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We study the health issues, needs, use as well as the quality and models of care provided to new refugees and claimants in Calgary and Canada. 

Research

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We design, implement, evaluate and refine innovative refugee care programs and care models to improve refugee care and health in Calgary and Canada. 

Innovation

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We train medical and nursing students, medical residents and fellows, undergraduate and graduate students, and provide clinical support to Calgary's medical community.

Education

Meet the Team

Dr. Coakley is a graduate of Queen’s University where she completed both her medical training and family medicine residency. She worked in rural settings across Canada before moving to London in 2009 where she completed her Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene at the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Once she completed her training, she settled in Calgary where she started to work at the Calgary Refugee Health Program in order to maintain her skills in tropical medicine. However, once she started working with refugees, she became a passionate advocate for their health and wellbeing. 

 In 2012, Dr. Coakley became the Medical Director of the Calgary Refugee Health Program where she was immediately confronted by the challenge presented by the Federal Government’s decision to cut the Interim Federal Health Program, which provides coverage for health services and essential medications for newly arrived refugees. She worked with many stakeholders within Alberta, including provincial agencies, to minimize the impact of the cuts on Calgary’s most vulnerable newcomers. Since the reversal of the cuts in 2015 following the last election, she has been working with her team at the Refugee Clinic to help meet the health needs of the influx of Syrian refugees and most recently, the victims of Daesh. Her hope is to one day work herself out of job once the mainstream health system is able to meet the needs of our most vulnerable newcomers.

Dr. Kerry McBrien is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Family Medicine and Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary. She finished medical school and a residency in Family Medicine at the University of Toronto. She completed a Master of Public Health at the Harvard University School of Public Health, focusing on outcomes research, statistical analysis, and healthcare economics, and then completed an AI-HS funded Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Health Economics with the Interdisciplinary Chronic Disease Collaboration. Her research interests include health economics and health services research, with a focus on chronic disease management in primary care.

Dr. Ronksley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary. His research focuses on patients with multiple chronic conditions (multi-morbidity) with a particular interest in understanding the subset of patients that drive health care utilization and spending. Using population-based administrative data and novel data-linkage methodologies, his work explores the clinical profiles of complex chronic disease patients, how they engage with the health care system, and whether care pathways can be modified to improve care and outcomes for these patients. 

Dr Rachel Talavlikar is a primary care physician dedicated to providing equitable, high quality care for marginalized populations including refugees and immigrants. She completed medical school and residency with additional training in global and women’s health at the University of Calgary in 2014. Prior to medical school she worked overseas in Switzerland and India with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts after completing a degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Alberta.

Her current clinical practice is based in North East Calgary at the East Calgary Family Care Clinic and the Mosaic Refugee Health Clinic (MRHC). Her fascination with the influence of culture on healthcare as well as advocacy for refugee care underpin her research pursuits. She currently co-chairs the MRHC Academic Governance Committee responsible for coordinating research occurring at the clinic, and is the representative to RHYYC where she also actively participates in projects providing clinical insight and review. Additionally, she is a member of the North American Society of Refugee Healthcare Providers Research Committee and the University of Calgary Newcomer Research Network. 

Recognized as one of Calgary's Top 40-Under-40 for success in Calgary's business and social sectors, Robb leads the day-to-day operations of EMRsyn. A serial entrepreneur, Robb has had a lifetime interest in technology and health which has led to a focus in the med-tech industry for the past 5+ years. 

Robb brings two decades of communications and project management expertise to the EMRsyn team to keep the project moving in the right direction.

Nesma is a full-time Research Assistant at the Refugee Health YYC program. She holds a Master of Arts in Conflict, Security and Development from King’s College London. Prior to joining the Team, Nesma was a Project Officer at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, where she implemented a project that sought to prevent and combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling in the Middle East and North Africa. Her focus on the vulnerability of asylum seekers, refugees and irregular migrants falling victim to crimes of human trafficking sparked her interest in safeguarding and improving the welfare of refugees and newcomers in Canada. Nesma is currently working to characterize Canada’s Refugee Healthcare Delivery System.

Nour Hassan is a Bachelor of Health Sciences graduate who majored in Health and Society at the University of Calgary. She is passionate about supporting and advocating for the integration, rights, and needs of refugees and newcomers. She stays actively involved with the refugee community in Calgary through volunteering: she co-hosted summer camps as vice president of the Joy Foundation for Refugee Youth, tutors through the Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth, and provides mentorship and health leadership learning sessions through RISE for Health and Wellness. In 2019, she joined the Refugee Health YYC program as a student researcher where she is involved in a project focused on characterizing the Canadian refugee health delivery system and is currently working on her honours thesis project on the health impacts of family separations among resettled refugees in Canada. 

Applied Mathematics and Software Engineering

Eric Norrie is a research associate with Refugee Health YYC, where he focuses on data analysis, academic writing, and helping newer RHYYC team members build their skills and confidence. Eric’s passion for refugee health and health science began during his time at the Mosaic Refugee Health Clinic, where he was employed from 2011 to 2020. In 2016, he became a founding member of the Refugee Health YYC team, contributing to the establishment of its data infrastructure. His work with RHYYC sparked his pursuit of a master’s degree in Community Health Sciences from the University of Calgary, where he specialized in studying refugee healthcare utilization. Eric completed his degree in June 2023 and is currently working to publish the first paper from that analysis.

Rabina is a Research Assistant within the Refugee Health YYC program. She had discovered her passion for refugee health and research in 2016 when she began working as an Administrative Assistant at the Mosaic Refugee Health Clinic. Her time there was spent developing and standardizing various processes to maintain and enhance patient care, as well as assisting with internal operations and contributing to a variety of research projects. She joined the Refugee Health YYC program in September 2017 as a Chart Review Clerk, and in November 2019, she had become the first full-time Research Assistant within the team.

Deyana Altahsh is a Bachelor of Science graduate who majored in General Kinesiology at the University of Calgary. She is passionate about Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) work and advocating for holistic settlement experience for refugees and newcomers. She has been actively involved in her faculty’s EDI committee, where she helped address and raise inequity and inaccessibility issues on campus. In her capacity as the 2020-2021 Student's Union Faculty of Kinesiology Representative, she has effectively utilized her lived experience and acquired knowledge to advocate for students at the University level, amplifying racialized students' voices and championing their rights. Recognizing the transformative power of refugee work, she has volunteered at the esteemed Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth, where she helped with program facilitation for newcomers and subsequently earned a position within the organization. She has further chaired a university club as a Vice President of Events and orchestrated inclusive sporting events designed specifically for newcomers and refugees. She has aimed to foster an environment where individuals from diverse backgrounds can come together, engage in physical activity, and form meaningful connections. The field of Kinesiology has nurtured Deyana's profound appreciation for movement, prompting her to merge her two passions; refugee work and activity. Her bachelor's thesis focused on the impact of physical activity on the settlement experience of newcomers and refugees, exemplifying her commitment to bridging the gap between movement and holistic well-being.

Minnella (Minnie) is a strong advocate for the Filipino community in Calgary, She is also an active volunteer with Action Dignity’s Filipinos Rising program. She hopes to continue supporting vulnerable communities through further studies in social work.

Mussie is the former president of the Eritrean Canadian Community Association of Calgary (ECCAC), He played a central role in providing support to the Eritrean meat plant workers who were impacted by COVID-19. 

Yasir is a former refugee from Afghanistan who holds an MSc in Global Health from McMaster University. Prior to moving to Canada, he lived as a refugee in Tajikistan after fleeing Afghanistan. During his time as a refugee, he continued to share his lived experience of refugee life. He currently works as a Community Scholar at the University of Calgary and holds a visiting academic position with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton. 

His scholarly work has been published in prestigious journals such as The Lancet. He is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) and holds multiple certificates from Wayne State University, the University of Geneva, McGill University, and the LinkedIn Learning Academy. During his tenure as a Research Assistant at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center, he focused particularly on tuberculosis research, further enriching his expertise in infectious disease research.

Edna is an active member of the Alberta International Medical Graduates Association (AIMGA) Health & Wellness Team and continue to provide support for essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Fawzia Abdaly is a Research Assistant at Refugee Health YYC and a Medical Office Assistant at the Mosaic Refugee Health Clinic. She holds a BCS and a Medical Office Assistant Diploma from Canada. With extensive experience in Afghanistan as a program officer advocating for girls' and women's rights, she now focuses on refugee health. Recognized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, she led initiatives supporting Afghan refugees in the USA.

James is a senior statistical associate at the University of Calgary. 

Syrian Refugee Initiative

Between 2015-2017, Canada rapidly resettled over 40,000 Syrian refugees responding to the humanitarian crisis resulting from civil war. The MRHC, partnered closely with Alberta Health Services (AHS) and Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS), to successfully provide and coordinate healthcare for nearly 2000 of the 2200 Syrian refugees who resettled in Calgary through Canada's Syrian Refugee Initiative. 

Survivors of Daesh

In 2017 Calgary was chosen as one of four Canadian cities to resettle a vulnerable population of Yazidi refugee families - a religious and ethnic minority from Northern Iraq and Syria - previously captured by the extremist group ISIS who survived a genocide. Severely traumatized, this refugee group requires intensive care and coordination among many health services but, almost no information on their medical and mental health issues was available in Canada.