Anastasia Drakos

At the time of the Forum Fellowship, Anastasia was a third-year undergraduate student in the Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) program at McMaster University. She previously collaborated with an international team of researchers at the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) where she developed an understanding of the way in which evidence can be used to develop successful context-specific intervention strategies. Anastasia was also actively involved with the Model United Nations (UN) for six years which allowed her to become familiar with a series of pressing world issues and provided the opportunity to listen to differing viewpoints on the issues at hand. These experiences taught Anastasia how to collaborate effectively with others to compose more dynamic and creative resolutions.

As a Forum Fellow, Anastasia planned to bring her experience working with local citizens, stakeholders, and researchers to support the Forum’s collaborative efforts in supporting evidence-informed decision making. In addition, Anastasia hoped to apply her critical evaluation and knowledge translation skills to the creation of content for the McMaster Optimal Ageing Portal. Anastasia looked forward to the opportunity to form connections both locally and internationally to assist her in becoming a well-informed health systems leader.