Fatima Al Sayah, PhD
Research Associate
Fatima was born and raised in Lebanon in the Middle East. In 2005, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from the Lebanese University, and in 2007, she obtained a Master of Science degree in nursing with focus on chronic disease management from the American University of Beirut. She worked as a diabetes nurse, research coordinator, and was involved in planning community-based programs with national and international organizations in Lebanon.
Fatima is now working towards PhD under the supervision of Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, focusing on the relationship between health literacy and various aspects of diabetes management and outcomes (adherence, glycemic control, development of complications, health services utilization, and health-related quality of life).
Joining ACHORD through working on the Alberta Caring for Diabetes project was a great opportunity for Fatima. She enjoys working and learning with and from her colleagues and all ACHORD team members.
Fatima thinks that her training and work at ACHORD is assisting her in exploring and building her potential and capabilities, and facilitating her academic and professional development.
Sherry Lydynuik
Research Administrator
Sherry Lydynuik joined the ACHORD Group in April of 2006. Sherry also hails from Saskatchewan like many people in ACHORD.
In 1996, Sherry started working at the University of Alberta in the Ocular Genetics Laboratory, Department of Ophthalmology. Sherry is very happy to be an Edmontonian and to be part of the growing and ever changing ACHORD Group.
Donna Pressick
Receptionist/Administrative Assistant 
Donna started working at ACHORD / SPOR in April 2016. She is Dean Eurich’s administrative assistant and offers administration help to the ACHORD staff and students. Donna won the 2017 Staff Member of the Year award from the School of Public Health.
Allison Soprovich, BScN, MPH
Project Coordinator
Allison completed her BScN from the University of Alberta in 2004. She worked as a Registered Nurse in community and primary care for 5 years before completing her MPH degree in Global Health, also from the University of Alberta, in 2011. Her main interest areas are improving access to health care, using research to develop and improve health programming, and health program evaluation. She loves the interdisciplinary aspects of public health and health promotion, working with many sectors towards common health goals.
Allison joined ACHORD in 2010 as a project coordinator for the ABCD project. Her main roles included developing clinical and research procedures, managing clinical care, quality control of data collection and knowledge translation. She currently coordinates and supports a number of research project initiatives for the ACHORD group. Her other side is a contemporary dancer, with occasional shows around Edmonton. She also enjoys biking to work through the river valley, skiing and camping.
Hilary Short, MSc
Research Coordinator
Hilary graduated from the University of Alberta in 2012 with a Bachelor in Physical Education and again in 2014 with a Master of Science in Health Policy Research. Hilary’s thesis research focused on adult obesity management in primary care and surveyed family physicians across Alberta on their attitudes, knowledge, and practices in obesity management.
Upon completing her graduate degree, Hilary worked for the Clinical Trials Program in the Division of Nephrology and Transplant Immunology at the University of Alberta Hospital, coordinating various drug and observational trials in renal transplant, dialysis, and renal insufficiency patient populations.
Hilary joined ACHORD in January 2017 and works on APERSU projects, primarily coordinating the EMPATHY trial.
Lisa Wozniak, MA
Research Associate
Lisa is a medical anthropologist specializing in health services research and evaluation in chronic and infectious diseases. As a Research Associate for ACHORD, Lisa designs and manages multiple qualitative and mixed-method studies as well as health program evaluations.
In addition, she mentors students, staff, and academics in qualitative research and evaluation methods through consultations, presentations, and written materials. Lisa has expertise in grounded theory, ethnography, qualitative description, and phenomenology and experience working in academic, community, clinical, and private settings.
Before joining ACHORD in 2010, Lisa was a Research Associate at Charis Management Consulting Inc., where she worked as part of a team conducting health research and evaluation at the local, provincial, and national level.
As a former Research Associate in the Centre for Health Promotion Studies at the University of Alberta, she managed several multi-method research studies examining the health, social and economic barriers to service utilization among people who inject drugs in Edmonton’s inner city.
In addition, Lisa‘s thesis research examined the explanatory models of gestational diabetes among immigrant women and clinical staff at a local Diabetes Outpatient Clinic to improve communication and service provision.
Lisa is a member of the International Institute for Qualitative Methodology and the Canadian Evaluation Society. Currently, she is working toward becoming a certified trainer in ATLAS.ti.
Publications: PubMed Articles
Ming Ye, PhD
Research Associate
Ming grew up in Tianjin, China. He got a BSc degree in Microbiology in 1997 from Nankai University (China) and a master degree in Oncology in 2005 from the University of Alberta. In 2015, Ming obtained a PhD degree in Epidemiology from the School of Public Health, University of Alberta. His PhD research focused on effect of environmental chemicals on respiratory health.
Ming previously worked as postdoctoral fellow at ACHORD studying cancer and chronic disease epidemiology. In partnership with Alberta’s Tomorrow Project, Ming’s research project focuses on linking Alberta’s Tomorrow Project data with Alberta Health administrative databases to characterize relationships between healthcare utilization and risk and health outcomes of cancer and chronic diseases.
Outside of work, Ming spends most of his time with his family. He also loves swimming, traveling and playing basketball and soccer.