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Graduate Students & Post-Doctoral Fellows

Kayla Gauthier, MSc, BHSc

Research Coordinator, Centre for Bioethics, PhD student, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University

Research Interests:

  • Infectious disease ethics
  • Ethics in public health emergencies
  • Public health authority and powers
  • Health equity
  • Social justice in public health
  • ORCID: 0009-0001-6439-3849

Kayla Gauthier is a doctoral student in the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences program specializing in health promotion. Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, her research at Western examines the ethics of forced treatment and isolation for infectious diseases. For her PhD studies, she hopes to explore how the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance should shape and inform the authority and power of public health agents. Her Master’s thesis outlined the experiences and perspectives of Canadian Medical Officers of Health in issuing treatment orders and queried how antimicrobial resistance may pose challenges with forced treatment. Kayla currently works as a Research Assistant in the School of Health Studies and with the Health Ethics, Law, and Policy Lab supporting projects focused on ethical and policy questions in public health and health data. She is also a student member of the Canadian Bioethics Society and the Rotman Institute of Philosophy at Western. Her research interests broadly include questions of coercion, rights, and equity in public health practice.

 

Daniel Kim, MHSc

PhD Student, Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University

Research Interests:

I completed my HBSc in Bioethics and Cell & Molecular Biology at the University of Toronto and my MHSc in Bioethics at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. My research at Western focuses on coercion in public health.

Isabella Spensieri, BHSc

MSc. Student, Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University

Research Interests:

  • Public health ethics
  • Feminist bioethics
  • Harm reduction
  • Mental health
  • Substance use health
  • ORCID: 0009-0008-7753-8665

Isabella is a master’s student in the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences program at Western University, within the field of Health Promotion. Her master’s research lies within public health ethics, with a particular focus on health equity, social justice, and harm reduction policies. Currently, she works as a Research Assistant (Graduate Student Assistant) within the Department of Family Medicine at Western University, and she is serving as the Accessibility Commissioner for the 2025-2026 academic year for the Society of Graduate Students (SOGS). Additionally, Isabella serves as a Youth Advisor on various projects at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, as a Patient & Family Partner at Unity Health Toronto, and as a Patient & Family Advisor for Ontario Health's Toronto Region Patient & Family Caregiver Council. She holds graduate student membership at the Rotman Insititute of Philosophy and The Centre for Research on Health Equity and Social Inclusion (CRHESI) at Western University. 

Francisco Mendina. PhD (c) Health Information Sciences. MMASc Global Health Systems. HBSc Life Sciences.

Health Information Sciences. Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS)

Research Interests:

  • Humanitarian health ethics
  • Global health governance
  • Sociology of Health.

Francisco Mendina Callero is a doctoral student in the Health Information Science program at Western University and a Graduate Student Fellow with the Global Health Solidarity Network. Under the supervision of Dr. Elysee Nouvet, Francisco’s research examines how humanitarian healthcare professionals conceptualize and practice solidarity in complex crises. With a focus on the implications of solidarity for worker and mission safety, access to populations, and operational effectiveness, his work contributes to ongoing debates about the role of neutrality and solidarity in humanitarian healthcare. Before his doctoral studies, Francisco earned an HBSc in Life Sciences from McMaster University and an MMASc in Global Health Systems from Western University. He also has worked as an HIV/AIDS Program Coordinator in Ontario’s York Region, where he oversaw case management, community workshops, and promoted HIV self-testing.

Loughran (Locky) Butcher, BA (Hons. Spec. in Philosophy), MA (Philosophy), PhD candidate Ethics and Public Affairs

London Health Sciences Centre

Research Interests:

  • Medical assistance in dying
  • Health Policy
  • Autonomy
  • Personhood

Locky has an academic background in philosophy and practical training in clinical ethics, with a focus on bridging theory and practice. His work explores how bioethical theory can be translated into concrete decision-making in clinical contexts, aiming to make philosophical insights directly applicable to real-world ethical challenges. Locky is completing a PhD in Ethics and Public Affairs at Carleton University, alongside a clinical ethics fellowship at the London Health Sciences Centre, and is a certified Healthcare Ethics Consultant.

Sarah Ashfield, PhD, NP-PHSC, MScN, BScN

Post-Doctoral Research Association Faculty of Health Studies, School of Health Studies

Research Interests:

Dr. Ashfield is working with Dr. Maxwell Smith on a study that examines the ethical concerns of vaccine hesitant individuals. We are asking vaccine hesitant individuals about various factors that may influence their ethical concerns surrounding vaccination. Of particular interest is if or how vaccination policies and the COVID-19 pandemic affects individuals’ ethical concerns moving forward.

Dr. Sarah Ashfield is a post-doctoral research associate at Western University and primary health care nurse practitioner. Dr. Ashfield holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing from the University of Western Ontario, a Master of Science in Nursing and Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate from York University, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Ottawa and Algonquin College. Her areas of research include parental vaccine decision making, digital health literacy, online vaccine information seeking, vaccine hesitancy, the ethical concerns of vaccine hesitant people. Dr Ashfield is passionate about bridging the gap between research and clinical practice and spends time teaching other healthcare providers about how to approach the various concerns of vaccine hesitant, vaccine questioning, and vaccine refusing people.

With over 15 years of clinical experience in primary care Dr. Ashfield continues her clinical practice in Southern Ontario, with areas of clinical expertise include generalized primary care, vaccine communication, gender affirming care, and child and adult ADHD treatment. Lastly, Dr. Ashfield has experience teaching in undergraduate and graduate nursing programs at the University of Western Ontario, Queens University, Athabasca University, and performs provincial curriculum updates for the Council of Ontario University Programs in Nursing (COUPN) Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner Program.

Qizhou Cui, MA, BA

PhD student, department of philosophy

Research Interests:

  • Research ethics
  • Public health ethics
  • Ethics of AI

Qizhou Cui is a PhD student in philosophy who specializes in bioethics. His research focuses on medical research ethics, public health ethics, and moral issues surrounding the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare. He is especially interested in how emerging health technologies raise new questions about trust, accountability, and the distribution of health resources. Before coming to Western, he completed a BA and MA in philosophy at the University of Toronto.

Grace Norris, MSc

PhD/MScOT program, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Research Interests:

  • Agency, autonomy, and personhood among older adults with cognitive impairment
  • ORCID: 0009-0003-4331-4771

Grace Norris is a second-year student in the combined MScOT and PhD in the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences program and the Occupational Science field. Her research interests are focused on critical dementia studies and occupational equity. Prior to her PhD/MScOT, Grace obtained her MSc in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (Health and Aging field) at Western University and her Honours Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences (Disability and Chronic Illness specialization) at Carleton University. Her interest in research developed through her lived experience as a formal caregiver for older adults living with developmental disabilities. 

Morgan Anderson, BHSc, MPH candidate 

Master of Public Health, Schulich Medicine and Dentistry 

Research Interests:

Morgan Anderson is a Master of Public Health student at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, with a background in Health Sciences and Psychology. She has a strong interest in global health policy, research ethics, and health equity.

Morgan has gained hands-on experience in a range of health care settings, including addictions and mental health services, long-term care, and harm reduction. These experiences have shaped her understanding of the social and structural factors that influence health and well-being. She is particularly passionate about creating ethical, inclusive systems that reflect the needs and voices of the communities they serve. Whether supporting individuals through grief, helping clients navigate recovery, or advocating for dignity in elder care, Morgan brings empathy and a commitment to equity to her work.

She is especially interested in how global health frameworks can be strengthened to better address health disparities and ensure ethical practices across different contexts. With a growing focus on policy and program evaluation, Morgan is eager to contribute to public health initiatives that are grounded in compassion, accountability, and meaningful change.

Kate Enright, MPharm, DPhil

Post-doctoral fellow, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University

Research Interests:

  • Global health ethics
  • Humanitarian health ethics
  • Infectious disease ethics
  • ORCID: 0000-0001-5252-6168

Dr. Enright commenced her career as a pharmacist in the British Army. Having obtained a military scholarship to read Pharmacy at the University of Bath, she graduated with First Class Honours in 2005 and completed her pre-registration training with Pfizer the following year. She subsequently attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for officer training and served for seven years in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Seeking greater purpose and scope, Dr. Enright transitioned to the humanitarian sector in 2013. While she initially joined MERLIN (Medical Emergency Relief International), the organisation was acquired by Save the Children soon after her arrival. In 2017, Dr. Enright left Save the Children and established the Global Pharmacy Exchange, an organisation dedicated to tackling inequitable access to medical products via a global community of practice for those working in pharmacy and health supply chain related roles. Dr Enright decided to leave the humanitarian sector and pursue a career in academia having been headhunted for a doctoral research project in 2019. As a Wellcome Trust funded scholar with ETHOX at the University of Oxford, she investigated public health procurement decisions in humanitarian settings. Following her DPhil, Dr. Enright worked at York University as the Course Director of Global Health Ethics at the School of Global Health, and as a Research Associate with Dr Adrian Viens.