Our Team
Dr. Vlad Kushnir
PhD, MSc, PMP
Director, Operations & Strategic Partnerships, GEMINI
My role with the GEMINI team:
As the Director of Program Development and Research Operations, I provide leadership and support to all of GEMINI’s current and emerging opportunities, including strategic planning, project implementation, and oversight of day-to-day operations. I am also the Program Manager of the Ontario General Medicine Quality Improvement Network (GeMQIN), guiding the development and distribution of practice feedback reports to general medicine physicians across the province and working with Ontario Health to foster a community of practice devoted to sharing of ideas and accelerating data-driven quality improvement efforts.
My educational background:
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PhD in Pharmaceutical Science, University of Toronto
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MSc in Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto
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BSc (Hons) in Biology and Psychology, York University
My past experience and accomplishments:
Prior to joining GEMINI, I managed a research program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, aimed at developing and evaluating the effectiveness of brief interventions for addictive disorders and co-morbid mental health issues. In my role, I guided the execution of randomized controlled trials and prospective studies, developed protocols and grants proposals, and managed all data collection and analysis efforts. Some of my key accomplishments include successfully leading a national trial on the real-world effectiveness of nicotine patches which involved over 2,000 participants, acquiring grant funding for problem gambling and tobacco dependence research from national and provincial agencies, and authoring dozens of publications in top-tier scientific journals.
I feel most inspired when:
I have the freedom to explore different ideas and make something my own.
A few of my favourite things are:
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Backcountry canoe camping with my friends and kids
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Building something with my kids (i.e. mini catapult, fuel-powered rocket, etc.), essentially anything that has the potential to be launched or explode
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Backyard BBQ with friends and family on a sunny summer afternoon
