Members

Iwona Bielska is an epidemiologist and Assistant Professor (part-time) in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (HEI), Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. She has work experience in academic and government settings. She completed a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)-funded Health System Impact Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Department of HEI and the Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis (CHEPA) at McMaster University. She holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the Department of Public Health Sciences at Queen’s University.

Iwona is certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP). Currently, she is leading a research program examining the significant health system challenges of increasing emergency department wait times. She is knowledgeable about health data analytics to support the equitable distribution of health resources, monitoring of health system performance, health systems planning, and hospital capacity assessments in response to system pressures. Through her employment and education, Iwona has developed a broad understanding of the public health system in Canada and abroad. She has experience conducting quantitative and qualitative studies, as well as analyzing and interpreting research findings from large clinical databases, administrative datasets, and population health surveys.

Brent McLeod is a Paramedic Supervisor and Advanced Care Paramedic with Hamilton Paramedic Service who has been seconded to the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Norfolk Emergency Services Steering Committee as the Community Paramedicine Strategic Lead. In this role he has helped implement performance monitoring metrics, develop program goals with a focus on ED avoidance, liaise with emergency service partners to identify system gaps, improve system-level coordination, assist with aligning five community paramedicine programs, and continues to explore ongoing opportunities to encourage collaborations and knowledge transfer.

Brent holds a combined Master of Public Health and Master of Health Management from the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia) and an Adjunct Lecturer position with the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University. He is a research Fellow with the McNally Project for Paramedicine Research and his current research are in the areas of community paramedicine, quality improvement, stakeholder engagement, knowledge translation, and prehospital interventions. Brent stays active in the community as a council member of the Hamilton Immigrant Partnership Council and serves as the Treasure on the Canadian EMS Research Network Executive Board.