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Meet The Team

WHA SIM is led by Dr. Ahmad Firas Khalid, Assistant Professor (Teaching) at the School of Global Health at York University, with support from Dr. A.M. Viens, Director of the School of Global Health at York University, and Megan George, a graduate student at the University of Toronto.

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Dr. Ahmad Firas Khalid

Ahmad Firas Khalid is a medical doctor, a health policy and system researcher and lecturer, and a knowledge translation professional. Firas completed his medical degree at St. George’s University School of Medicine and his PhD in health policy at McMaster University. Firas worked as a senior research manager at Evidence Aid, working on creating a World Health Organization (WHO) Knowledge Hub on emergency disasters research management and with the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) on the creation of a Resilient Health Systems collection to advise member states. He is also a CIHR Health System Impact Fellow and a Mitacs Elevate Training Fellow working on "Implementation of efforts to support real-time evidence use in humanitarian practice at the Canadian Red Cross." Firas is a board member for Doctors Without Borders, where his responsibility is to set the strategic direction for the entire Canadian branch of the organization. In the past, Firas worked as a senior research and learning consultant at the Canadian Red Cross, working on epidemic prevention and control of COVID-19 research. Firas also previously worked as a health policy researcher at the Research Unit on Humanitarian Stakes and Practices (UREPH) at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Geneva, Switzerland, and in the department of Child and Maternal Health at the World Health Organization, also in Geneva, Switzerland. Firas is the founder and executive director of Knowledge Translation Hub – a knowledge synthesis hub designed to meet the demands of decision-makers and organizations.

Assistant Professor

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Dr. A.M. Viens

Dr. A.M. Viens is the Inaugural Director of the School of Global Health and an Associate Professor of Global Health at York University. He has degrees in philosophy and law from the Universities of Toronto, Oxford, and London. His research specialization focuses on global health ethics and global health law, with a particular interest in demonstrating how philosophical analysis, legal epidemiology, and regulatory theory should shape how we approach different issues within global health policy, practice, and research (especially infectious diseases, disasters and emergencies, and health promotion). His latest book is Public Health Law: Ethics, Governance, and Regulation, co-authored with John Coggon and Keith Syrett (Routledge, 2017). He is an Investigator in the Global Strategy Lab and a member of the WHO Collaboration Centre on the Global Governance of Antimicrobial Resistance. He is also an Honorary Member of the UK Faculty of Public Health, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health, and Editor-in-Chief of Health Care Analysis.

Director of the School of Global Health

Megan George

Research Coordinator 

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Megan George, a York University alumna with an honours degree in Biomedical Science and recipient of the prestigious CGS-M award, has led Canada's inaugural Global Health World Health Assembly Simulation (WHA SIM) for two consecutive years. Collaborating with Dr. Ahmad Firas Khalid and Dr. A.M. Viens, Megan plays a pivotal role in empowering students to address complex global health challenges through immersive, practical learning experiences. A dedicated advocate for global health equity, Megan's involvement extends to hands-on research at York University's Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, where she has worked on high-impact projects, including the WHA SIM. Currently, as a graduate student researcher at the University of Toronto's Institute of Medical Science, she is working at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre on oncological research in patients with advanced ovarian cancer.

Team Alumni

This section recognizes all past team members: 

  • Giovanna Batti: January 2024 - May 2024 | Research Assistant

  • Jenine Magamis: January 2024 - May 2024 | Research Assistant

  • Clarissa Eggen: May 2023 - May 2024 | Research Assistant

  • Aaranee Sritharan: May 2023 - May 2024 | Research Assistant

  • ​Sharon Justice- Derefaka:  September 2023 - December 2023 | Research Assistant

  • Faiza Wali: May 2023 - August 2023 | Research Assistant

  • Sameen Ali: January 2023 - May 2023 | Research Assistant  

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