Team

Lead Scientist, Cancer PEP

Dr. Gabriela Ilie is the Dalhousie Research Medical Foundation (DMRF) Endowed Soillse (it is pronounced /ˈɡālik/ and it means “Guiding Light” in Gaelic, one of the Celtic languages of Scotland) Scientist in Prostate Cancer Quality of Life and an Associate Professor in the Departments of Community Health and Epidemiology, Urology, Radiation Oncology and Psychology, and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University. She is Affiliated Scientist with Nova Scotia Health Authority, Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Center and Scientist with the Beatrice Cancer Research Institute.  She is an Associate Scientist with the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Ontario, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at University of Toronto with the Health Research Collaboratory. Gabriela initiated and leads the PC-PEP and Cancer PEP Programs and the scientific and clinical teams behind the program. 

Lia Massoeurs is a second-year master’s student in the Epidemiology and Applied Health Research program at Dalhousie University and a Research Coordinator in Dr. Ilie’s Dalhousie’s Soillse Cancer Quality of Life Research Laboratory. She has completed a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Biology at Mount Allison University and graduated in May of 2021. Lia is new to Nova Scotia as she is originally from Moncton, New Brunswick. In her free time, she enjoys going to the gym, experimenting with cooking, and doing jigsaw puzzles. She has a strong passion for healthcare and is very interested in the intersection of psychology and biology and the impact of mental health on one’s wellbeing. Lia will be conducting qualitative research throughout her master’s to identify issues related to sample heterogeneity, the context, complexities and characteristics of patients who participated in PC-PEP program. In the fall, Lia is beginning the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute Cancer Research Training program and is thankful to have been awarded the BHCRI CIBC/QEII Foundation CRTP Award to support her thesis research this academic year. 

Alexandra Nuyens is an incoming first-year master’s student in the Epidemiology and Applied Health Research program at Dalhousie University and a Research Coordinator in the Soillse Cancer Quality of Life Research Lab. She has completed a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Biology focusing on tick epigenetics at Mount Allison University and graduated in May of 2022. At Mount Allison, she played on the Women’s Varsity soccer team, which competed at the Atlantic University Soccer playoffs this past season. For years, she has been involved with Brain Injury Nova Scotia, which focuses on improving the quality of life of brain injury survivors. She is passionate about improving mental and physical health, quality of life, and addressing healthcare disparities/inequities. Through her master’s she will be conducting a cost benefits analysis of the PC-PEP program. In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer, spending time with her dog, and reading.

Clinical Lead, Cancer PEP

Dr. Rob Rutledge is Clinical Lead for the PC-PEP and Cancer PEP programs and a Radiation Oncologist with Nova Scotia Health Authority, and Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Center, in Halifax, Nova Scotia who treats Prostate, Breast, and Peadiatric cancers. His education includes an Undergraduate Math and Computer Science degree, a Certificate in Community Health, Clinical Epidemiology, and a Doctor of Medicine degree, all from University of Toronto. He has completed a Comprehensive Internship in Medicine at Queen’s University, in Kingston, and the Radiation Oncology Residency Program at University of Ottawa. Dr. Rutledge brings with him over 25 years of experience empowering cancer patients with education about cancer care and survivorship. He began his research collaboration with Dr. Ilie in 2016.

Cody MacDonald is the Cancer PEP and PC-PEP’s International Project Lead Coordinator in Dr. Ilie’s Dalhousie’s Soillse Cancer Quality of Life Research Lab. He has been involved in the Soillse Lab since the summer of 2018 as a student volunteer and then from May – August 2019 he held a student Research Assistant Practicum position in the lab, and then a Research Coordinator position within the Lab.  He completed a Bachelor of Science in Medical Sciences degree at Dalhousie University and throughout the course of his studies he became very interested in epidemiology and community health research. For years he has been involved with a non-for profit mental health charity and has long been passionate about improving people’s quality of life.  Originally from Pictou County, Nova Scotia, he is very excited to help coordinate the many exciting research projects being undertaken to improve the quality of life for all cancer patients in the Maritimes, Canada and abroad. He is a MSc student in Community Health and Epidemiology at Dalhousie and Dr. Ilie is his supervisor. In his free time, he loves spending as much time outdoors as possible, cycling around the city, hiking by the ocean, or travelling.

Markos Tsirigotis is a Program Coordinator in the Soillse Prostate Cancer Quality of Life Research Laboratory. He began his journey with PC-PEP as in the fall of 2022, and was the lead organizer of the Lab’s 2023 International Conference (Halifax, NS). Markos provided invaluable administrative and media editing support to the leads of the program and their organization as Health Promotion Intern during the Spring of 2023. Markos is set to graduate from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion in June of 2023, and is eager to apply key concepts from his education regarding healthy habit formation and health literacy to his work with PC and CancerPEP. Markos is a former player from the Dalhousie Tigers Football team and former member of the Dalhousie Tigers Football Executive Committee. In his free time, Markos enjoys exercising, playing music, and snowboarding.

Cristina Sava joined the Soillse Prostate Cancer Quality of Life Research Laboratory in the summer of 2022 as a Research Assistant. She grew up all over Canada including Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, picking up French along the way. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and minor in Spanish from Dalhousie University. She is fluent in French, English, Romanian and has working proficiency in Spanish. She wants to play a role in finding ways to help improve the quality-of-life of patients with cancer and learn more about the psychological impact that it can have on a person’s well-being and emotional state. Cristina is extremely grateful to be part of the PC-PEP and Cancer PEP team and believes that this is an amazing opportunity to translate some of the things she learned in university into real life practice. She enjoys spending her time volunteering with kids, helping tutor them in French and other topics. Her passions include playing soccer, having even played for the NS provincial team, visiting new countries and exploring different cultures, world cinema and trying new recipes.