Meet the CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity Community Advisory Committee

Isabelle Boisvert, Quebec

Isabelle Boisvert is a Montréal-based community engagement, knowledge mobilization, and patient partnership expert with lived experience of substance use. She serves as Partnerships Lead with Lived Experience at the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Matters (CRISM) and at the Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), where she develops and evaluates engagement, recruitment, retention, governance, and knowledge mobilization strategies for research involving people with lived and living experience. Drawing on more than 15 years of lived experience related to substance use and associated health and social challenges, Isabelle has developed expertise in harm reduction, hepatitis C, sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBIs), health equity, and the meaningful engagement of people with lived and living experience in research, healthcare services, and public policy.

In addition to her research leadership roles, Isabelle works as an independent consultant, advisor, speaker, and trainer for academic institutions, governments, healthcare organizations, and community groups across Canada. She collaborates on the design and implementation of participatory and community-led initiatives that strengthen partnerships between researchers, service providers, and affected communities. Isabelle serves as a co-investigator on community-engaged research projects, has contributed to peer-reviewed publications and national guidance documents, and regularly presents her work at national and international conferences. Her interests include patient and community engagement, equity-oriented health systems, knowledge mobilization, and innovative approaches that bridge lived experience, research, and policy.

Michelle Burleigh, Ontario
Read Michelle’s Community Advisory Committee (CAC) member profile

After recovering from an aggressive form of leukemia, Michelle Burleigh started a website called SoYouveGotCancer to help Canadians who are newly diagnosed with cancer find resources, read other patient stories and learn about the journey through the Canadian Healthcare system through her own personal experiences. As a business professional and lifelong patient with lived experience, Michelle also founded The Clarity Lab, an organization dedicated to improving the patient experience in the Canadian healthcare system. Michelle educates and inspires Canadians to take a proactive role in their own care and supports healthcare organizations in shifting towards patient-centric tools and solutions.

Most recently, Michelle has dedicated herself to advocating for equitable treatment of people with compromised immune systems. In 2020, six months after the COVID-19 pandemic began, she founded Immunocompromised People Are Not Expendable, an online support group for the global immunocompromised community. Then in 2023, she became the Co-Chair of the newly formed, Canadian Immunocompromised Advocacy Network (CIAN) and a founding steering committee member of the International Immunocompromised Advocacy Network.

Bryna Gibbons, Alberta

Bryna Gibbons lives in amiskwaciy-wâskahikan (Edmonton). She completed a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion in 2023. She is passionate and always seeking to learn more about health equity and community engagement. In her free time, she enjoys embroidery, genealogy, and saving recipes she may or may not ever try!

Daryl Luster, British Columbia

Daryl Luster was living with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1a when he participated in a Phase II clinical trial in 2010. The care he received cured him.

His work as an advocate and peer educator focuses on shedding more light on hepatitis C virus (HCV), with people affected, caregivers, legislators, and healthcare professionals. Daryl is also a member of the CIHR HIV/AIDS and STBBI Research Advisory Committee (CHASRAC).

As we know with new treatments, a cure is possible now for all people who are diagnosed and linked to care, and there is a need for improved understanding about the long-term effects of viral infections like HCV and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI). As someone who lived with Hepatitis C, he has a keen insight into what the experience can be like. The greatest issue we face now is access to the supports and resources needed for testing, care and treatment in Canada. He speaks with patients regularly, and it is their voice that drives him in his work.

Sabrina Poirier, Nova Scotia

Sabrina Poirier worked within the private, public and not-for-profit sectors for over 20 years. Her work in politics, education and community development helped shape her perspective and fine tune her approach to meaningful engagement and positive systems change.

Sabrina is a co-founder of the ICanCME Research Network, the Chair of its Working Group on Trainee Development and Medical Education and a member of the Community Leadership Team.

From 2018-2021, she served as a Research Ambassador for the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA) at the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) and from 2020-2023 as a Community Advisory Committee member for the NIH-funded Collaborative Research Centers Network in the US. She is currently collaborating with the US National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS-NIH), Research Triangle Institute (RTI), and other subject matter experts as a member of the Common Data Elements (CDE) Teams for PEM and Cognitive Testing.

Sabrina uses her knowledge, skills, expertise and personal experience as an individual living with ME (and several common comorbidities), in the fight to have infection-associated chronic illnesses (IACIs) understood, cared for, researched and removed from the shadows once and for all.

Karina Prévost, Quebec
Read Karina’s Community Advisory Committee (CAC) member profile

Karina Prévost was born with cystic fibrosis. Nine years ago, she underwent a lung transplant, an experience that intensified her dedication to raising awareness and contributing to advancements in healthcare practices and access to primary care. This personal journey has exposed her to the fragility of life and strengthened her resilience in the face of various challenges, including the loss of her father and her younger half-sister Vanessa, who also had cystic fibrosis.

Having maintained a partnership with her own care team for over 45 years, Karina transitioned to becoming a patient partner in the healthcare sector post-transplant, engaging in various capacities. She dedicated three years to volunteering with Syrian refugees and served as the provincial director of the Canadian Transplant Association (Quebec). Karina participated twice in the Canadian Transplant Games (Toronto, Vancouver), as well as in the World Transplant Games in Spain and the World Winter Games in Canada, where she clinched the world champion title in alpine skiing.

Florence (Flo) Ranville, British Columbia

Florence (Flo) Ranville is Pine Creek First Nations on her father's side and Woodlands Cree on her mother's side. She has seven children and six grandchildren. Flo has been HIV+ for 25 years. Flo contracted hepatitis C in 1998 before contracting HIV in 1999 and completed Interferon treatment with no return in 2002. She has worked in community-based research (CBR) since 2005 as a peer researcher, peer mentor, and peer consultant. Flo has worked part-time as an HCV/HIV Support worker at Options for Sexual Health Clinic since March 2022.

Flo is a personal survivor of violence, child apprehension, substance use, homelessness, incarceration, and financial insecurity/poverty. Flo was also a previous sex worker. Flo experienced discrimination/stigma in the healthcare system in 2017 and almost died. Flo is passionate about supporting community members who have faced similar barriers to health, drawing on Cree teachings and lived experiences to care for them holistically.

Cheryl Stacey, Ontario

Cheryl Stacey became seriously ill following critical and severe multi-systemic infections and was subsequently diagnosed with multiple rare and complex medical conditions, including several immune disorders, dysautonomia, neuropathies, recurrent thromboembolic events, connective tissue disorder, IBD, cardiac/respiratory and other issues. As an immunocompromised individual, Cheryl receives long-term immunotherapies and manages autoimmunity, immunodeficiency, recurrent anaphylaxis, chronic inflammatory and allergic responses associated with mast cell activation (MCAS) and a related genetic immune condition, and other associated complications. She previously participated in a clinical research study at McMaster Hospital and has a history of bloodstream infections and sepsis.

Cheryl has developed a strong interest in rare disorders and in improving access to healthcare supports for individuals who are immunocompromised and living with complex medical conditions. Drawing on both her lived experience and professional background in labour relations, disability management, and human resources, Cheryl transitioned into patient advocacy following her medical retirement from the federal public service. She is dedicated to advancing improved outcomes for patients by championing accessible, individualized supports; promoting collaborative research and patient engagement; advocating for improvements in health-related quality of life; and strengthening patient-centred approaches that inform meaningful change across the healthcare system.

Cheryl is a passionate advocate for accessibility and disability inclusion. She serves on the Board of Directors of Citizens With Disabilities Ontario (CWDO), is a member of the Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) for the City of Guelph, and sits on a federal technical committee with Accessibility Standards Canada (ASC). In addition, Cheryl is a Patient Partner with the University Health Network (UHN) and an avid volunteer with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, where she serves as a lay reviewer on Peer Review Research Committee(s).

Arbella Yonadam, Ontario

Arbella was diagnosed with a chronic condition during her adolescent years. The diagnosis profoundly shaped her teenage experience, intertwining her journey of growth with the challenges of navigating a complex healthcare system. As she learned to manage her health, she developed a deep understanding of chronic illness care and the emotional resilience required to balance medical realities with the trials of adolescence and adulthood.

Today, she dedicates her time to amplifying the voices of youth and young adults living with chronic conditions and disabilities. Through advocacy and mentorship, she champions equitable policies and more inclusive communities, ensuring that the unique perspectives of young people navigating health-related challenges are heard and respected.