Introducing the SRL Team

Top Row (left to right):
Rob Raos, Pat Carter, Renée Lapointe, Cindy Walsh, Debra Hughes, Eric Duku
Bottom Row: Magdalena Janus, Pauline DeRosa, Ashley Gaskin

Pauline DeRosa – Pauline has been at the Offord Centre for several years, working on various projects. Four years ago she joined the SRL project team. Currently she is responsible for the organization of all incoming data files and the scanning of all questionnaires as well as support to the administration of the SRL program. Her willingness to assist all of the SRL team members in many other tasks is an invaluable asset to the team.

Eric K. Duku, MSc. P.Stat – Eric has been with the SRL team as a Senior Statistical Analyst in 2001. In addition to working with our team, he also works with Dr. Peter Szatmari's Autism research team at the Offord Centre. He is responsible for proposing and developing plans of analysis for studies as well as implementing and supervising the analyses. He develops, when necessary, unique methods of statistical analyses based on continual research into new and emerging statistical methods as well as plays an active role in preparation of manuscripts for publication. Eric is a member of the Statistical Society of Canada holds a Professional Statistician designation as well as a Graduate diploma in Population Studies from the University of Ghana, Ghana.

Ashley Gaskin – Ashley is a graduate from University of Western Ontario has been with the SRL team as a Research Assistant since 2004. She is responsible for the EDI implementation and reporting process for all sites across Canada and internationally. She is also the administrator/coordinator of the electronic EDI which has grown in popularity over the past year.

Debra Hughes, R.N., M. A., C.T.R.C. – Debra joined the SRL team in the fall of 2005 as a Research Assistant. To date, she has been working on the Transition to School for Children with Special Needs research project. Debra graduated from Ryerson University in Toronto and worked for several years as a Registered Nurse on a variety of medical and surgical units. She spent ten years in Ecuador, South America, working part-time in the operating room. Returning to Canada, she completed her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in psychology, graduating from SUNY - Buffalo in 2005. Recently she completed a Clinical Trials Research Coordinator program at McMaster. Debra has taught psychology courses at the university level, has been involved in a volunteer capacity in her local elementary and secondary schools, and presently serves on a Niagara District High School Parent Council.

Magdalena Janus, Ph.D. – Magdalena came to McMaster in 1998; currently she is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences and Associate Member of the Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Offord Centre for Child Studies, and holds the Ontario Chair in Child Development. Together with Dr. Dan Offord, she was the original author of the Early Development Instrument. Magdalena earned her M.Sc. from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland, and holds a Ph.D. in behavioural sciences from Cambridge University. Her doctoral research involved studying the nature of relationships among young human and non-human primates. The spectrum of her research as a post-doctoral fellow and research associate at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto included mother-infant relationships in children with chronic illness, impact of childhood chronic illness on the child's behavioural and academic adjustment in school, family coping, and the quality of sibling relationship. She has also taught at Cambridge University (UK), York University and University of Guelph (Canada).

Renée D. Lapointe – Renée joined the SRL team in September 2005 as a Francophone consultant. She is responsible for providing support to all Francophone boards and communities. Renée taught in French language schools for a number of years. In 1980, she obtained a Masters of Education from the University of Toronto. She was appointed principal of a French language school in Hamilton in 1980, where she stayed until 2001. She has served on several boards, advisory committees and councils at the local, provincial and international level in the field of education.

Rob Raos – Rob joined the SRL team in the fall of 2004. He is responsible for mapping the results of the EDI and carrying out spatial analyses using GIS. Rob has a Bachelor's degree in Geography and Environmental Studies from McMaster University and is in the final stages of completing a Master's degree in Spatial Analysis with Ryerson University/The University of Toronto.

Cindy Walsh – Cindy has been a staff member of McMaster University for over 20 years, and prior to joining the SRL project was Dan Offord's administrative assistant for 10 years. Working alongside "Dr. Dan" developed her interest in research and provided her with a wealth of administrative experiences. Cindy joined the SRL Project in its infancy, and was instrumental in developing its scope. Currently she coordinates all activities in implementation and research and is responsible for the administration of the SRL program.