Dr. Paul Allison

Dr. Allison is a dentist with specialist training in oral and maxillo-facial surgery and dental public health. He was Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry at McGill during 2008-18, President of the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry during 2015-19, President of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences during 2019-20 and on Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research during 2018-21 and 2022-25. He chaired a 2014 Canadian Academy of Health Sciences report on “Improving Access to oral health care for vulnerable people living in Canada” (https://cahs-acss.ca/improving-access-to-oral-health-care-for-vulnerable-people-living-in-canada/). Most recently he led the research team for the oral health element of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=5071), whose results will soon be published and he is co-chairing the development and implementation of the Canadian National Oral Health Research Strategy (https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/52773.html).

Dr. Belinda Nicolau

Dr. Nicolau is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Dentistry at McGill University. She obtained her DDS degree from the Federal University of Paraná, Brazil and an MSc in Dental Public Health from Barts and The Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK. Dr Nicolau completed her PhD degree in Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London, London, UK under the supervision of Aubrey Sheiham. After a brief stint with Paul Speight, also at University College London, she pursued a postdoctoral fellowship with Paul Allison and Eduardo Franco at McGill University, Canada. In the spring of 2005 Dr Nicolau took up a faculty position as an Assistant and then as an Associate Professor at INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, after which she moved to McGill University in December 2011.

Dr. Mary Ellen Macdonald 

Dr. Macdonald, PhD (anthropology) is a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University, and Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences at McGill University. Her research programs include migrant oral health, public health approaches to palliative care, and grief literacy.

Nora Makansi

Nora Makansi is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences at McGill University. Her expertise is in Mixed Methods and Qualitative Research. Her main research interests include access to dental care, ORAL health literacy, and applied communication skills for enhancing dentist-patient communication.

Marzouk Saidani

Marzouk Saidani is the Manager of the Oral Health Program at Ottawa Public Health, where he brings a unique blend of clinical expertise and cultural insight to his work. Trained as a dentist in Algeria and licensed as a dental hygienist in Ontario, Marzouk has been a passionate advocate for equitable oral health care. His commitment to supporting refugees and asylum seekers began in 2016, when he contributed to a city-wide initiative to provide dental services to newly arrived Syrian refugees in Ottawa. Fluent in four languages, Marzouk’s ability to connect across cultures has been instrumental in building trust and delivering care to diverse communities.

Since 2020, Marzouk has been a key contributor to the Migrant Oral Health Project, supporting participant recruitment, data collection, and analysis in both Ottawa and Montreal. His deep understanding of the systemic barriers faced by humanitarian migrants, combined with his hands-on experience in public health, makes him an invaluable asset to the project. Marzouk’s work is grounded in a strong belief in health equity and the right to accessible, dignified care for all—values that continue to shape his contributions to research, policy, and practice in migrant oral health.