Our Team

Assistant Professor, Cardiology, Department of Medicine; Chair, Smoking Cessation (Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation and Quit Smoking Program); Co-Chair, Virtual Care Heart Team;

Director, Hypertension Program

Dr. Hassan Mir is a cardiologist, researcher, and assistant professor at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. He serves as Chair of the Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation and Co-Chair of the Virtual Care Heart Team. Dr. Mir’s clinical and research interests focus on smoking cessation and nicotine dependence. He is also dedicated to advancing patient care through the development, implementation, and evaluation of digital health technologies.

Evyanne is the lab’s Research Manager. She has been at the Heart Institute since 2015, holding various roles and being involved in a variety of projects. One of her main priorities is overseeing the onboarding, training, and activities of the research staff within the lab. In addition, she supports the submission of grant applications, REB submissions, and creates presentations and reports. She is a Research representative on the Divisional Quality of Care Committee and is actively involved within the Clinical Research Management Committee.

Tanya has worked at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute since 2001.  She has a background of working in various areas such as Cardiac Diagnostic Imaging, several cardiologists as an administrative assistant and in research.  This has led to her current role in supporting Dr. Mir.  Her primary role is overseeing day-to-day office logistics, assisting with various research projects for the Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation group, and assisting with grant applications. 

Javad Heshmati is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. He has had the privilege of being a CIHR HSI awardee, working on vaping and smoking cessation programs under the supervision of Dr. Mir.

Salma is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, having joined in March 2025. She completed her PhD at the University of Ottawa and has extensive experience conducting preclinical and clinical research, statistical analysis, and scientific publication.

Salma is passionate about collaborating with multidisciplinary teams and continuously learning new skills to contribute to high-quality research. Her current research focuses on evaluating evidence-based smoking cessation programs and conducting systematic reviews of nicotine replacement therapies.

Argefa is a researcher, public health analyst, and epidemiologist with over 18 years of extensive experience in resource-limited settings. He has led research on communicable and non-communicable diseases across several African countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, and Zambia.

He has held senior academic and leadership roles in research programs, monitoring and evaluation, and coordination. His work centers on leading, coordinating, monitoring, and evaluating quantitative research, while integrating qualitative and participatory methods to inform the design of effective health programs and policies in developing contexts.

Argefa has also played a pivotal role in capacity buildings, supporting researchers in study design, sampling, field team recruitment and training, field monitoring, team management, data management, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination.

Terefe's research interests center on the prevention and control of tobacco and nicotine product with a particular focus on implementation science.

Ashley has been at the Heart Institute since 2019, she transitioned from working in a tissue engineering laboratory to clinical research in 2022. She has experience in coordinating investigator-initiated and multi-centre randomized controlled trials, and currently manages the study operations of HTN THM and the ASAP trial, with the Heart Institute being the lead site in Ontario.

Nia is a research coordinator for the StepOne and Vaping Cessation Study. 

Leah started at UOHI in July 2024 and has been enjoying working on a variety of studies related to hypertension and smoking cessation. She brings a passion for working with equity deserving populations and for community-based health interventions.

Nidhi is a Clinical Research Coordinator at the lab. She currently leads the BREATHE (Better Health Through Evidence-Based Smoking Cessation in Indigenous Communities) and the BRAVE (Bariatric surgery for the Reduction of cArdioVascular Events) clinical trials. She has extensive experience in managing multiple multi-center, investigator-initiated, and drug-based randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs). Her expertise encompasses the full trial lifecycle, including protocol development, regulatory submissions, site initiation, patient recruitment, data collection, monitoring, and final study reporting. 

Brianna joined UOHI as a clinical research assistant in 2023 after graduating with her BSc (Hons) in Life Sciences at Queen's University. She contributes to several projects within the team, including our HTN THM study, the PURE study, and the ASAP trial. She is also currently pursuing her MSc in Health Sciences at Carleton University. Brianna is passionate about advancing patient-centered care and clinical practice through innovative research.  She has taken over coordinating the PURE study.

Sophie is a Research Coordinator for the INITIATE Study. She joined the Heart Institute in 2022 after graduating from Carleton University. She contributes to research on smoking cessation. Sophie is passionate about patient care and accessibility

Chantelle is a Research Coordinator for the INITIATE Study at the uOttawa Heart Institute. She graduated from the University of New Brunswick before joining Dr. Mullen's research team in 2021. Chantelle’s contributed several studies at the Heart Institute focusing on smoking cessation and women’s heart health.

Ayah graduated from the Faculty of Health Sciences (Hons) at the University of Ottawa in 2024. She started working in the Health Psychology Lab in 2023 as a clinical research assistant and has now joined our team, contributing to various projects focused on hypertension, vaping, and smoking cessation. Ayah is passionate about patient care and enjoys interacting with patients and collaborating with her team. 

Spencer joined our research group as a clinical research assistant after completing a Master of Science degree at Carleton University. He focuses on studies related to smoking cessation and hypertension management, specializing in systematic reviews of nicotine replacement methods and strategies to improve heart health. Spencer is passionate about advancing research to enhance patient outcomes.

Amena Sediqi graduated from the University of Ottawa with a degree in Biomedical Science and a Minor in Psychology. She has a strong passion for mental health research and has contributed to published studies in the field. In 2025, she joined the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, where she continues to expand her expertise and contribute to advancing healthcare research. She contributes to research on vaping cessation and smoking behaviours. Amena is dedicated to understanding and improving patient outcomes through scientific inquiry and innovation. 

Nawal completed a Master of Health Sciences (MHSc) from Western University in 2024. She has been involved in research focused on quality improvement in healthcare and is keen on expanding her expertise in clinical research. She has recently joined the University of Ottawa Heart Institute as a Research Assistant, where she contributes to clinical research trials on smoking cessation and vaping. Nawal is passionate about advancing healthcare through research, improving treatment accessibility, and optimizing healthcare interventions.

Mohammad is a medical student at the University of Ottawa, a Registered Nurse, and a Nicotine Addiction Treatment Specialist. In Dr. Mir’s lab, he provides counselling for vaping and smoking cessation and contributes to research on vaping cessation, smoking cessation, hypertension, and systematic reviews on smoking cessation. 

Jake is a current medical student at uOttawa. He is currently helping with the StepOne trial and helping with systematic reviews pertaining to smoking cessation.

Aidan is a medical student at the University of Ottawa. He is currently working with Ashley on the ASAP trial!

Emily is a third-year medical student at the University of Ottawa who previously completed her undergraduate studies in Health Sciences at McMaster University. Her work in Dr. Mir's lab currently focuses on systematic reviews, with a particular interest in smoking cessation interventions for populations disproportionately affected by tobacco.

Manpreet is a third-year medical student at the University of Ottawa. He is currently working with our team to research how environmental factors affect smoking and vaping cessation. 

Ethan is a third-year medical student at the University of Ottawa.

Mason is a third-year medical student at the University of Ottawa.

Emma is a Master of Public Health (MPH) student at the University of Ottawa. She holds a BA (Hons) in Psychology and Neuroscience from Carleton University and brings over six years of experience in dentistry, combining her hands-on patient care expertise with a passion for public health research. 

As a Research Trainee, Emma supports the research team's efforts to advance evidence-based smoking cessation practices. Her work focuses on nicotine addiction and emerging nicotine products, including contributions to projects on e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches. 

Danish is a Master of Public Health student with a keen interest in vaping and EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping-associated lung injury).

Amrou is a student at the University of Ottawa, pursuing a Bachelor of Engineering in Multi-Disciplinary Design. He is expected to graduate this spring and will be working on the OMSC database with our team.

Krystal is currently a third-year Health Sciences student at McMaster University.

Maalik Sheraly is an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa. He is a Research Assistant with the StepOne team and has contributed to the BREATHE and Digital Tools systematic reviews. Additionally, he has begun working on a project focused on digitizing the OMSC using AI.