Researchers
Director of Data Analysis — Emily Perttu, Ph.D.
Dr. Perttu is a research analyst working in behavioral health analytics. She has an MPH, with an emphasis on primary healthcare and health disparities, from Oregon Health and Science University and a certificate in global health from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Perttu also has a background in synthetic, pharmaceutical chemistry, with a PhD in bioengineering from the University of California, San Francisco. She is passionate about improving the lives and well-being of mothers and their children at home and abroad. Dr. Perttu supports GHP as data analyst and researcher.
Biostatistician — Swarna Weerasinghe, Ph.D
Dr. Swarna Weerasinghe is a professor at Dalhousie University, Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine. Swarna was the director of the biostatistical consulting unit in the Faculty of Medicine for 30 years, where she has designed and implemented a number of national and international research projects related to diversity, culture and health.
Her postdoctoral training is in the areas of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Health Data Science and Machine Learning. Her areas of research are primarily on vulnerable populations, including immigrants, aboriginal and African communities, homeless and trafficked and women engaged in transactional sex.
Dr. Weerasinghe spearheaded the Atlantic Metropolis Health Domain to uncover health issues pertinent to immigrants in the Atlantic region.
Her primary area of methodological interest is in analyzing complex data structures using Machine Learning and modeling complex analytical strategies.
Dr. Weerasinghe is the founding member of the Multicultural Women’s Association of Nova Scotia and the Diversity Committee of the Canadian Cancer Society Nova Scotia Division. She has written eight book chapters and nearly 25 peer-reviewed articles pertaining to health and healthcare access to vulnerable populations. Dr. Weerasinghe supports GHP as a biostatistician. Her publications in peer-reviewed journals include: “Caring for immigrant women in Canada”, “End of life care for South Asian Immigrants”, “Inequities in visible minority immigrant women’s healthcare accessibility” and “Maternal healthcare challenges within African Immigrant Communities.”
Data Analyst — Meghan Fitzgerald, Ph.D.
Dr. Fitzgerald is a mixed-methods data analyst with research experience in women’s health and gender-based violence. She earned an MPH in Global Health, and a Ph.D. in Public Health both from Oregon State University, where she focused on the impact of the political situation on intimate partner violence in Palestine. She also has several years of experience in higher ed public health program administration and evaluation.
