Team
Founding and Current Directors
Janice Du Mont, EdD (she/her)
Janice Du Mont is a Senior Scientist at Women's College Research and Innovation Institute, Women's College Hospital and a Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She is a recognized leader internationally in research focused on gender-based violence, particularly in the context of individuals who are structurally marginalized (e.g., trans and gender diverse persons, older women, women living with disabilities).
Robin Mason, PhD (she/her)
Robin Mason is a Emeritus Scientist at Women's College Research and Innovation Institute, Women's College Hospital and an assistant professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Her work focuses on developing policy, practice guidelines, and evidence-informed curricula to improve healthcare and social support for individuals who have experienced gender-based violence.
Co-Investigators
Sheila Macdonald, MN (she/her)
Sheila Macdonald is the Director of the Ontario Network of Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Treatment Centres and a global leader in acute care provided post sexual assault, most recently co-leading the development of the sex trafficking curriculum for forensic nurses.
Samantha MacNeill, RN, BScN, SANE-A (she/her)
Samantha is a Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Nurse Examiner at Trillium Health and an Anti-Human Sex Trafficking Strategy Advisor at the Region of Peel. With 23 years of experience, she supports victims, survivors, and individuals at-risk of sex trafficking. Currently, she is assisting the ASTER team in recruiting participants for the national survey.
Trainees
Lucy Zhao, MD Student (she/her)
(June 2025 - Present)
Lucy Zhao is a research student at Women's College Research and Innovation Institute, Women's College Hospital and a MD student at the University of Toronto. She is working on creating a sex trafficking curriculum for emergency department staff in Ontario.
Jessica Zhang, MPH Student (she/her)
(May 2025 - Present)
Jessica Zhang is a research practicum student at Women's College Research and Innovation Institute and a health promotion student at Queen's University. She is working on the development of the ASTER provincial intersectoral network and the associated WebPortal.
Kyara Liu, PhD Student (she/her)
(December 2024 - Present)
Kyara is a research student at the Women's College Hospital Research and Innovation Institute and a PhD student in Social and Behavioural Health Sciences at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She is working on her dissertation focused on developing evidence-based indicators that inform best practices for health providers interacting with persons sex trafficked in emergency departments.
Corinne Rogers, Post-doctoral fellow
(January 2024 - Present)
Corinne Rogers is the HART Fellow in Human Trafficking at Women’s College Research and Innovation Institute, Women’s College Hospital. Her research interests include the health and well-being of persons sex trafficked across their lifespan. She is co-leading the development of the ASTER provincial intersectoral network, working on curriculum evaluation, and assisting on research associated with lived experiences of adolescent and adult women who have been sex trafficked in Canada.
Sabrina Fan, MD Student (she/her)
(October 2023- Present)
Sabrina Fan is a research student at Women's College Research and Innovation Institute, Women's College Hospital and a MD student at University of Toronto. She is working on analyses from a national survey to improve service provider responses to sex trafficking as well as several other projects.
Hyuna Seo, PhD Student (she/her)
(January 2023 - Present)
Hyuna Seo is a research student at Women’s College Research and Innovation Institute, Women’s College Hospital and a PhD student in Statistics at McMaster University. She is working on analyses from a national survey to improve service provider responses to sex trafficking as well as several other projects.
Rhonelle Bruder, PhD Student (she/her)
(September 2021 - Present)
Rhonelle Bruder is a research student at the Women's College Hospital Research and Innovation Institute and a PhD candidate in Social and Behavioural Health Sciences at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She is working on her dissertation focused on the lived experiences of adolescent and adult women who have been sex trafficked in Canada.
Soumyaa Subramanium, MPH student (she/her)
(May 2024 - August 2024)
Soumyaa Subramanium, a health promotion student at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto was a practicum student at Women’s College Research and Innovation Institute, Women’s College Hospital. She co-authored a published manuscript focused on healthcare providers’ perceptions on vulnerability to domestic sex trafficking.
Fareeha Quayyum, MPH Student (she/her)
(May 2023 - April 2024)
Fareeha Quayyum, a Health Promotion student at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, was a practicum and research student at Women’s College Research and Innovation Institute, Women’s College Hospital. She worked on a national survey of service providers’ perceptions and experiences of sex trafficking, assisting with study recruitment and data analysis.
Frances Recknor, DrPH (she/her)
(June 2022 - June 2023)
Frances Recknor was the Hart Fellow in Human Trafficking with Women’s College Research Institute, Women’s College Hospital and is also a Clinical Assistant Professor with the Anti-Trafficking Program at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She has lectured and published on the topic of health, public health, and human trafficking both in the States and Canada. Frances played a lead role in research related to healthcare professionals’ perceptions of and capacity to respond to sex trafficked persons in Canada.
Brittany Ellington, MPH Student (she/her)
(January 2023 - April 2023)
Brittany Ellington, a practicum student in Health Promotion at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, was a practicum student at Women’s College Research Institute, Women’s College Hospital. She worked on the further development of the ASTER WebPortal and co-led a social media awareness campaign on sex trafficking in Canada.
Stephanie Elliott, MSW Student (she/her)
(June 2022 - August 2022)
Stephanie Elliott was a research student at Women's College Research Institute, Women's College Hospital and master’s student in Social Work at the University of Toronto. Stephanie co-led the preparation of a manuscript focused on the indicators social service providers use to identify sex trafficked persons.
Mai-Lan Johnston, MPH Student (she/her)
(January 2022 - April 2022)
Mai-Lan Johnston, a practicum student in Health Promotion at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, was a practicum student at Women’s College Research Institute, Women’s College Hospital. She worked on developing the national survey on the perceptions and practices of health care providers, social service providers, law enforcement, and educators about domestic sex trafficking in Canada.
Dani Jacobson, PhD (she/her)
(September 2021 - June 2022)
Dani Jacobson was the HART Fellow in Human Trafficking at Women's College Research Institute, Women's College Hospital and a sessional lecturer at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Dani studies violence against women using critical qualitative health research methods and works to improve health care equity for women in Canada at varying intersections of identity. She worked on designing and carrying out research projects on sex trafficking related to the knowledge, attitudes and practices of social service providers.
Evelyn Hodgins, MPH Student (she/her)
(May-December 2021)
Evelyn Hodgins, a health promotion student at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, and a practicum and research student at Women’s College Research and Innovation Institute, Women’s College Hospital. She co-led a scoping review of Canadian sex trafficking research.
Julie Mutis, MPH Student (she/her)
(May-December 2021)
Julie Mutis, a health promotion student at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, and a practicum and research student at Women’s College Research and Innovation Institute, Women’s College Hospital. She co-led a scoping review of Canadian sex trafficking research.
Staff
Daisy Kosa, PhD (she/her)
Daisy Kosa is the research lead for the Ontario Network of Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Treatment Centres with training in health research methodology. Daisy is an expert in implementing and evaluating curricula focused on gender-based violence.
Tonia Forte, MSc (she/her)
Tonia Forte is a research associate at Women's College Research Institute. She has a Masters degree in epidemiology and much of her research has been in the area of gender-based violence. Tonia is working on the national survey, assisting with analyzing the survey data.
Emma Kelly, MA (she/her)
Emma Kelly is a research assistant at Women's College Research Institute, Women's College Hospital. Emma is a Master’s graduate in Criminology and Criminal Justice Policy with experience in research and non-profit work related to gender-based violence. She is supporting the sex trafficking work of ASTER as well as other projects.