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Our Team

Meet our team of scientists, research staff, collaborators, and trainees.

Scientist
	Dr. Amy McPherson Principal investigator & lead of the ProFILE Lab. See Dr. McPherson's full Scientist Profile.

Research Staff
	Emily Cox (she/her), Research Coordinator Emily is a Research Coordinator for the ProFILE Lab. She completed a Master of Science degree in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Western University in 2022. Emily’s interests lie at the intersection of children’s rehabilitation and critical disability studies, and she is committed to finding new and innovative ways for these fields to collaborate. Within the ProFILE Lab, Emily oversees the Canada-wide ‘We Are Sexual Too’ project, which connects organizations across Canada to collaborate and share expertise in disability and sexuality. Emily also works with Dr. Tim Ross in the EPIC Lab.
	Alexandra Rego (she/her), Lived Experience Youth Mentor Alexandra identifies as a physically disabled woman, and educator with a background in child development and educational assistance. She is also a strong advocate for the disability community. Her role is as a Lived Experience Youth Mentor on the “We are Sexual Too” project with Holland Bloorview. She hopes to create a safe space for youth with disabilities to come together to express themselves as individuals as well as create peer connections.

Research Interns
	Francis Routledge (they/them) Francis is an intern in the ProFILE Lab. Francis recently completed a Master of Science degree at the University of Toronto’s Rehabilitation Sciences Institute where they explored the self-diagnosis experiences of self-diagnosed Autistic women from a critical Autism studies lens. Francis has worked on qualitative research projects with young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) on how young adults find belonging in community and everyday life. They are interested in research accessibility and critical diagnosis studies. Outside of the academy, they are passionate about Disability Justice.
	Kyara Liu (she/her) Kyara is an intern at the ProFILE lab. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at the University of British Columbia and is currently completing her last semester of her Master of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Her research interests are in gender-based violence prevention and the utilization of reproductive/sexual health services by underserved populations.

Lab alumni

	Revi Bonder Revi is a third-year doctoral candidate in the School of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at York University, where her research focuses on compulsive overeating pathologies, particularly addictive-like eating. She holds an MSc in the same research discipline. At the Bloorview Research Institute Revi is a Research Coordinator within the ProFILE lab, and is involved in projects concerning weight, eating disorders, mental health, and sexuality surrounding children and youth with both intellectual and physical disabilities. Revi is passionate about expanding her research knowledge and perspectives through stakeholder-informed research, and hopes that her contributions can inform future developments for children with disabilities.
	Madison Giles Madison Giles is a Research Assistant with the ProFILE Lab at the Bloorview Research Institute and a third-year doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto, as well as a Vanier-SSHRC Scholar. Madison is committed to conducting research in collaboration with community that examines the micro, meso and macro aspects of sexuality. Her research aim is to conduct rigourous, theoretical, ethical and innovative research that makes room for a multiplicity of lived experiences to better support the sexual wellness of groups who experience marginalization. Madison’s PhD project works with youth with physical disabilities to explore their embodied experiences as sexual beings. At the ProFILE Lab, Madison works on the Sexuality study and the Weight Management and Disability study.
	Toni Lui Toni holds an MSW and is a registered social worker. She is a Research Coordinator for the ProFILE lab where she is currently working on a project looking at the feasibility of a solution-focused coaching model to foster healthy lifestyles in children and young people with physical disabilities. She is also involved in a project on the experiences of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and their families, as well as healthcare providers on the topic of health and weight management. Toni has extensive research experience at the Bloorview Research Institute including clinical trials for individuals with autism. She has also worked with individuals with physical and developmental disabilities in both clinical and community settings.
	Meaghan Walker Meaghan completed her MSc at the University of Toronto in Rehabilitation Sciences and completed her research in the ProFile lab, exploring how children with autism and obesity feel about weight and their bodies to inform weight related healthcare conversations. She is currently studying Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto, while working in the lab on numerous projects pertaining to weight related conversations and priorities for children with disabilities, their families and health care providers. Meaghan is passionate about including children’s voices in research, specifically research pertaining to their care and treatment within healthcare.
	Celeste Lumia Celeste recently completed her MSc at the University of Toronto in Rehabilitation Sciences, completing her research under the supervision of Dr. Amy McPherson in the ProFILE lab. Celeste’s graduate research focused on engaging young people with spina bifida using an arts-based research method to qualitatively explore the meaning of health and wellness to them. Celeste is now a Research Assistant with the ProFILE lab, and is involved in projects surrounding health, wellness, and sexuality.
	Victoria Formusa Victoria is completing her MSc at the University of Toronto in Rehabilitation Sciences under the supervision of Dr. Amy McPherson in the ProFILE lab. She graduated from the University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Human Development. Victoria’s graduate research focuses on exploring how wellness is implemented into Special Olympics Canada programs and practice activities using a mixed-methods research approach. Victoria is a Special Olympics Volunteer Coach and is passionate about integrating wellness promotion into Special Olympics programming.