Lab Members

Lab Members

Principal Investigator and Director

  • Principal Investigator and Director

    Dr. Geoff Bardwell (he/him) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine at University of British Columbia and a Research Scientist at the BC Centre on Substance Use. Dr. Bardwell’s research focuses on unregulated drug use and related policies, strategies, and interventions, primarily in small urban, rural, remote, and Indigenous communities. He also has several years of experience working in policy and direct service roles in the areas of HIV/AIDS, gender and sexuality, housing and homelessness, and drug use.

Trainees

  • MSc student

    Elisabetta (she/they) is a first-year MSc student in Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. They are interested in tailoring public health interventions for people who use drugs, particularly by exploring the distinct experiences of women and 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals. They are also interested in mad studies, access to mental health services, and the intersection of mental health, drug use, and the criminal legal system. In their free time, Elisabetta enjoys nature walks, going to the beach, and spending time with loved ones.

  • PhD student

    Amreetha (she/her) is in the first year of the PhD program in Public Health Sciences at University of Waterloo. Her master’s research focused on opioid agonist treatment access in rural communities of British Columbia and the potential role of technologies in addressing access issues. She is interested in continuing research in unregulated drug use and its' related policies in the smaller urban and rural Ontario context. Outside of her research, she loves spending time with family, being outdoors, and visiting art galleries.

  • PhD student

    Meya (she/her) is in her first year of the PhD program in Public Health Sciences at University of Waterloo. Meya has a keen interest in the relationship between the built environment and drug use. She is currently conducting qualitative research examining built environments and fatal overdose in British Columbia. Her PhD will extend this research and examine how the built environment impacts liberalized policing approaches in drug-related encounters across smaller urban and rural communities in Waterloo Region.

picture of rachel

  • MSc student

    Rachel (she/her) is in her first year of the Master of Science in Public Health Sciences program. She is interested in research on substance use, harm reduction, climate change, and public health interventions that provide more autonomy to people who use drugs. For her master's thesis, she is interested in exploring the intersections of the overdose crisis, climate change, and extreme weather events, and their effects on the health outcomes of people who use drugs.

  • Dane is a PhD Candidate in the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. His research centers on mental health services, systems and policies with a focus on forensic psychiatry, substance use, and bipolar disorder. He also conducts research on innovative models for integrating mental health services into primary care, publicly funded psychotherapy services, and illicit tobacco markets. In his spare time, he enjoys exercise, listening to podcasts, and reading. He is supported by scholarships from CIHR and SSHRC.

Staff

  • Judy (she/her) is a Graduate Research Assistant supporting Drug Lab’s work on drug possession, decriminalization, and policing. She is also a PhD student working under the supervision of Dr. Chris Perlman. Her research primarily focuses on substance use, mental health, and the complexities which lead to the co-occurrence of both conditions.  Her research has covered topics such as barriers for Canadian police in responding to emergency calls involving severe emotional and psychological distress; experiences of self-medication with both licit and illicit substances to address symptoms of low mood; and the geographic patterns of opioid-related overdose deaths in British Columbia.  Her research often takes an interdisciplinary approach which incorporates psychosocial, criminological, and public health perspectives.  Judy specializes in both quantitative and qualitative research methods, with a high priority placed on incorporating the voices of those with lived experience of substance use and/or mental illness.

  • Erin (she/her) recently completed her Honours Bachelor of Public Health at the University of Waterloo, with a minor in Addictions, Mental Health, and Policy. Her interests lie in health equity, drug policy, and the social determinants of health, particularly as they relate to mental health and substance use. As a Research Coordinator, she supports projects that explore the intersection of drug policy, service access, and community well-being. 

Sudbury Research Assistants: Renee Rochon, Dawn Cameron, Kevin McGregor, Guy Seguin, Janet Michaud, Brooke Legault

Lab Alumni

  • Anna Martin (BSc 2024)

    Factors associated with alcohol use among sexual minority women: A scoping review

  • Magda Kalff-Duschenes (BSc 2024)

    Exploring the Factors that Improve Provider Experience While Caring for Pregnant People Who Use Substances: A descriptive phenomenology

  • Lucas Tucker (MSc 2025)

    Unregulated drug use in Sudbury, Ontario: A rapid ethnography examining risks and harm reduction service access in the North

  • Amreetha Jayathilake (MSc 2025)

    They decried the bio-politics of illicit substance use: the perspectives of people who use drugs on access to opioid agonist treatment in rural and remote communities of British Columbia