Medical and Undergraduate Students

Effective mentorship for early research success

PERU faculty members work with undergraduate students in medicine and other fields over the four years of their undergrad training to develop and complete research projects as required by their programs of study. Our faculty members’ goal is to provide these students with effective mentorship resulting in a quality research project suitable for presenting at major conferences and potentially even publishing in peer-reviewed journals. PERU works extensively with Dalhousie medical students, who are required to embark on a research project at the outset of their medical education through the Research in Medicine Program (RIM) - the first program of its kind in Canada. In addition to learning the essentials of conducting high-quality research, many medical students develop and pursue research questions that fit with PERU’s mandate to understand the factors that influence mother and child health.

Current Research In Medicine trainees  

Riiko Bedford (2019-present)

Project: TBD
Co-supervisors: Dr. Christy Woolcott and Dr. Helena Piccinini-Vallis

Sarah Brothers (2018-present)

Project: The association between gestational age at delivery and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: a systematic review
Co-supervisors: Dr. Christy Woolcott and Dr. Victoria Allen

Sara Jones (2018-present)

Project: Scoping Review and Stakeholder Survey to Identify Perinatal Health Indicators for Patients with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
Co-supervisors: Dr. Christy Woolcott and Dr. Jillian Coolen

Jenna MacGregor (2016-present)

Project: Nitrous oxide use during labour and delivery and maternal outcomes
Co-supervisors: Dr. Christy Woolcott and Dr. Ron George

Jade Panzarasa (2016-present)

Project: Nitrous oxide use during labour and delivery and neonatal outcomes
Co-supervisors: Dr. Christy Woolcott and Dr. Ron George

 

Undergraduate students

 

Recent Research in Medicine students

Alexa Grudzinski, BMSc (2015-2019)

Project: The association between maternal pre-pregnancy weight and mental health in the offspring
Supervisor: Dr. Stefan Kuhle
Publication: Grudzinski A, Campbell LA, Liu L, Brown MM, Dodds L, Kuhle S. Maternal
pre-pregnancy weight status and health care use for mental health conditions in
the offspring.
Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2019 Mar 18. doi:
10.1007/s00787-019-01312-w. (Abstract on PubMed)

Nikolas MacLellan, BSc (2015-2019)

Project: Caesarean section and health care utilization in the offspring
Supervisor: Dr. Stefan Kuhle
Publication: MacLellan AN, Woolcott CG, Brown MM, Dodds L, McDonald SD, Kuhle S. Cesarean
Delivery and Healthcare Utilization and Costs in the Offspring: A Retrospective
Cohort Study.
J Pediatr. 2019 Apr 2. (Abstract on PubMed)

Meghan Plotnick (2015-2019)

Project: Women's perception of barriers and facilitators to physical activity in the postpartum period: a systematic review
Co-Supervisors: Dr. Christy Woolcott and Dr. Helena Piccinini-Vallis

Emily Gray (2015-2019)

Project: Investigating the Increased Incidence of Shoulder Dystocia in Nova Scotia: A Retrospective Database and Chart Review
Co-Supervisors: Dr. Christy Woolcott and Dr. Vicky Allen

Courtney Gullickson (2015-2019)

Project: Comparison of treatment outcomes between morphine and concomitant morphine and clonidine regimens for neonatal abstinence syndrome
Co-supervisors: Dr. Stefan Kuhle and Dr. Marsha Campbell-Yeo
Publication: Gullickson C, Kuhle S, Campbell-Yeo M. Comparison of outcomes between morphine and concomitant morphine and clonidine treatments for neonatal abstinence syndrome. Acta Paediatr. 2018 Jul 4. (Abstract on PubMed)

Jillian Carter (2014-2018)

Project: Maternal obesity, birth weight, and asthma later in life
Supervisor: Dr. Stefan Kuhle
Publication: Carter JH, Woolcott CG, Liu L, Kuhle S. Birth weight for gestational age and the risk of asthma in childhood and adolescence: a retrospective cohort study. Arch Dis Child. 2018 Jul 19. pii: archdischild-2018-315059. (Abstract on PubMed)

Maria Karaceper (2014-2018)

Project: The association between umbilical cord blood levels of leptin and adiponectin and child growth measures: A MIREC study
Supervisor: Dr. Linda Dodds

Kim Nix (2014-2018)

Project: Are adverse perinatal outcomes in the first pregnancy among women who smoke predictive of smoking cessation in the second pregnancy?
Supervisor: Dr. Linda Dodds
Publication: Nix K, Dodds L. Changes in breastfeeding initiation at hospital discharge between first and second births in Nova Scotia: a population-based cohort study. CMAJ Open. 2017 Mar 6;5(1):E213-E221. (Abstract on PubMed)

Kayla MacSween (2013-2017)

Project: The impact of gestational weight gain on maternal and perinatal outcomes in adolescent mothers: A retrospective cohort study
Supervisor: Dr. Christy Woolcott
Publication: MacSween K, Whelan E, Woolcott CG. Gestational Weight Gain and Perinatal
Outcomes in Adolescent Mothers: A Retrospective Cohort Study.
J Obstet Gynaecol
Can. 2016 Apr;38(4):338-45. (Abstract on PubMed)

Natasha MacInnis (2013-2017)

Project 1: Population attributable risk fractions of maternal obesity for adverse perinatal outcomes
Project 2: The association between birth weight for gestational age and cardiovascular disease risk factors in Canadian children
Supervisor: Dr. Stefan Kuhle
Publications:
1) MacInnis N, Woolcott CG, McDonald S, Kuhle S. Population attributable risk fractions of maternal obesity for adverse perinatal outcomes. Sci Rep. 2016 Mar 10;6:22895.(Abstract on PubMed)
2) Kuhle S, Maguire B, Ata N, MacInnis N, Dodds L. Birth Weight for Gestational
Age, Anthropometric Measures, and Cardiovascular Disease Markers in Children.
J Pediatr. 2017 Mar;182:99-106.(Abstract on PubMed)

Martina De Sousa (2013-2017)

Project: Gestational diabetes as a predictor of hypertension risk in women
Supervisor: Dr. Linda Dodds

Emily Whelan (2013-2017)

Project: The association between gestational weight gain and maternal and neonatal outcomes in mothers with Class I, II, and III obesity
Supervisor: Dr. Christy Woolcott
Publication: Whelan E, Armson BA, Ashley-Martin J, MacSween K, Woolcott C. Gestational Weight Gain and Interpregnancy Weight Change in Adolescent Mothers. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2017 Jun;30(3):356-361. (Abstract on PubMed)