Maria Athina (Tina) Martimianakis MA, MEd, PhD
Scientist and Associate Director, Collaborations and Partnerships
Professor and Director of Medical Education Scholarship,
Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto
Tina’s academic training in Political Science and the Sociology of Higher Education, combined with over two decades working in clinical contexts and university administration has led her to develop a unique interdisciplinary orientation to the study of health professions education. At the heart of her research program is the exploration of problematic socio-political relationships that impact the mission of health professional organizations to prepare and support clinicians to provide comprehensive and compassionate care to all patients.
Theoretically, Tina’s works aims to elaborate on governmentality effects: the ways in which dominant discourses impact professional identity negotiations, particularly the articulation and application of expertise. She thus studies the material effects of discourse as a particular dimension of the hidden curriculum with the potential to support or hinder educational delivery and learning. Tina is also interested in ways in which organizations and educational programs may inadvertently create the conditions for knowledge stratification. Entry points for this work are discourses, such as collaboration, humanism, integration, caring, and globalization. These pervasive discourses and the associated activities, identities, tools, and cultural symbols they make possible, manifest formally and informally and influence the value systems that academic health care providers, learners and patients bring to their interactions.
Her educational practice is closely aligned to her research program. As an educator, Tina employs critical and social cultural pedagogies to enable clinician educators to incorporate complex negotiations of the social world in their educational planning and implementation.
Tina co-leads the Wilson Centre Globalization research group with Dr. Brian Hodges and Chairs the program committee of the Wilson Centre Globalization Symposium. The symposia bring together policy makers, scholars and educators from around the world to exchange views and disseminate research on topics related to the globalization of health professions. The Symposia are always co-organized with other organizations. Past partners have included, the University Health Network, St. Josephs’ Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and internationally, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, the School of Health Professions Education, Maastricht University, Netherlands, the University of Aberdeen and ASME, UK and the Department of Social Medicine, National Taiwan University.
Current Fellow(s) and HPER Doctoral Student(s): Justin Lam, Elisabeth-Abigail Ramdawar, Ruby Shanker, Leslie St Jacques, Erene Stergiopoulos
Current Fellows and HPER Doctoral Students
Justin Lam
Justin Lam is a PhD student in Health Professions Education Research offered by the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation (IHPME) in collaboration with the Wilson Centre at the University of Toronto. He is also a paediatrician and education scientist at the Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre and the University of Western Ontario. Prior to this, he completed a BA in Art History at Stanford University and went on to complete his MD, paediatrics residency, and academic fellowship, at the University of Toronto, where he served as one of the Chief Residents.
His research uses qualitative methods to track hidden curriculum and governmentality effects related to professional identities of trainees and faculty, with an interest in equity issues in clinical and learning environments. His work has been published in Academic Medicine and Medical Education. His aim is to make learning environments more equitable and safe for teachers and learners, with the ultimate goal of contributing to better patient care. His work has been supported by the Vanier scholarship and the Robert Maudsley Fellowship.
Supervisor: Tina Martimianakis
Elisabeth-Abigail Ramdawar
Elisabeth-Abigail Ramdawar 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. She completed a Master of Health Sciences, and an Honours Bachelor of Science both at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Elisabeth’s current research interests include exploring socio-political relationships and institutional practices that impact healthcare professional’s wellness.
Supervisor: Tina Martimianakis
Ruby Shanker
Ruby Rajendra Shanker is a PhD student in Health Professions Education Research offered by the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation (IHPME) in collaboration with the Wilson Centre at the University of Toronto. She is also a Clinical & Organizational Ethicist for the University Health Network Toronto Rehab and Women's College Hospital.
Under the supervision of Dr. Tina Martimianakis, her doctoral research draws on critical and interpretive qualitative methodologies to explore the evolution of the role and professional identity of healthcare ethicists within academic hospital environments while negotiating power and resistance for patient care and safety.
Prior to healthcare ethics practice, Ruby was a rural general medicine practitioner with surgical training in India and the Middle East. She brings a kaleidoscope of experiences and identities to her research and practice towards disrupting, transforming, and re-imagining futures for inclusive and affirming healthcare.
Supervisor: Tina Martimianakis
Leslie St. Jacques
Leslie St. Jacques 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. Leslie is a Canadian certified physician assistant (CC-PA) and a graduate of the inaugural class of the PA Education Program at McMaster University (2010). Her experience as a PA includes cardiovascular surgery ICU and peri-operative neurosurgery. Leslie was the PA discipline Co-Lead and PA Education Lead at the University Health Network from 2019-2022. She served as the first female president of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Association of Physician Assistants (CAPA) (2019-2021) and is currently their Past President. Prior to becoming a PA, Leslie earned both a Master’s in Environmental Studies (Planning) from York University (1998) and a Master’s in Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University (2004). She has worked as a psychotherapist in adult and children’s mental health in-patient and ambulatory care settings. Her experiences as social worker, a PA, and in leadership roles fuel her scholarly interests. Under the supervision of Dr. Tina Martimianakis, Leslie’s research explores interpersonal aspects of healthcare education and work, professional identity formation and compassion in healthcare provision.
Supervisor: Tina Martimianakis
Erene Stergiopoulos
Erene Stergiopoulos is a PhD student in Health Professions Education Research (HPER) and Clinical Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. She completed her BSc in psychology and MA in history and philosophy of science at the University of Toronto, where she also completed her MD and psychiatry residency. Currently her clinical fellowship focuses on workplace mental health in the Department of Psychiatry. Under the supervision of Dr. Tina Martimianakis since 2016, her research uses qualitative methods to study barriers to physician health disclosure, and experiences of disability across the training trajectory. This work has resulted in publications in Academic Medicine, JAMA Internal Medicine, and CMAJ. She is currently involved in collaborative efforts to change policy in the US and Canada for medical learners with disabilities, with collaborations in the US, Canada, and New Zealand. She will continue to grow this body of research as a PhD student in HPER, thanks to the Currie Fellowship at the Wilson Centre.
Supervisor: Tina Martmianakis