Dr. Sarah Munce is an Implementation Scientist at Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital andAffiliate Scientist at KITE- University Health Network. She is also an associate professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) where she is a co-instructor for the Mixed Methods in Health Services Research course. She also has a cross-appointment at the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute (RSI) at the University of Toronto, where she serves as a graduate coordinator. She is the former membership chair for the Mixed Methods International Research Association and current Editor-in-Chief of JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies.
Dr. Munce has recently (2025) been awarded an Implementation Science Chair by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to advance her work on how young people and families are meaningfully engaged within learning health systems. In addition to CIHR, Dr. Munce’s work has also been funded by AMS Healthcare, Brain Canada, Kids Brain Health Network, and the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation.
A few of her current projects include:
- Co-developing, implementing, and evaluating an online peer navigation program for youth with childhood-onset disabilities
- Developing and implementing quality indicators for transition from paediatric to adult care in Canada
- Developing and implementing reporting guidelines for co-design in research
- Developing and implementing a framework and validated measure for youth and family specific engagement in research
- Updating the Good Reporting of a Mixed Methods Study (GRAMMS) guideline
Dorothy Luong is a Research Associate at the KITE Research Institute, University Health Network. She works with Dr. Sarah Munce under her program of research related to developing, implementing, and evaluating transitional care programs.
Dorothy completed a M.Sc. in Rehabilitation Sciences at Queen’sUniversity and a B.Sc. Honours Health Studies, with a minor in Psychology at the University of Waterloo. Her research interests include qualitative research, mental health, and patient experiences of health services and interventions.
Kristina Kokorelias, PhD is a health service researcher with Sinai Health and the University Health Network. Kristina also has status appointments as Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto.
Her program of research aims to understand the experiences and needs of family caregivers and individuals with complex care needs with the aim of using this information to develop, evaluate, and implement timely family-centred care programs and services. Her other research interests include advancing models of integrated care, sex and gender-based differences in family caregiving, and health care utilization patterns amongst diverse patient populations.
Gregory Feng, MPH is working with Dr. Sarah Munce on a variety of evidence-synthesis research projects on treatment interventions for multiple sclerosis, as well as a qualitative study on participatory approaches to the research process. He received his HBSc (Psychological & Health Sciences) and MPH (Epidemiology) from the University of Toronto.
He is interested in psychosocial interventions for people living with multiple sclerosis and the use of integrated knowledge translation to optimize such interventions.
Joan Lee is currently a 2nd year medical student at the University of Toronto. She completed her undergraduate studies at McMaster University in Health Sciences in 2022.
Her research interests include qualitative research, patient experiences in the healthcare system and transitional care.
Ashvene Sureshkumar is a PhD student in the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute (RSI) co-supervised by Dr. Robert Simpson, Dr. Sarah Munce and Dr.Mark Bayley.
Her research aims to develop an implementation toolkit for an online mindfulness-based stress reduction program for people with multiple sclerosis.
Rhonda Boateng is currently pursuing her doctoral studies in Health Systems Research at the Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health. She has completed a BSc in Neuroscience, and a MSc in Global Health. Additionally, she has worked as an Evaluator to facilitate program evaluation for the Substance Abuse Program forAfrican Canadian and Caribbean Youth (SAPACCY). Moreover, as a Clinical Research Project Coordinator at the Policy and Economic Research on Childhood Cancer (PERCC) unit, she evaluated access to childhood cancer drugs in Ghana, Jamaica, Trinidad, the Bahamas and Barbados. She has also held roles such as Project Coordinator at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health and Research and Policy Coordinator at the Peace & Love Hospital in Ghana.
Her research focuses on implementation science and the intersections of health equity, mental health, and co-designing interventions with equity-deserving populations. Her thesis will focus on using co-design to develop a competency framework for mental health clinicians working with Black youth. She is co-supervised by Dr. Sarah Munce and Dr. Val Rac.
Eleni M Patsakos is currently completing her PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Munce and Dr. Mark Bayley. She also works as a Research Analyst at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (University Health Network).
Eleni’s research is focused on developing a compassionate online, peer navigation intervention to assist and prepare youth (i.e., ages 12-17) with neurodevelopmental disabilities, including cerebral palsy and childhood-onset acquired brain injury, in their transition to the adult health care system from the perspective of youth and their family members.
Vjura Senthilnathan is a 2nd year MSc candidate at the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto and a graduate trainee at KITE-University Health Network. Vjura completed her Honours Bachelor of Science at the University of Toronto Scarborough in 2021, where she specialized in neuroscience and minored in biology and psychology.
In the past, Vjura conducted research on stem cell therapies for spinal cord injury (SCI). While she was initially interested in creating therapeutics using regenerative medicine for SCI, she has since switched her focus to aiding people with SCI with their mental health, by determining how mental health interventions and interventions that focus on well-being should be tailored to people with SCI. Her current MSc thesis project focuses on developing a tailored online mindfulness program designed for people living with SCI.
Ben Levy is currently a 4th-year medical student at the University of Toronto. He completed his undergraduate studies at Queen's University in Life Sciences in 2020. While in medical school, he also completed a concurrent Master's degree in Health System Leadership and Innovation at the University of Toronto's Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation.
In the past, Ben has worked with Dr. Sarah Munce on a breadth of research relating to childhood-onset disability, transitional care, and peer support.
Jessica Song is a graduate student in Rehabilitation Sciences at U of T. She completed her undergraduate studies with an Honours Double Major in Pathology and Pharmacology at Western University.
Jessica’s current research relates to the development of an educational tool for the prevention and management of pressure injuries. In the past, she has worked with Dr. Sarah Munce on systematic and scoping reviews exploring interventions for individuals with disabilities.