Our Team

Principal Investigator

Assistant Professor, Cardiology, Department of Medicine; Chair, Smoking Cessation (Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation and Quit Smoking Program); Co-Chair, Virtual Care Heart Team; Director, Hypertension Program

Dr. Hassan Mir is a cardiologist, researcher, and assistant professor at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. He serves as Chair of the Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation and Co-Chair of the Virtual Care Heart Team. Dr. Mir’s clinical and research interests focus on smoking cessation and nicotine dependence. He is also dedicated to advancing patient care through the development, implementation, and evaluation of digital health technologies.

Dr. Hassan Mir, MD, FRCPC, MHI, MPH

Research Manager

Evyanne Quirouette 

Evyanne is the lab’s Research Manager. She has been at the Heart Institute since 2015, holding various roles and being involved in a variety of projects. One of her main priorities is overseeing the onboarding, training, and activities of the research staff within the lab. In addition, she supports the submission of grant applications, REB submissions, and creates presentations and reports. She is a Research representative on the Divisional Quality of Care Committee and is actively involved within the Clinical Research Management Committee.

Post Doctoral Fellows

  • Salma is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. She holds a PhD in Human Kinetics from the University of Ottawa and has research experience spanning preclinical and clinical studies.

    Her current research focuses on smoking cessation and tobacco control, including the evaluation of pharmacological, behavioural, and digital health interventions through clinical trials, real-world analysis of smoking cessation programs and outcomes, and evidence synthesis across diverse populations. Her research interests extend to the intersection of smoking cessation, obesity, and cardiometabolic health, with a particular interest in pharmacological approaches, including incretin-based therapies, to support smoking cessation and improve related health outcomes.

    Her work also incorporates sex-, gender-, and equity-informed perspectives in the study of health behaviours, treatment response, and clinical outcomes. She contributes to knowledge translation and the dissemination of research findings through scientific publications and presentations.

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  • Terefe is a researcher, public health analyst, and epidemiologist with over 18 years of extensive experience in resource-limited settings. He has led research on communicable and non-communicable diseases across several African countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, and Zambia. He has held senior academic and leadership roles in research programs, monitoring and evaluation, and coordination. His work centers on leading, coordinating, monitoring, and evaluating quantitative research, while integrating qualitative and participatory methods to inform the design of effective health programs and policies in developing contexts. Argefa has also played a pivotal role in capacity buildings, supporting researchers in study design, sampling, field team recruitment and training, field monitoring, team management, data management, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination. Terefe's research interests center on the prevention and control of tobacco and nicotine product with a particular focus on implementation science.

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Clinical Research Coordinators

Ashley Baldwin, BSc

Nia Patel, MSc

Leah Margetson, MSc

Carolyn Van Dam, BSc

Nidhi Agrawal, MaSc, MTech

Sarah Yasmin, BSc

Nawal Fatah, MHSc

Maya Filali, MScPharm

Sophie Taljit, BA

Chantelle Masterson, BPhil

Clinical Research Assistants

Fatima Arshad, HBSc

Aysha Aftab, BSc

Krystal Grover

Maalik Sheraly, BHSc

Amena Sediqi, BSc

Emily Liang, BSc

Manpreet Walia, BSc

Erik Pavey, BSc

Travis Lee

Nehal Eladl

Mohammad Abbas, NATS

Aidan Abraham, BSc

Mason Anderson, BSc

Spencer Shahen, MSc

Jake Miles, BSc

Ethan Raizman, BSc

Ayah Rashwan, BHSc

Fanoos Nafez, BSc

Ayah Rashwan, BSc

Brianna Nasrallah, MHSc

Naana Duah, BSc

Asma Boulharts

Danielle Fouego

Professional Deveopment

Our lab is committed to supporting the academic and professional growth of trainees and research staff. Team members have progressed to graduate studies, medical school, and advanced research roles at leading Canadian institutions.

  • Karen Suarez, BSc — Research Coordinator → Master’s Student

  • Amena Sediqi — Research Assistant → Medical Student, McMaster University

  • Spencer Shahen — Research Assistant → Medical Student, University of Ottawa

  • Krystal Grover — Research Assistant → Medical Student, McMaster University

  • Ayah Rashwan — Research Coordinator → Medical Student (MD/MSc), University of Ottawa

  • Aysha Aftab — Research Assistant → Medical Student, University of Toronto

  • Brianna Nasrallah — Research Coordinator → Medical Student, University of Toronto

Lab Alumni

  • Karen Suarez, BSc — Research Coordinator 

  • Gabrielle Doucet — Research Assistant