Welcoming New Members to our Scientific Advisory Committee
TDRA is pleased to welcome five new members to our Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC). The SAC brings perspective from each of TDRA’s partner institutions, people with lived experience, trainees, and relevant external parties to advise TDRA’s Executive Director on strategy, alignment with partners' goals, support and sustainability, and partnerships.
Dr. Ari Cuperfain is a fourth-year psychiatry resident at the University of Toronto; he will begin geriatric psychiatry subspecialty training in July 2023. Dr. Cuperfain has clinical and academic interests in substance use disorders in later life, as well as concurrent opioid use disorders and psychosis. He is currently working on a project using the TDRA database to characterize the effects of excessive alcohol use with respect to cognitive impairment in older adults. He is a recipient of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry General (AAGP) Scholars Program Award, the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Ruth Fox Award, and the Canadian Academy for Geriatric Psychiatry (CAGP) Psychiatry Resident Award. Dr. Cuperfain is joining the SAC as a learner.
Dr. Gina Eom is a geriatric subspecialty resident at the University of Toronto. Dr. Eom attended medical school at Queen's University, and has a PhD in Alzheimer's disease. Her research interests include comprehensive dementia care, emerging treatments, and neuropsychiatry. Dr. Eom is joining the SAC as a learner.
Dr. Peter Hoang received his medical degree from McMaster University and completed internal medicine training at the University of Calgary. He is currently completing his geriatric medicine subspecialty training at the University of Toronto. Dr. Hoang’s research employs a mixed methods approach to understanding the lived experiences of older adults who are at risk of, or face homelessness. Specifically, his research will use administrative databases to understand risk factors associated with homelessness in combination with components such as sex, gender, and culture, and its translation to health outcomes in older adults. Dr. Hoang is currently a trainee with the Women’s Age Lab at the Women’s College Research Institute. Dr. Hoang is joining the SAC as a learner.
Dr. Sid Feldman is an Associate Professor and Head of the Division of Care of the Elderly, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto. Dr. Feldman is a community family physician with the North York Family Health Team, and Chief of Family and Community Medicine at Baycrest. Dr. Feldman also chairs the Members’ Interest Group in Care of the Elderly at the College of Family Physicians of Canada, and serves on the executive of the Scientific Advisory Council of Osteoporosis Canada. Dr. Feldman is joining the SAC in his capacity as Head, Division of Care of the Elderly, University of Toronto.
Dr. Esme Fuller-Thomson is a Professor and Director of University of Toronto’s Institute for Life Course at Aging. She is cross-appointed to U. of T.’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, the Department of Family and Community Medicine, and the Faculty of Nursing. She primarily teaches courses in the areas of gerontology, evidence-based practice, and research methods. Her research interests related to dementia focuses on temporal trends in dementia prevalence, the association between sensory loss and dementia, and the role of environmental toxins including lead and air pollution. Dr. Fuller-Thomson is joining the SAC in her capacity as the delegate for the Associate Dean, Research, of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto.
