Dr. Mertz is currently the Division Director in Infectious Diseases and an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at McMaster University. He is a practicing infectious diseases physician and is also serving as the Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control at Hamilton Health Sciences. He has published over 100 peer reviewed articles to date. He is an associate editor for the Journal of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Canada, and served as the first-named editor for the 3rd edition of the book ‘Evidence-based Infectious Diseases’. Dr. Mertz is the vice-chair and incoming chair of Ontario’s Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee (PIDAC) and is involved in the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program (CNISP). He has also serves on multiple provincial, regional and local taskforces and committees in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Muna is a registered cardiac sonographer with 10 years of experience in acute healthcare. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, she contributed to the public health initiative of overseeing vaccination implementation programs. She has dedicated herself to enhancing infection prevention and control measures in various congregate living settings by strengthening and building capacity in their IPAC programs as well as supporting and educating healthcare professionals to safeguard vulnerable populations through effective IPAC practices. Muna has completed the Queen's University IPAC course and has successfully obtained her CIC certification. Stephanie has been with the Infection Prevention and Control department at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton since 2009. After 5 years as the Administrative Assistant she transitioned to and remains in the IPAC Analyst role. With the implementation of the IPAC Hub program during the pandemic, she was given the opportunity to join the HNHB team as well to support hub activities and staff, manage communications and maintain the website. Iqra Ali
Iqra is a registered Medical Lab Technologist with a background in Microbiology and Molecular Biology. She has always had an interest in infectious diseases and is passionate about infection prevention and control. She is excited to be able to provide support and education to our communities. Iqra is currently working towards her CIC designation.Jelena is an internationally trained Physician, LMCC, with a solid medical background. She has several years of experience working as an Infection Control Professional in acute care and long-term care settings. Jelena is passionate about knowledge translation demonstrated by her formal training in teaching effectiveness in addition to 10 years of healthcare teaching experience. Jelena believes in the importance of collaboration and team work to achieve the best outcomes, particularly in protecting the most vulnerable populations. Jelena is a CIC certified. Kinnison is a Registered Nurse. Prior to joining the HNHB IPAC Hub, they were working as a Public Health Nurse in the Infectious Disease department with a focus on tuberculosis case and outbreak management and vector borne diseases. They also have nursing experience in vaccine-preventable diseases, primary care, sexual health, harm reduction and is a strong advocate for reducing healthcare barriers for those who are disproportionately affected by infectious diseases due to systemic inequity. Kinnison has successfully obtained their CIC certification. Carolyn is a Registered Nurse (BscN) with the Niagara Region Public Health Environmental Health Unit. She has a decade of experience in Infectious diseases as well as infection prevention and control in Public Health as well as has worked in acute care as an Infectious Diseases Research Nurse. She brings with her an enthusiasm for IPAC, teaching and data, having been in the recent role of IPAC/ID Supervisor and the Manager of Analytics and Planning. Carolyn has completed the Centennial College IPAC course and has her CIC certification. Dana has several years of healthcare experience. She is passionate about infection prevention and control and has experience working in acute care and congregate living settings. Her previous role as a supervisor at the COVID-19 vaccine clinics was one of the most rewarding moments of her career as it reflected her ongoing dedication to keeping the community safe. Dana has completed the Queen's University IPAC course and continues to study towards achieving her CIC designation. Doris is a Registered Nurse (RN) at the Brant County Health Unit. She has a strong nursing background in mental health and medical surgical. With over six years of experience as a Public Health Nurse in schools, she developed a passion for infection prevention and control practices in schools. Doris is looking forward to pursuing an IPAC Canada endorsed course and working towards her CIC designation. Neeshta is a Public Health Inspector with the Infectious Diseases team at the Brant County Health Unit. In addition to her work with reportable diseases, outbreak management, IPAC assessments, inspections, and investigations, Neeshta also leads the vector-borne disease program at the health unit. Neeshta recently completed an IPAC Canada endorsed infection prevention and control course and is currently working towards her CIC designation. Paige is a Registered Nurse at the Brant County Health Unit with a background in critical care and long-term care and also has a degree in Microbiology. She is passionate about infection prevention and control and is excited to provide support and education to our communities. Paige has completed an IPAC Canada endorsed infection prevention and control course and has successfully obtained her CIC certification.