling in-lab design needs. His past research has centred around outcome measures and physical therapy in people after stroke. He holds a BSc (Hons) with a specialization in Neuroscience and an MSc in Rehabilitation Science, both from the University of Toronto. In his free time, you can most likely find him gardening, rock climbing, or knitting.

Find out more about Darren here.

Justin’s main role at the Subject Matter Lab is the coordination of a clinical trial investigating the virtual delivery of a breathing-based meditation program for Canadian veterans living with PTSD. The trial is a partnership between the Bridgepoint Collaboratory for Research and Innovation and the Centre of Excellence for PTSD and Related Mental Health Conditions. This project is currently in development and will involve recruitment of Canadian veterans from across the country. He is also involved in other projects about opioid use disorder and chronic pain where he assists in preparing grant applications, writing papers, and conducting literature reviews. His past work involved investigating the use of medical cannabis as a therapeutic for individuals living with PTSD and chronic pain and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth mental health. He holds a BSc (Hons) with a double major in Pharmacology and Immunology and a MSc in Clinical Pharmacology, both from the University of Toronto. Outside of his work, Justin enjoys running, completing escape rooms, watching musicals, and watching the Raptors.

Find out more about Justin here.

Meghan manages a research program focused on improving primary care for people with opioid use disorder. She is leading the development of clinical tools and novel education programs aimed at improving opioid use disorder care. Meghan also manages a parallel stream of health services, health policy, and historical research and ​coordinates activities between multiple stakeholders at local, provincial, and national levels. In her free time, you can find her reading, biking, or running around with her husky.

Kellia is a researcher conducting an international comparative policy analysis on opioid use disorder treatments in primary care settings. By drawing from key informant interviews and documentary sources, she aims to explore how different health system, cultural, and political factors may influence these models of care. She recently submitted her PhD at The University of Sydney, which examined the development of policies affecting community pharmacy practice, and the role of evidence in policymaking. She holds a BPharm(Hons), is a registered pharmacist in Australia, and has been practicing for the past five years in community pharmacy. When she’s not working, she’s an avid flautist and consumer of news, television, and musical theatre cast recordings.

Kasunka’s role at the Subject Matter Lab is to coordinate a mixed-method study analyzing the citations of a highly influential article on the French experience with primary care-based buprenorphine. Her previous work at the lab includes a qualitative meta-synthesis on the perspectives and experiences of healthcare providers on the extramedical use of buprenorphine.

Kasunka is currently completing a Master of Community Health in Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is an international medical graduate licensed to practice medicine in Sri Lanka. In her spare time, she enjoys baking, playing board games, and traveling.

Grahanya’s research at the Subject Matter Lab uses realist methods to elaborate on the functions and mechanisms of continuing education for opioid therapy prescribing. She is particularly interested in exploring the intersections between addiction medicine and chronic pain as well as understanding causal factors and policy efforts in the ongoing overdose crisis. Other qualitative research projects she’s involved in relate to sustainable healthcare education, interactional stigma at the clinical level, and clinical guideline use in opioid prescribing. Grahanya is currently working towards her BHSc (Hon) at McMaster University. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, photography, and doing puzzles.