Postdoctoral Scholars
UCalgary Nursing Postdocs
Vagner Deuel Tavares
Dr. Tavares is a Postdoctoral Associate. As a health researcher, Dr. Tavares carefully examines multimorbidity as a distinct aspect of cancer care, recognizing its significant implications for personalized treatment strategies. He has applied his expertise in clinical and epidemiological studies and data analysis to enhance qualitative and quantitative research.
He completed his PhD in 2024 at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte under the supervision of Dr. Nicole Galvão-Coelho. Dr. Tavares’s doctoral research focused on how complementary therapies (e.g., exercise, mindfulness, yoga, ketamine) can aid in the treatment of mental disorders such as substance use disorder, depression, and bipolar disorder.
Dr. Tavares works with Dr. Colleen Cuthbert and Dr. Winson Cheung to investigate how the increase in multimorbidity among cancer patients represents a unique phenomenon, necessitating a different approach to care compared to patients without multimorbidity.
Lais Renata Cezário Santos
Dr Laís Renata A. Cezário Santos is a Postdoctoral Fellow with a focus on promoting mental health during cancer survivorship. She is passionate about empowering patients to embrace healthy habits and behaviors, ultimately enhancing their overall health and quality of life.
Dr. Cezário Santos earned her PhD in Public Health from the Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil, in 2023. Her doctoral research evaluated the effectiveness of mind-body practices in reducing stress and anxiety, as well as enhancing well-being across diverse age groups and health conditions.
As part of her PhD, she also completed a research internship at the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University in Montreal, QC, Canada. With a foundation in dentistry, coupled with experience in primary health care and a master’s in health research, Dr. Cezário Santos has also explored the links between oral health, social determinants of health, and chronic diseases.
Dr. Cezário Santos’s fellowship work with Dr. Colleen Cuthbert will investigate the role of psychosocial symptoms such as social isolation and loneliness during head and neck cancer survivorship.
Dr. Anmol Shahid
Dr. Anmol Shahid is a health services researcher and alumna of the CIHR Health System Impact Postdoctoral Fellowship. Her expertise spans implementation science, co-design, and knowledge mobilization to accelerate the responsible adoption of evidence into practice.
Her research with the Benzies lab aims to transform acute care through meaningful engagement with patients, families, providers, and system leaders. Currently, she is adapting MERGE, an evidence-informed family-centred care model originally created for neonatal ICUs, for adult critical care across Canada. Central to this work is elevating frontline clinicians, encouraging nurses and allied health professionals to take pride in the clinical wisdom and support they bring to interdisciplinary research teams.
Beyond her research, Dr. Shahid is dedicated to mentorship and connecting academic knowledge to real-world impact. At the Faculty of Nursing, she has championed student development by establishing and directing the faculty’s Annual Three-Minute Thesis competitions (2025, 2026) for undergraduate students.
Finally, guided by a belief in the power of academic service, Dr. Shahid serves on the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group’s Indigenous Engagement Working Group to advance responsible research practices in critical care. To strengthen UCalgary’s competitive external funding portfolio, she also serves as a peer reviewer for master’s and doctoral-level grant applications and, through her postdoctoral leadership, has directly supported teams in securing over $1 million in competitive research grants.