Board of Directors

President:
Xiangfei Meng

Xiangfei Meng is an Associate Professor at the McGill University, a Researcher at the Douglas Research Centre, and a Director of the Mental health and Society Division at the Douglas – as well as a FRSQ research scholar, has provided such a unique opportunity to focus on specific biopsychosocial characteristics (early-life exposures, social support, common genetic variants), which are closely related, both directly or indirectly, to stress and act as both risk or protective factors for mental health/illness and cognitive impairment. Her leadership in understanding stress-related biopsychosocial characteristics in mental illnesses and population mental health through rigorous quantitative approaches is attested by her publications, over 90 peer-reviewed publications (mostly first/corresponding authors), and over 70 presentations at national and international conferences. Her H-index (Google scholar: 27 in June 2022) is relatively high for a psychiatric epidemiologist at her career stage. She has attracted several competitive research grants and research contracts from CIHR, SSHRC, CFREF, CIMVHR, FRQS, and CITF as Nominated Principal Investigator and received over $ 2.3 million as a PI and over $1.4 million as co-investigator in research funding.

Past President:
Hilary Brown

Hilary Brown, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, in the Department of Health & Society and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. She is cross-appointed to the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and is an Adjunct Scientist at Women’s College Hospital and ICES. Dr. Brown holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Disability & Reproductive Health. Her research program uses epidemiologic methods to examine maternal and child health and mental health across the life course, with a particular focus on populations with disabilities and chronic disease, health equity, and the social determinants of health.

Vice President:
Vikki Ho

Dr. Ho is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine in the École de santé publique de l’Université de Montréal (ESPUM) at the Université de Montréal and Researcher at the Centre de recherche du centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CRCHUM). She received a B.Sc. in Life Sciences (2006), M.Sc. in Community Health and Epidemiology (2008), and PhD in Epidemiology (2014) at Queen’s University.  As a cancer epidemiologist, Dr. Ho’s research focuses on the influence of environmental and lifestyle factors on cancer etiology, with a particular emphasis on understanding why cancer incidence differs between sexes. She has held the Chair in Sex and Gender Science in Cancer Research from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2020-2024). As Co–Scientific Director of CARTaGENE, Quebec’s largest population-based prospective cohort and a member cohort of Canada’s largest prospective cohort study (CanPath), Dr. Ho plays a central role in advancing large-scale population health research infrastructures in Canada.

Treasurer:
Laura N. Anderson

Laura N. Anderson, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Public Health in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, at McMaster University. She is also a Member of the Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis (CHEPA) at McMaster University, the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging, and an Adjunct Scientist in the ICES Life Stage Research Program. Dr. Anderson’s primary area of research is population and public health with a focus on life course epidemiology and the primary prevention of chronic diseases, including obesity, across all life stages.

Secretary:
Aidan Huang

Aidan Huang is an incoming PhD student in Population Health at the University of Ottawa, supervised by Dr. Xiangfei Meng. His research interests include music-based interventions for autistic and neurodivergent populations, as well as the ethical implications of emerging healthcare technologies. Aidan holds an HBSc in Life Sciences with a Minor in Music from McMaster University and is currently completing an MSc in Global Health through the Mary Heersink School of Global Health at McMaster University. He serves as a student research assistant with the SCORE! Research Project at McMaster University, supporting community-based research on sustainable healthy active living among children and families. Outside of academics, Aidan enjoys performing as a drummer and percussionist in both community and professional ensembles.

Student Representative:
Japteg Singh

Japteg Singh is a PhD candidate in Epidemiology at McGill University, where his research examines inequalities in cancer screening and palliative care outcomes among immigrant populations in Canada. He applies causal inference methods to study how immigration status, geography, and socioeconomic conditions shape access to cancer screening, diagnosis, and end-of-life care. Japteg holds a Master of Public Health from McMaster University.

Before beginning his doctoral studies, he worked as an Epidemiologist at Niagara Region Public Health and as an Implementation Science Coordinator at the Ontario HIV Treatment Network. He is currently an active member of CSEB's Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA) Working Group, and looks forward to connecting and collaborating with colleagues across the CSEB community.