Staff Team

Fay Harrison provides leadership to the operational teams and, as a member of the Executive Committee and Collaboration Committee with McGill, ensures that the project objectives are being met. Fay is an experienced research manager having worked for 15 years as a Senior Research Strategy and Planning Manager at the Open University in the UK, where Fay led the Research Excellence Framework submission (REF2014) for the Open University and was a member of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) REF 2014 criteria setting committee. Fay’s experience and expertise in evidencing the impact of research naturally led to project managing the BrainsCAN CFREF submission for Western. Fay also has a background in equity, diversity and inclusion having managed an LGBTQ+ centre in the UK focused on challenging societal inequality, served on the Board of Leicester LGBTQ+ Centre and volunteered for Stonewall. Fay was recognized for developing a hate crime reporting tool that is now used across UK Police forces.

Ryan is BrainsCAN’s Associate Director, Metrics and Planning. He facilitates and coordinates multiple BrainsCAN initiatives, as well as works with BrainsCAN PIs to track the performance and impact of their cognitive neuroscience research and BrainsCAN as an initiative. Ryan has a background in neuroscience having completed a Master’s (2008) and Ph.D. (2014) from University of Toronto, where he examined immune modulatory therapies for pediatric stroke, and cell-based strategies for neural regeneration following spinal cord injury, respectively. Ryan has been with Western since 2015, having previously been a member of the Research Development team.

Hassam is responsible for managing the development, implementation and maintenance of BrainsCAN's current portfolio of strategic sites. He is a licensed knowledge translation professional having acquired his KTPC from the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine in 2020. His work is furthering the research web infrastructure currently in place on campus. Previously, Hassam interned at 'Western Communications' and worked collaboratively to manage and implement Western's 2017 Web Redesign. He has also served as Marketing Director for the Nazem Kadri Foundation.

Claire’s role is to strive towards a fully inclusive environment, ensuring that BrainsCAN fully represents Canada’s diverse society. Claire has more than ten years of experience within various research and business management roles in UK higher education. Her most recent role was as Business Manager for the VP Research at Cardiff University in Wales. This involved developing and implementing university-wide policies and initiatives to enhance research practices and culture, of which Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) were an underpinning feature. Claire also worked at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the primary funder of research in the UK, as a portfolio manager for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Maggie manages the development, implementation, monitoring and assessment of Western's BrainsCAN communications and marketing initiatives. Maggie has an educational background in communications and public relations with experience in the non-profit, agency and government sectors. Her specialization includes strategic communications, media relations, social media strategy and marketing.

Justin provides guidance and support on financial functions to BrainsCAN. Assisting in the interpretation of financial guidelines, policies, and procedures, Justin also provides support with the completion of financial reporting and the formulation of budget forecast documents. Justin has been with Western since 2014 and has developed a diverse background in Financial Services. He is a Western University graduate with degrees in both Finance and Political Science (2004) and is a professional accountant.