Team behind the guide

Serge Gauthier is a clinical neurologist specialising in the development of new tools for diagnosis and treatments for people living with Alzheimer’s disease. He was the Director of the McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging (MCSA) from 1986 to 1997, and Director of the Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders Research Unit of the MCSA until 2021. He became a senior scientist of the CIHR-Rx&D program (Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Canada’s Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies) in 1997. Dr. Gauthier is the Academic Co-Lead for the Dementia Education Program and Professor Emeritus, Neurology and Psychiatry at McGill University. His accomplishments led to him being appointed to the Order of Canada in 2014 and the National Order of Québec in 2017.

José A. Morais is Professor of Medicine at McGill University. He is a senior scientist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) in the Metabolic Disorders and Complications axis. In 2009, he became Director of the Division of Geriat­ric Medicine, McGill University, as well as of the MUHC and Jewish General Hospital. He is also Co-Director of the Quebec Network for Research on Aging and is the Academic Lead of the Demen­tia Education Program of the McGill Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. He was the Founder and first Director of the Centre of Excellence on Aging and Chronic Disease of the RUISSS McGill from 2012–2015.

Claire Webster is a Certified Dementia Care Consultant (PAC), Certified Professional Consultant on Aging (CPCA), as well as a conference speaker and educator in the field of caring for an individual with dementia. She is Founder and President of Caregiver Crosswalk Inc., a consulting firm that provides education and support services to help individuals navigate the journey of Alzheimer’s disease and/or dementia-related illnesses.  Claire works in collaboration with McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Division of Geriatric Medicine. She is the Founder and Ambassador of the McGill Dementia Education Program and McGill Cares, a webcast series designed to support family care partners. Claire is one of the McGill senior co-editors of the World Alzheimer Report 2021 - Journey through the diagnosis of dementia, which was launched on September 21, 2021 by Alzheimer’s Disease International. She is also a senior co-editor of the upcoming World Alzheimer Report 2022 - Post-diagnostic management and support: a prescription of care.

As a former care partner to her late mother, Claire has had firsthand experience in dealing with the overwhelming emotional and physical impact that the disease places on the individual and family members. In this project, she will take on the role of patient partner and will guide the development of the report for family/friend care partners of people living with dementia to ensure the engagement of people with lived experience.

Isabelle Gélinas, PhD is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director at the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University. She is also a researcher at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation in Montreal. Her research focuses on the daily activities and the contextual factors (personal and environmental) that shape the level of social participation and community engagement of older adults with disability. More specifically, her research interests include the measurement of functional abilities in persons with cognitive deficits such as dementias. She developed the Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD), a measure of functional abilities in activities of daily living, which is used clinically and in clinical trials internationally. Since then, she has continued collaborations related to the translation and use of this tool in different studies. Her research also focuses on issues related to different forms of transportation mobility, including driving. She is a researcher on Team 16- Driving and Dementia of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA)/CIHR, and is working in close collaboration with different partners, including clinicians and researchers, at an international level to develop evidence-based approaches that are clinically relevant.

Dr. Wendy Chiu is an assistant professor in Geriatric Medicine at McGill University and a geriatrician at the Montreal General Hospital (MGH), McGill University Health Centre. She is a graduate of the McGill Faculty of Medicine, and completed her residency training at McGill and the University of Toronto. Her work primarily involves multidisciplinary assessment and rehabilitation of the "frail elderly" via the MGH Geriatric Day Hospital, which has the mandate of assisting "frail" seniors to live in the community for as long and as safely and independently as possible, with emphasis on patient and caregiver quality of life. Dr. Chiu has been a hands-on primary caregiver herself to family members with severe physical disability and memory loss.

Zelda Freitas, BA, BSW, MSW, is a graduate of the McGill University School of Social Work with 29 years of experience in the delivery of services to older adults, their caregivers and their families. For the past 11 years, she was the clinical supervisor in a CLSC offering services to persons in loss of autonomy, including older adults and palliative care in a home-based program. Presently, Ms. Freitas is the Coordinator of Developing Practices in Support of Caregivers at the Center for Research and Expertise in Social Gerontology of the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal. She is also a member of the Council on Palliative Care since 1998, offering education presentations on topics related to caregiving issues, grief and loss, and access to care. She has been involved in several collaborative research projects, presentations and publications related to psychosocial and interdisciplinary intervention in caregiving issues and psychosocial palliative care.

Leila Zahabi is a program and innovation manager with a demonstrated history of working in the educational and healthcare industry. With her background in management, special education and simulation, she has been able to bring many projects of the Dementia Education Program into effect, including the workshops created to help educate family caregivers about dementia at the Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning.

Tamara Carver is the Director of the Office of Ed-TECH (Education Technology and E-learning Collaboration for Health) for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, located at the Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning. She is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Health Sciences Education and her research focuses on medical education, health professions education, faculty development, education technology, online learning, remote learning, and communities of learning. Professor Carver completed her Master of Science at Concordia University, specializing in clinical exercise physiology, then earned her PhD from McGill’s Faculty of Education in 2014. During her post-doctoral training (2014-2017) in the Department of Family Medicine, she developed their first blended and online graduate courses, as well as the online Scholarly Activity Program for clinical teachers and residents. This experience, along with her key role in developing the original and highly successful International Blended Education Programs (China, Brazil, Switzerland, France) and Faculty Development Blended Education Program (McGill), led to the creation of Family Medicine Innovations in Learning (FMIL) in the Department of Family Medicine in 2017, where she was Assistant Professor and Education Lead. Dr. Carver is a member of the Executive Committee of the Dementia Education Program at McGill University and is leading the development of the Dementia Education Program's online curriculum, as well as other educational and outreach activities related to dementia education.

Maria Vincelli is administrative coordinator for the McGill Dementia Education Program. Her work experience includes program administration, internal communications and research team coordination for projects that combine scientific expertise and lived experience. Prior to joining McGill, she worked in communications for the Canadian Association of Midwives and the National Aboriginal Council of Midwives. Her educational background is in environmental studies and journalism.

Diane Weidner is a strategic communications officer with extensive experience in the planning and execution of marketing, advertising and public relations campaigns. She has worked with national brands in the healthcare, beverage, cosmetics and software industries. With her creative background in graphic design and strong writing skills, Diane is able to quickly grasp concepts and turn them into engaging content and strong visual identities.

Mona Atallah is an accomplished writer, editor and creative project manager. She has extensive experience building successful marketing campaigns in the specialty books and magazines, retail and healthcare industries for both print and web-based platforms. She delivers persuasive content and direction to promote and advance programs, strategies and increase response rates. Mona has an innovative approach to conceptualizing content that is rooted in the classically effective but also embraces what is trendy savvy, all to ensure the content gets noticed. She is a graduate of McGill University with a BA in Communications and a Certificate in Public Relations.

Matthew Evans is a Canadian illustrator and visual artist who divides his time between Canada and Japan. He has a combined honours degree in English Literature and Visual Art from the University of Western Ontario and York University and a Masters degree in Art Education from Concordia University. His illustration work for the past decade has specialized in medical and patient education. His visual art practice encompasses a range of media and conceptual interventions and has been presented both nationally and internationally since the mid 1990s. For more information, please visit thepopmodule.com