Nicole Woods PhD
Scientist - The Wilson Centre
The Richard and Elizabeth Currie Chair in Health Professions Education Research at UHN
Director, The Institute for Education Research (TIER) at UHN
Professor - Department of Family and Community Medicine
Dr. Nicole Woods is a cognitive psychologist who received her PhD at McMaster University (2005). Her work examines the role of basic science knowledge in clinical reasoning and the development of medical expertise. Applying principles of memory and human cognition to education across the health professions, her research program focuses on the mental representation of categories and instructional design that supports cognitive integration of basic and clinical sciences. Working with her research collaborators and graduate students, Dr. Woods is building a theoretical model of knowledge acquisition and integration in the health professions. Although most closely linked to undergraduate education, her work has implications for the development of expertise along the entire spectrum of professional education.
To find out more about Dr. Woods’ research visit the EXCELAB website here.
More about Dr Woods: https://youtu.be/fUMCyj1tGWE
Current Fellows and HPER Doctoral Students
Nicole Bajcar
Nicole Bajcar 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. She completed her Master of Arts in Applied Disability Studies specializing in Applied Behaviour Analysis at Brock University and a Bachelor of Social Work at Toronto Metropolitan University. Under the supervision of Dr. Nicole Woods, her research aims to explore the best practices to develop adaptive experts to incorporate into e-module training.
Supervisor: Nicole Woods
Hei-Ching Kristy Cheung
Hei-Ching Kristy Cheung 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, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. She completed her Master of Science in Clinical Anatomy at the University of Western Ontario and an Honours Bachelor of Science in Physiology and Biomedical Toxicology Majors at the University of Toronto. Under the supervision of Dr. Nicole Woods, her research aims to explore the formation of conceptual understanding in anatomical sciences and identify strategies that better facilitate knowledge integration.
Supervisor: Nicole Woods
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
Jacquelin Forsey
Jacquelin Forsey is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Wilson Centre under the supervision of Dr. Nikki Woods. She completed her undergraduate degree in English Literature at McGill University, before transitioning to health professions and obtaining her PhD from the University of Toronto’s Rehabilitation Sciences Institute. Jacquelin’s research is concerned with patient-provider communication, and her PhD thesis examined the ways that training for health professionals and trainees supports the development of adaptive expertise in communication with patients. In her postdoctoral research, Jacquelin is working with the Conversation Lab under Dr. Warren Lewin to explore the impact of training for serious illness conversations on observed communication behaviours.
Supervisor: Nicole Woods
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