Dr. Christina Holmes
Associate Professor, Health, St. Francis Xavier University
Dr. Holmes is an anthropologist of science and technology and a medical anthropologist. She has done a range of research on the social implications of biotechnology and post-genomic science, including medical genetic testing, genetically modified plants, and proteomics. Her recent projects are on public health governance and the science needs and uses of small farmers. She has done ethnographic and qualitative research in Canada, Colombia, and Australia
Her Co-Edited book, The Social Life of Standards, which discusses how standards interact with society in medical, scientific, and environmental contexts is published by UBC Press.
She is also a Co-Editor of Beyond Imported Magic : Essays on Science, Technology, and Society in Latin America. Published by MIT Press and winner of the 2016 Amsterdamska Award for significant creative collaboration in an edited book in the field of science and technology studies.
Ella (Elisabeth) Hunter
Research Assistant 2024-present
Ella is taking her bachelor’s degree in arts and science in health at St. Francis Xavier University. She is working as a Research Assistant for Dr. Christina Holmes. She has contributed to transcription preparation, focus group analysis using NVivo database software, data extraction from literature searches using Excel and citation managements using Zotero database software for the public health governance project. Ella’s interests include health education, childhood and development, and the use of games in clinical treatment and teaching and learning.
Katie MacNeil
Research Assistant 2022 – 2024
Katie MacNeil is entering her second year of the Bachelor of Arts and Science in Health program at St. Francis Xavier University, where she is majoring in Biomedical Sciences and minoring in Social Determinants and Health Equity. Growing up in rural Antigonish, Katie has a background in local agriculture and has gained an interest in rural population health issues and solutions. Stemming from her experience, she has an interest in agriculture and its connection to food security, sovereignty, and preventative health methods. She hopes to focus her studies at St. Francis Xavier on preventative health and disability issues.
Susan Romanuck
Research Assistant/Honour’s Student 2024
Susan graduated with her Bachelor of Arts and Science in Health, with Honour’s in 2024. She worked on the Public Health Governance Project on literature reviews and data extraction. Her passion for policy led her to a thesis, co-supervised with Dr. Megan MacGillivray, on food loss reduction and policy. She has since enrolled in a Post-Diploma Certificate in Data Analytics in September at SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology).
Katherine Culligan
Research Assistant/ Honour’s Student 2023 – 2024
Katherine Culligan graduated with her Bachelor of Arts and Science in Health program, with Honours, at St. Francis Xavier University. She also enrolled in the co-operative education program. Katherine has a passion for health and experience working in multiple sectors of this field including public health, health informatics, health equity, knowledge translation, long-term care and more. Through these experiences, she has taken an interest in pursuing a career in dentistry, and enrolled in Dentistry at Dalhousie in 2024. Under the co-supervision of Dr. Christina Holmes and Dr. Arlinda Ruco, she wrote her undergraduate thesis on the topic of exploring the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the experiences of Nova Scotian dentists
Carter Julius
Research Assistant, 2022-2024
Carter Julius graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in 2023 with a BaSC majoring in Biomedical Sciences. Carter has been involved in numerous research projects here, including formatting a report on VON patient experiences and literature review on Canadian public health experiences for the Public Health Governance project. He completed a post-graduate certificate in Human Resources Management through George Brown College in order to work in labou activism and has moved on to a position with CUPE.
Kealeigh Halliday
Research Assistant/ Honour’s Student 2022- 2023
Kealeigh Halliday graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in 2023 with a BaSC. She completed her honours thesis titled “Client Experiences with VON Home Nursing Care in Antigonish, Nova Scotia” under Dr. Christina Holmes and Dr. Janet Purvis.
Victoria Fernandez
Directed Studies and Research Assistant 2020-2022
Victoria Graduated with a BASc in Health in 2022. Her research with Kate Graham and Dr. Holmes was presented at Student Research Day and published in Anthropologica: “‘No Silver Bullet Solution’: Cruel Optimism and Canada’s Covid-19 Public Health Messages.” DOI: https://doi.org/10.18357/anthropologica6312021326]. She also carried out qualitative research on genetic testing. She has moved on to her Education degree after teaching in Spain.
Rebecca Cano
Honour’s Student 2021-2022
Rebecca Graduated in 2022 with a BASc Honours in Health. Her Thesis was co-supervised by Dr. Christina Holmes and Dr. Cathy MacDonald. Her research on sexual health at StFX has been published: “Sexual Health Services, Behaviours, and Substance Use among Undergraduate Students at an Eastern Canadian University between 2012 and 2021” Her full thesis, with expanded findings is also available: Putting the X in Sex: A Student Assessment of Sexual Health Behaviours and Services at StFX University She went on to complete a Master’s of Public Health at the University of Ottawa.
Kate Graham
Research Assistant 2020-2021
Kate Graham graduated with a BaSC in Health in 2022 . Her interest in global health led her to pursue research with Victoria Fernandez and Dr. Christina Holmes that was presented at Student Research Day and published in Anthropologica “‘No Silver Bullet Solution’: Cruel Optimism and Canada’s Covid-19 Public Health Messages.” DOI: https://doi.org/10.18357/anthropologica6312021326]. She has moved on to become a Healthcare Solutions Consultant.
Abigail MacDonald
Honour’s Student 2020-2021
Abigail MacDonald Graduated with an Honours BASc in 2021 after completing her thesis titled “The Impact of Gaelic Language and Culture on Senior Health and Well-being in Nova Scotia”. She is now completing a Master’s of Science in Occupational Therapy at Queens University.
Kamy Carrington
Honour’s Student 2020-21
Kamy graduated with a BaSC with honours in 2021. Her thesis, co-supervised by Dr. Adia Benton, compared Covid-19 public health dialogue between Toronto and New York: “Covid-19: An analysis of the Way Race Inequities are Discussed in the Media and Portrayed by Public Health”. Kamy went on to complete a Masters in Global Health at UCL before going on to work as a health analyst and project manager.
Brianna Gottschall]
Research Assistant 2018-2020/ Honour’s student 2020-21
Brianna worked as a research assistant for Dr. Homes from 2018 – 2021. During this time she completed her Honours thesis titled “Health Interventions: What is Currently Being Done to Promote Health Equity? A Comparative Literature Review”. She went on to complete a Masters of Computer Science and work as a consultant with the NCCDH and project manager with the Union of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq
Christina Holmes 