Our Team
Meet our established team of Research Professionals passionate to identify and assess risk and develop occupation-based interventions for preventing high-risk behaviours and improving mental and physical health in the workplace.
Assistant Professor
Emily Geldsaler Grant Early Career Professor in Workplace Mental Health
Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Member, Rehabilitation Sciences Institute
Faculty Researcher, Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Affiliate Scientist - Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network
Collaborating Scientist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Principal Investigator
Dr. Behdin Nowrouzi-kia
OT Reg. (Ont.), PhD, FRSA
0000-0002-5586-4282
Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science, where he also holds the inaugural Emily Geldsaler Grant Early Career Professorship in Workplace Mental Health. Through an occupational lens, his research program is a systematic study of occupations in the areas of work disability prevention, return to work, and disability management. This approach is designed to produce results directly applicable to identify and assess risk and to develop interventions for preventing or improving high-risk behaviours in the workplace. Dr. Nowrouzi-Kia’s work is motivated by efforts in the field of work disability prevention that extends beyond the efforts to prevent or cure diseases from a purely physical perspective, towards more holistic approaches.
Maryam Shahzad
Doctoral Trainee
Maryam is a clinical occupational therapist and doctoral student in the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto. Maryam has experience in qualitative and knowledge synthesis studies in the areas of resiliency and brain injury and health behaviours of Indigenous and immigrant populations. She is interested in studying occupational disability and rehabilitation in diverse populations. She has clinical experience supporting the return to work and community integration of individuals with brain injury.
Donia Obeidat
Doctoral Trainee
Donia is a Jordanian occupational therapist and a Ph.D. student in rehabilitation science at the University of Toronto. As an occupational therapist and a future scientist, Donia is mainly interested in the working environment and related disabilities, engagement in community, and improving quality of life.
Sharada Nandan
Research Assistant
Sharada graduated from the University of Toronto Scarborough with an HBSc, specializing in psychology. During her time as a student, she completed an 8-month co-op at the ReSTORE lab working on projects related to gender-based violence and presenteeism and absenteeism among teleworkers. Sharada re-joined the lab in 2026 to further develop her research skills in hopes of pursuing grad school. She is interested in exploring projects related to improving mental health within the workplace and exploring topics related to women's health and minority populations.
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Yiting (Tina) He
Volunteer
Yiting is a fourth-year Bachelor of Kinesiology student at the University of Toronto, specializing in the Behavioural Science stream. She has experience working with EEG and brain–behavioral sciences and is eager to strengthen her hands-on research skills through her role at the ReSTORE Lab. Yiting is passionate about understanding the connections between brain function and rehabilitation and aims to build on this foundation as she prepares for future graduate studies.
Monica Huynh
Volunteer
Monica is a recent graduate from Wilfrid Laurier University where she majored in kinesiology and minored in biology and psychology. Some of her interests include the biopsychosocial framework, musculoskeletal injuries and rehabilitation as well as public and community health. She joined ReSTORE lab in hopes of strengthening her research abilities and further studying occupational related disabilities and injuries.
Vedika Patil
Work Study Student
Vedika Patil is a third-year student at the University of Toronto double-majoring in Economics and Statistics. She is interested in applied health research, particularly in understanding how social, behavioural, and environmental factors shape health outcomes across different populations. In the long term, she hopes to pursue a career in applied health research or health policy, working in settings where data analysis is used to improve population health outcomes and inform evidence-based decision-making.
Maria Paula Salamanca Acosta
MITACS Student
I am Maria Paula Salamanca Acosta, a fifth-year medical student. I will be joining the laboratory team as a research intern through the MITACS program. I coordinate a student research group focused on neuroscience, and I am particularly passionate about mental health research, with a special emphasis on suicidal ideation and the impact of emotional symptoms on neurodegenerative diseases, which I have explored in my previous research projects. In my free time, I enjoy painting, photography, and dancing. I am very happy to be part of the team and to learn about rehabilitation approaches in stroke.
Viktoriia Shevchuk
MITACS Student
My name is Viktoriia Shevchuk, and I am a fourth-year Bachelor’s student in Social Work and Social Pedagogy at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine. Throughout my studies, I have focused on youth mental health, with a particular interest in the prevention of mental health problems and supporting teenagers as they navigate adolescence.
I look forward to participating in the research project on Exploring Work Disability and Functional Capacity in Individuals with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus as a Mitacs intern and getting to know the team members.
Rubén Beltrán
MITACS Student
Rubén is a graduate student in the Master's in Administrative Engineering at Instituto Tecnológico de Orizaba (TecNM), Mexico. He joined the ReSTORE Lab as a Mitacs Globalink Research Intern to explore the intersection of technology and workplace mental health. Rubén is interested in the development of intelligent systems for occupational health, with a particular focus on burnout prevention and early detection in organizational settings.
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Arulini Ampigaipathar
Research Assistant
Arulini is a Research Assistant at the ReSTORE Lab. She is a UofT alumni who holds an Honours Bachelor of Science; she specialized in Psychology and minored in Health Humanities. From her co-op internships, Arulini has valuable experience in various fields such as IT, project management, and customer communications. She also makes time for her interest in mental health by volunteering in healthcare-focused roles in a centre for mental health sciences, as well as being a peer-reviewer for an undergraduate journal of disability studies.
Jeysri Hariram
Volunteer
Jeysri is a Life Sciences student at Queen’s University who is especially interested in the intersection of mental health and rehabilitation. Her research and volunteer experiences have sparked a strong interest in how mental health can affect recovery, participation, and a person’s ability to return to work. As a Volunteer Research Assistant with the ReSTORE Lab, she hopes to continue exploring mental health and occupational health while contributing to research that can make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.
Yike (Amy) Liu
Volunteer
Amy is a graduate student in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. Her current research focuses on the neuropathology underlying autism spectrum disorder, with particular interest in understanding the role of the PTCHD1 protein in the neurodevelopmental dysfunction. She joined the lab to further strengthen her research skills and to explore the connection between brain function, neurological disorders, and rehabilitation. In the long term, she hopes to pursue medical school and continue studying neuroscience, with the aim of integrating research and clinical care in her future career.
Chloe Hsien
Volunteer
Chloe is an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto specializing in Health and Disease. She is interested in clinical research, particularly in evaluating hospital administrative data and exploring how occupational therapy can be used to optimize patient recovery, efficiency, patient care and the overall healthcare system.
Nuzhat Azim
Volunteer
Nuzhat is working towards her Neuroscience and Psychology degree. She is interested in mental health and neuroscience research in underserved populations especially in women.
Nishtha Joshi
Volunteer
Nishtha is a recent graduate from York University with an Honours BSc in Biomedical Science. She has developed a strong interest in rehabilitation research and patient care through her hospital volunteering in neuro-rehabilitation and the fracture clinic at William Osler Health System, where she gained hands-on experience supporting patients. This experience also led her to gain research experience on improving dementia care in long-term care facilities, where she contributed to knowledge synthesis and translation. Through the ReSTORE Lab, she hopes to further explore rehabilitation research and understand how occupational therapy and disability prevention can help support individuals in recovery and everyday independence.
Sanjana Itham
Volunteer
Sanjana is a final-year undergraduate student at the University of Toronto Scarborough, studying Neuroscience and Psychology. She is particularly interested in neuroscience, mental health, and clinical research, with an interest in understanding how neurological and psychological factors influence health, functioning, and quality of life. Through her role at the ReSTORE Lab, she hopes to strengthen her research skills while exploring rehabilitation and occupational health research and contributing to research that can improve individuals’ health and everyday functioning.
Collaborating Investigators
Collaborating Scientist
Dr. Amin Yazdani
Dr. Amin Yazdani is the President of the Canadian Institute for Safety, Wellness & Performance. He is also an adjunct assistant professor at McMaster University, the University of Waterloo and Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences. Dr. Yazdani is a member of the Canadian Standard Association (CSA Group) Occupational Health and Safety Strategic Steering Committee, and a recipient of the 2018 Standards Council of Canada Young Leader Award.
Collaborating Scientist
Dr. Parvin Eftekhar
I am an Occupational Therapist by training, Affiliate Scientist, KITE Research Institute and Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto. I have been a practicing occupational therapist since 2001 with areas of expertise in neuro-rehabilitation with a focus on Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Spinal Cord Injury and Acquired Brain Injury. I have been practicing advanced, evidence-based interventions to treat and manage spasticity, with an emphasis on restoring function and improving quality of life. My doctoral work evaluated spasticity using combined kinematic and clinical outcome measures to assess the impact of BoNTA on arm function. My current research and clinical practice focus on patient and family goal-based intervention using the ICF model. My research interest areas are neuromodulation (sEMG, NMES/FES) coupled with traditional rehabilitation modalities such as exercise, massed practice, splinting/serial casting after upper limb paralysis or nerve transplant in individuals with Stroke or SCI. My post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto was a multi-site randomized trial studying outdoor activities for seniors. I provide education in the Department of Occupational Therapy through guest lectures, as a teaching assistant, lab educator and research supervisor for an OT student project. During COVID-19, I have pivoted to providing assessment and treatment via telerehab to Toronto Rehab Spasticity patients. I am an active member of the peripheral nerve transplant team and act as research therapist in the Upper Extremity NeuroRestorative and Innovations Lab at Lyndhurst Centre.
Collaborating Scientist
Dr. Basem Gohar
Dr. Basem (Bas) Gohar is an assistant professor in the Department of Population Medicine and an adjunct professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Guelph. He is also a faculty researcher at the Centre for Research in Occupational Safety & Health (CROSH). He holds a PhD in Health Services and an MSc in Clinical & Counselling Psychology. Clinically, Bas is a registered clinical psychologist with the College of Psychologists of Ontario, providing clinical services to children, adolescents, and adults. Much of his work with adults focuses on stress management and safe return-to-work.
Collaborating Scientist
Dr. Ali Bani-Fatemi
Collaborating Scientist
Dr. Vijay Kumar Chattu
Dr. Vijay Kumar Chattu is a Global Health Physician and International Relations Specialist with vast international experience. Dr. Chattu completed his MBBS and MD (Community Medicine) in India, an MPH (Health Policy) in Belgium, an MPhil (Health Management) in South Africa, and a PhD in International Relations (Global Health Diplomacy & NCDs). Besides, at the University of Toronto, he completed a Fellowship in Sleep Medicine (2019) from the Department of Psychiatry and a Fellowship in Occupational Medicine & Digital Health (2021) from St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto. Dr. Chattu has been associated with the ReSTORE lab since 2022 as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Global Occupational Health and Climate Change. Currently, he is an Associate Professor - Tenure-Track at Tennessee State University, USA, and an Associate Research Fellow at the United Nations University - CRIS, Belgium. He conducts interdisciplinary research in medicine, health sciences, occupational health, sustainability, climate change, foreign policy, and international relations. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Alberta's School of Public Health. Dr. Chattu is a world-class scientist and has published over 550 articles and has consistently ranked among the World’s Top 2% Scientists in Public Health by the Stanford University Rankings since 2021. At the ReSTORE lab, he collaborates on multiple projects and contributes to research on global occupational health, climate impacts on outdoor occupations, burnout and mental health of healthcare workers, and other SDGs that intersect with health. He is also the Founder and CEO of Global Health Research and Innovations Canada Inc. (GHRIC), based in Toronto.
Links to my works
ResearchGate, LinkedIn, Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus