Maria Mylopoulos PhD


Scientist  & Associate Director of  Training Programs - The Wilson Centre
Professor, Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto
Program Director, Health Professions Education Research, Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation
Director of Research and Innovation, Medical Education, Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Maria’s research program explores the development and maintenance of expertise, with a particular focus on how health professionals deal with uncertainty, novelty and complexity in their daily clinical problem solving. The aim of her research is to evolve understanding of the knowledge and capabilities that underpin this facet of expertise as it occurs in real-world contexts using theoretical frameworks of clinical reasoning and adaptive expertise. The ultimate goal of her research is to translate this understanding to educational design that promotes the development of exceptional clinicians who are able to handle the complexities and challenges of the healthcare workplace. 

To find out more about Maria’s research visit the EXCELAB website here.

Current Fellows and HPER Doctoral Students: Nathan Cupido, Naomi Davids-Brumer, Ghislaine Doufle, Anne Kawamura, Tina Papadakos, Tricia Twogood, Wendy Ye


Current Fellows and HPER Doctoral Students

Nathan Cupido

Nathan Cupido is a Research Fellow at the Wilson Centre, and a PhD student in the Health Professions Education Research (HPER) doctoral concentration offered by the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, in collaboration with the faculty of the Wilson Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Prior to this, he completed a Master of Science in Health Science Education and an Honours Bachelor of Arts & Science in Arts & Science and Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, both at McMaster University. Under the supervision of Dr. Maria Mylopoulos and Dr. Nicole Woods, his research explores how models of expert development can inform the principles of curriculum design to train future health professionals. Nathan is also the recipient of the Currie Fellowship at the Wilson Centre from 2020-2024.

Supervisors:
Maria Mylopoulos and Nicole Woods


Naomi Davids-Brumer

Naomi Davids-Brumer is a student in the Health Professions Education Research stream of the PhD program offered via the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) in collaboration with the Wilson Centre. She is also an occupational therapist and also faculty member in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Temerty Faculty Medicine, University of Toronto.

Her doctoral research is exploring the phenomenon of student failure in clinical learning settings, with a particular focus on understanding the student experience of struggle and failure on placement. Under the supervision of Dr. Maria Mylopoulos, Naomi is hoping to use this research and adaptive expertise principles to co-design effective remediation approaches with and for struggling learners.

Supervisors:
Maria Mylopoulos


Andrea Pozo-Barruel

Andrea Pozo-Barruel is a Research Fellow at the Wilson Centre, and a PhD student in the Health Professions Education Research (HPER) doctoral concentration offered by the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. She completed a Master of Education at the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Science in Human Communication Sciences at the Universidad de las Americas in Mexico. Her research interests focus on how disability is represented in the healthcare context, and how these representations construct the identity of people living with a disability. Currently, Andrea’s doctoral work explores how disability is conceptualized in paediatrics populations within rehabilitation.

Andrea is the recipient of the Kimel-Schatzky Scholarship at the Wilson Centre for 2022-2025.

Supervisors: Paula Rowland. Stella Ng, Maria Mylopoulos


Tricia Twgood

Tricia Twogood is a PhD student in the Health Professions Education Research (HPER) doctoral concentration at the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation (IHPME), in collaboration with the Wilson Centre at the University of Toronto. Prior to this, she completed a Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Calgary, a Masters of Science in Physical Therapy from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Clinical Science in Manipulative Physical Therapy from Western University. Tricia is a practicing Physical Therapist and an Assistant Professor in the Teaching Stream at the Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto.

Tricia’s research aims to broaden the concept of cognitive integration by incorporating a wider range of knowledge types within health professions education. Her goal is to equip health professional learners to become both routine and adaptive experts who are capable of delivering person-centered healthcare.

Supervisors:
Maria Mylopoulos and Nicole Woods


Wendy Ye

Wendy Ye is a Research Fellow at the Wilson Center and a Master of Health Professional Education student at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. She is one of two Chief Medical Residents in the Adult Nephrology training program at the University of Toronto. Her scholarly interests include curriculum development and remediation of non-medical knowledge skills including professionalism, leadership, and communication. She completed her HBSc in physiology and biochemistry at the University of Toronto, followed by her MD, MSc, and Internal Medicine training at McMaster University. Her clinical interests are in home peritoneal and hemodialysis.

Supervisors: Shiphra Ginsburg and  Maria Mylopoulos