We are excited to announce the addition of two new Trainee Society Executive Committee Members, Joyla Furlano and Nabina Sharma!

Joyla is a fourth-year PhD student in the Exercise, Mobility and Brain Health Lab at Western University under the supervision of Dr. Lindsay Nagamatsu and a member of CCNA Team 18 (Issues in Dementia Care for Indigenous Populations). Her doctoral research examines the effects of exercise on cognitive and brain health in clinical populations of older adults. She is also a Research Assistant in the Health Equity Action Research Team at Western University, where she works with Dr. Lloy Wylie’s team to improve healthcare delivery for Indigenous people. Broadly, her research interests include healthy active aging, dementia prevention, brain health promotion, Indigenous health, healthcare policy development, and undergraduate curriculum development.

Nabina is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Rural and Northern Health program at Laurentian University. Nabina is a CCNA trainee with Team 18: Issues in Dementia Care for Indigenous Populations under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Walker. Her PhD research includes developing an Indigenous Functional Assessment (IFA) tool to address the lack of a culturally appropriate cognitive function assessment tool for the Indigenous population in Canada. This tool will be a first-ever informant tool designed and validated in partnership with Indigenous care partners. Her research interest includes community-engaged research, Indigenous health and aging, cultural safety, cognition, and dementia. Nabina is a mother of a 9-year-old son. She loves yoga and hiking on the trails of Sudbury. Nabina is excited to be a part of the CCNA trainee Society.

Read more about our Executive Committee members here.