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Meet The Team

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Dr. Emmanuel Musa

Coordinator, Simulation-Based Experiential Learning

Dr. Emmanuel Musa is a medical doctor, clinical scientist, epidemiologist, and public health expert. He served as team lead for High Impact Epidemics in the WHO’s Health Emergency Programme in Geneva and as senior medical officer for Emergency Risk Management, supporting 47 countries under WHO’s Africa Regional Office. Since joining WHO in Nigeria in 2001, he has held key roles in disease outbreaks, emergencies, humanitarian aid, polio eradication, and health system resilience. Before WHO, he worked in teaching, research, and healthcare leadership in Africa. Dr. Musa holds an MD, MPH, an MSc in Health Systems Management (Liverpool), and is a PhD candidate at the University of Bath. He also has a Global Health Diplomacy Certificate and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. His interests include global health security, infectious disease epidemiology, humanitarian aid, climate change, and digital public health intelligence, contributing to improved health outcomes worldwide.

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Prof. Mathieu Poirier

Co-Director of the Global Strategy Lab

Mathieu Poirier is Co-Director of the Global Strategy Lab, York Research Chair in Global Health Equity, and Assistant Professor of Social Epidemiology in the School of Global Health. His research spans global legal epidemiology, health equity metrics, and the evaluation of international law’s impact on health. He has published in top journals, including PNAS, BMJ, and Social Science & Medicine.He is a member of the WHO Collaborating Centre on the Global Governance of AMR and has worked across Latin America and the Caribbean. He previously directed vector-borne disease research for the University of Notre Dame Haiti Program. As a founding member of the Grounded Project, he served as Academic Lead and Executive Producer of More Than Migrants and supports the Las Nubes EcoCampus study abroad program in Costa Rica. His teaching integrates experiential education and Globally Networked Learning Environments to foster critical thinking.

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Dr. Emmanuel Musa

Logistics Lead

Nurzha, a 4th year Global Health student, is a Research Assistant at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, working under the supervision of Dr. Emmanuel Musa, Dr. Mary Wiktorowicz, and Dr. A.M Viens. She will support the World Health Assembly Simulations 2025 project, which aims to enhance experiential learning in global health governance by replicating real-world decision-making processes within the World Health Organization. With a background in healthcare, research, and leadership, Nurzha brings expertise in social media marketing, videography, photography, and research design, supporting the project’s outreach and engagement efforts. Her passion for global health education and commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration contribute to the development of innovative learning opportunities for students and professionals alike.

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Prof. Mary Wiktorowicz

Professor of Global Health Governance and Policy in the Faculty of Health

Mary Wiktorowicz is a Professor of Global Health Governance and Policy in the Faculty of Health. Her research focuses on global governance frameworks for infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and pandemic prevention, particularly wildlife trade regulation. As Co-Principal Investigator on CIHR-funded projects, she contributes to the Global One Health Network and evaluates global health policies impacting women, children, and Indigenous communities. In mental health, she has analyzed the exclusion of community-based care from Canadian medicare and studied governance models for mental health and addiction services. She has advised various Canadian health agencies and legislative bodies. As former Associate Dean and Chair of the School of Health Policy and Management, she helped launch the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research and develop multiple health programs, including the PhD in Health Policy and Equity. She currently chairs the committee developing the PhD in Global Health and is active in graduate education and global health leadership.

Raphael Aguiar is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research with a PhD in Health Policy and Equity from York University. With over a decade of experience in Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, he managed humanitarian and development projects with Humanity and Inclusion, advancing primary healthcare, national policies, and rights-based approaches.At the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, he led teams on knowledge and information management related to serious crimes and human rights. In Cameroon, he supported crisis risk management with the UN Humanitarian Coordination Office.He currently works on projects funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and SSHRC, focused on One Health governance and global health threats like infectious diseases, AMR, food insecurity, and climate change.His research interests include global health governance, urban political ecology, climate crisis, and environmental stewardship.

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Pashtana is a fourth-year Global Health student specializing in Global Health promotion and disease prevention. She is currently working under the supervision of Dr. Tara Penney as a research assistant supporting the Equitable Global Health Research project. She has previously worked as a Research Assistant at the Women’s Cardiovascular Health Lab at York University. Pashtana is deeply interested in investigating health equity issues and understanding the role of social determinants in shaping health outcomes.

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Pashtana Fakhrizadeh

Technical Lead

​​Dr. A.M. Viens is an Associate Professor of Global Health at York University. He has degrees in philosophy and law from the Universities of Toronto, Oxford, and London. His research specialization focuses on global health ethics and global health law, with a particular interest in demonstrating how philosophical analysis, legal epidemiology, and regulatory theory should shape how we approach different issues within global health policy, practice, and research (especially infectious diseases, disasters and emergencies, and health promotion). His latest book is Public Health Law: Ethics, Governance, and Regulation, co-authored with John Coggon and Keith Syrett (Routledge, 2017). He is an Investigator in the Global Strategy Lab and a member of the WHO Collaboration Centre on the Global Governance of Antimicrobial Resistance. He is also an Honorary Member of the UK Faculty of Public Health, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health, and Editor-in-Chief of Health Care Analysis.

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Dr. A.M. Viens

Associate Professor of Global Health at York University

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Dr Kerry Scott

Assistant Professor in the School of Global Health

Kerry Scott (she/her), PhD, MSc, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Global Health specializing in implementation research and knowledge mobilization. Her work focuses on power, gender, accountability, and community health systems, with research on maternal and neonatal health, India’s ASHA workers, mHealth messaging programs, and village health committees. She has also advanced methods in cognitive interviewing for global health surveys.

Her research has been funded by the Gates Foundation, WHO, IDRC, and USAID. She holds an associate position at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and collaborates with the University of Cape Town and University of Manitoba.Dr. Scott earned her PhD from Johns Hopkins and MSc from the London School of Economics. A Commonwealth Scholar and associate editor at BMJ Global Health, she has published over 78 peer-reviewed articles. As a settler on Turtle Island, she centers decolonization, collective liberation, and health for all.

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Dr Raphael Aguiar

Postdoctoral Fellow at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research

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Dr. Emmanuel Musa

Communictaions Lead

Nicole Okojie is a third-year Specialized Honours student in Global Health. She will be a research assistant for Experiential Learning in Global Health. Under the supervision of Prof. Mary Wiktorowicz, Prof. A.M. Viens, and Dr. Emmanuel Musa, Nicole will assist in designing and implementing experiential learning initiatives for the World Health Assembly Simulation 2025. Her work involves developing educational materials, conducting research, synthesizing information, and supporting the overall development of the simulation.

This section recognizes all past team members: 

  • Giovanna Batti: January 2024 - May 2024 | Research Assistant

  • Jenine Magamis: January 2024 - May 2024 | Research Assistant

  • Clarissa Eggen: May 2023 - May 2024 | Research Assistant

  • Aaranee Sritharan: May 2023 - May 2024 | Research Assistant

  • ​Sharon Justice- Derefaka:  September 2023 - December 2023 | Research Assistant

  • Faiza Wali: May 2023 - August 2023 | Research Assistant

  • Sameen Ali: January 2023 - May 2023 | Research Assistant  

Team Alumni

York University | Global Health World Health Assembly Simulation.

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