Participants
Australia
Alyssa Welch
https://www.nari.net.au/alyssa-welch
Dr Alyssa Welch has an extensive background in project management and corporate communication in multidisciplinary government, research and clinical settings. Alyssa has practical experience in program design and an in-depth understanding of how to analyse and interpret data in a manner that informs government and organisational decision-making. Alyssa completed her PhD in Public Health with a focus on methods of evaluation to ensure high-quality reporting of research and policy outcomes. Alyssa was a key contributor to the design of Star Ratings for residential aged care, the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for Australia’s Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy, and authored technical specifications for the Expansion of the QI Program for residential aged care.
Francesc March
Dr Francesc March de Ribot, MD, PhD, FRANZCO. Ophthalmology Consultant, Associate Professor at ANU, University of Otago, and University of Girona. His work integrates clinical practice and research, focusing on improving eye care delivery and quality of life through translational innovation.
Isabelle Meulenbroeks
https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/isabelle-meulenbroeks/publications/
Dr Isabelle Meulenbroeks is a Physiotherapist and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University. Her research uses mixed methods approaches to improve care quality for older adults, spanning implementation science, digital health, and aged care service delivery.
Belgium
Sam Baert
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5321-2953
Sam Baert holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Special Needs Education and Disability Studies from Ghent University. He previously worked as a research associate at KU Leuven, where he was involved in the development of practical guidelines on how to prevent and, as a last resort, safely apply seclusion and restraint practices across various healthcare settings. Sam is currently a PhD researcher at KU Leuven, affiliated with LUCAS – Centre for Care Research and Consultancy and the Centre for Biomedical Ethics and Law. His doctoral research focuses on understanding and addressing the spiritual needs of older adults who might benefit from a palliative care approach.
Canada
Amy Ecclestone
Jasmine Mah
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jc-mah
Jasmine Mah is a clinician researcher who answers big-picture questions for aging populations, working alongside diverse teams to drive impact. She holds an MD from the University of Ottawa, an MSc from the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a PhD from Dalhousie University. She is a Canadian Medical Association Young Leader, recipient of the Association of Faculties of Medicine Learner Changemaker Award and Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation Scholar. She operates at the intersection of medicine, research, and policy trying to provide solutions for people to live, age and receive healthcare with dignity in the home of their choice, even in the face of circumstances that limit autonomy. Jasmine is also the co-founder of Let Science Connect, a social enterprise bridging academia to society through effective science communication.
Maya Canham
Currently, Maya Canham (she/her) is a full-time Research Assistant at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada. She received her Master of Science in Health Sciences from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2025 and will begin her PhD in Population Health at the University of Ottawa in September 2026. She primarily analyzes interRAI assessment data for clients receiving home care and palliative care in Ontario, Canada. Her key research interests include serious/life-limiting illnesses, palliative care, and end-of-life care.
Michaella Miller
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaella-a-miller/
Michaella is a Canadian mixed methods health services researcher with expertise in Aging, Health, and Wellbeing. She brings over a decade of experience across the health sector, including long-term care, health policy, and program implementation. Her research is driven by a commitment to advancing quality in long-term care for older adults, with a particular emphasis on supporting and strengthening the healthcare workforce. She examines how policy frameworks and regulatory environments shape both working conditions and care outcomes, with the goal of informing evidence-based reforms that enhance quality of work and quality of care.
Sergei Filiasov
Dr. Sergei Filiasov is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact at McMaster University (Hamilton, Canada) and a staff scientist with the OnSPARK Long-Term Care Data Platform. He completed his PhD in Economics at McMaster in 2025. His research applies econometrics and causal inference to health economics, aging, long-term care, education, and labour-market policy. Recent work uses linked electronic medical record, staffing, regulatory, and interRAI-derived assessment data to study long-term care outcomes and policy-relevant system dynamics in Ontario and Canada.
China (Hong Kong)
April Yushan WU
https://sphpc.cuhk.edu.hk/aprilwu/
Dr. April Yushan Wu is a Research Assistant Professor at the Centre for Health Systems and Policy Research, within the School of Public Health at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Her research focuses on health economics, with a particular emphasis on the use of big data for health policy evaluation, innovative healthcare develiry, and equity in access to health care. A key area of her current work is leveraging big data to promote the medical-social integration of elderly individuals with complex needs, including those recently discharged from hospitals, long-term care recipients, and those approaching the end of life. Her mission is to drive innovation and improve the integration of medical and social care worldwide.
Dr. Wu currently leads multiple projects funded by the Hong Kong Health and Medical Research Fund. She has published as both first and corresponding author in top international journals, including JAMA Network Open, Health & Place, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, and Health Policy and Planning. Additionally, she has been a key contributor to several policy reports on Hong Kong’s healthcare services and health insurance systems, providing essential evidence to support policymaking.
Malawi
Esther Jiya
Esther Jiya is an Environmental Health professional and mental health advocate from Malawi with a master’s degree in environmental health and a strong interest in youth mental health, climate and health, and community engagement. She is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Mthunzi Minds, a youth-led initiative promoting mental health and environmental sustainability among young people and communities. Her work focuses on advancing research, advocacy, and community-based initiatives that support vulnerable populations in Malawi and beyond.
Netherlands
Wiebe Boorsma
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8619-6661
Hi, i’m Wiebe, a post-doc researcher, epidemiologist and associate InerRAI fellow@ Amsterdam UMC. Currently involved in national and international research with interRAI. Part of a team responsible for innovative, next gen development of a popular ECD in the Netherlands for long term care. By embedding interRAI decision support we aim to better support the care pathway for clients and their involved (informal) carers: care teams and medical aid suppliers, across care setting. From independency at home, all the way up to full dependency in nursing homes/ palliative care.
I studied medicine at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. My PhD was about the relationship between Insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular disease risk. Working as a physician in nursing homes I became aware of the need for reliable information to support integrated approach in care for complex vulnerable clients in long term care, starting in the home situation.
New Zealand
Grace Chen
Grace Chen is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Health Research at Massey University, New Zealand. Her research specialises in occupational and environmental epidemiology, neuroepidemiology, and neurodegenerative diseases. She has contributed to several epidemiological studies investigating occupational exposures and associated health outcomes.
She completed her PhD in epidemiology, with her doctoral research constituting the first New Zealand population-based case-control study examining occupational, environmental, and lifestyle risk factors for Motor Neurone Disease. Her current research programme focuses on concussion and its association with neurodegenerative diseases, including Motor Neurone Disease, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.
Leah Palapar
https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/l-palapar
Leah is a Research Fellow at the University of Auckland’s School of Population Health. She is an early career researcher working with large administrative datasets, including data from Statistics New Zealand’s Integrated Data Infrastructure. Her main research interests include patterns of health care use and the maintenance of independence in later life, particularly among older people with complex care needs.
Peter Tang
Peter Tang is a registered nurse and Senior Systems Clinician working in digital health and aged care system design in Aotearoa New Zealand. His work focuses on how interRAI assessment systems, clinical information, and digital workflows can better support care planning for older people, whānau, and frontline staff. Peter has experience in interRAI implementation, interoperability, reporting, and quality improvement. Through inSPIRe, Peter aims to strengthen his ageing research capability and contribute to practical, equity-focused innovation in health and care services.
Robinson Spencer
I am a professional data analyst with 6 years experience working within the New Zealand health system. I started out with the Hawkes Bay District Health Board where I worked with a variety of different health datasets ranging from hospital admissions, to immunisations and more. In 2024 I joined Health New Zealand as the senior data analyst for interRAI. In this role I frequently assist researchers and provide guidance on data requests. I am particularly interested in combining interRAI with other health datasets to analyze and map people's holistic people's journeys through the health system.
Dr Sue MacDonell
https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/sue-macdonell
Sue MacDonell is a New Zealand Registered Dietitian and Programme Director for the Master of Nutrition & Dietetics at Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland. Her research focuses on older adult nutrition, particularly undernutrition, falls prevention, and malnutrition screening. Her research has highlighted the prevalence of inadequate nutrient intakes and nutrient deficiencies in the New Zealand aged-care population. Sue contributes internationally to the interRAI undernutrition CAP working group and is the inaugural Chair of the Malnutrition Action Group Aotearoa New Zealand.
Switzerland
Noémie Stienne
www.linkedin.com/in/noémie-stienne
https://www.ecolelasource.ch/en/health-data-lab/
I hold a Master’s degree in Nursing Sciences and have experience in acute and intensive care. Since 2025, I have been working as a research associate at the newly founded Health Data Lab in Lausanne, Switzerland, where I contribute to projects focused on data-driven approaches to improving quality of care. One of my current projects involves working with interRAI Community Mental Health. I am looking forward to participating in the summer school and collaborating with professionals from diverse backgrounds.
Uganda
Emmanuel Sendaula
Emmanuel Sendaula is a clinical epidemiologist and monitoring and evaluation specialist with over a decade of experience in health systems strengthening and digital health in Uganda. He serves as an Epidemiologist and Monitoring, Evaluation/ Health Information Systems Advisor at Reach Out Mbuya Community Health Initiative. As an Associate Fellow of interRAI, he supports the application of standardized assessment systems to improve care for older persons, children, and adolescents in low-resource settings. His work focuses on implementation science and research, routine data use, and digital innovation to strengthen health system performance.
USA
Daniel David
https://nursing.nyu.edu/directory/faculty/daniel-david
Dr. David is a geriatrics and palliative care nurse researcher and Assistant Professor at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. As an implementation scientist, he translates research into feasible, scalable interventions for under-resourced, community-dwelling older adults on the cusp of needing nursing home care. His research confronts the complex challenges older adults face when aging in place—navigating serious illness, limited resources, and fragmented care. He has received career development awards from the Cambia Foundation and NPCRC, and currently serves as Site PI for a 40-site NIH-funded dementia trial.