‘Battlab’ is a virtual collaborative space to support research students and graduates of Dr. Alan Batt (Head of Lab), and promote socialization (key to graduate student development and success). Members of the lab are predominantly paramedics by background and profession, whose academic focus is on research, education, and practice improvements.
Battlab members actively research health professions practice, social and structural determinants of health, health equity, health policy, and the care of structurally marginalized and under-served populations. Specific topic areas include:
- Competency framework development
- Patient deterioration
- Professional image and portrayals
- Organ and tissue donation
- Integrated and alternative care models
- Care of people who use drugs
- Policy analysis and upstream initiatives
- Indigenous paramedic practice
- Psychological first aid and familly support
- Flourishing and wellbeing
- Community needs assessments
- Teamwork and communication
- Research capacity building
- Social prescribing
- Community paramedicine
Lab members meet as a group virtually once a month to share work-in-progress for feedback, review important philosophical and theoretical aspects of research, and support individual members of the lab with research, career, and professional development. In addition, students meet with Dr. Batt on a weekly or bi-weekly basis as required. We also provide resources and expertise to group members with writing, grant applications, and presentations such as writing sessions, access to literature, and collaboration opportunities.
Lab members
A/Prof. Alan Batt DipEMT, GradCertICP, MSc, PGCME, PhD, MAcadMEd, FHLA, SFHEA
Dr. Alan Batt leads Battlab. He is an Associate Professor (adjunct) at Monash University, Assistant Professor (adjunct) and Paramedicine Program Lead at Queen’s University, and Assistant Professor (status) at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHMPE) at the University of Toronto. He is Deputy Editor of Paramedicine, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Fellow of the Healthcare Leadership Academy, a Member of the Academy of Medical Educators (UK), and an Associate of the Prehospital Care Research Forum at UCLA. His program of research uses mixed methods approaches to explore health professions, in particular related to education, workforce evolution, care of under-served and marginalized populations, and structural and social determinants of health. Alan serves as a subject matter expert for a number of national and international organisations. He received the Award of Excellence for Leadership and Community Building from the Paramedic Association of Canada, and the King Charles III Coronation Medal for significant contributions and exceptional service to paramedicine in Canada. View his research on Google Scholar, PubMed, and ResearchGate.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6473-5397
Cheryl Cameron BA(Hons.), MEd, PhD candidate
Cheryl is an Advanced Care Paramedic currently working as Director of Operations for the Canadian Virtual Hospice. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Master of Education in Health Sciences Education and Certificates in Adult/Continuing Education and Occupational Health and Safety. She is a member of the leadership team at the Paramedic Pay it Forward Award and provides both educational and operational program expertise on a number of national initiatives in the sphere of paramedicine and palliative care. Her research interests include mentoring, preceptorship, and interprofessional/interdisciplinary education, with additional interests in quality and patient safety, female leadership advocacy, and policy development. She received the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal for services to palliative care in Alberta and Canada. Cheryl is undertaking a PhD at Monash University. View her research on Google Scholar and ResearchGate.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4085-7995
Michelle O’Toole BSc, MA, PGDipHPE, PhD candidate
Michelle’s bio is coming soon!
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9193-5933
Jennifer Bolster BPara(Hons.), PhD student
Jennifer Bolster is an Advanced Care Paramedic who is Director of Clinical Services with Ambulance Tasmania. She is a former Paramedic Practice Leader with BCEHS. She practiced as a paramedic in BC for 8 years, and before that she worked as a Community Health Worker and served in the Canadian Armed Forces as a reserve Medical Technician. She worked as an instructor at both of BC’s paramedic institutions. She completed a Bachelor of Paramedicine (Honours) with Monash University, focused on the paramedic’s role in caring for people who use drugs. She is now undertaking a PhD in Paramedicine at Monash University furthering this research. Her research interests include paramedic mental health and resilience, contemporary leadership styles, organizational culture, and women in paramedicine. View her research on Google Scholar and ResearchGate.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7239-5839
Adam Greene MSc, PhD student
Adam is a Critical Care Paramedic with the British Columbia Ambulance Service and the current chief of the Greater Vancouver base. In addition to his clinical practice, he holds a variety of academic appointments in both Canada and Wales. Adam holds an MSc in Critical Care from Cardiff University and is currently undertaking a PhD at Monash University. His research interests include prehospital transfusion and transport medicine. View his research on ResearchGate
Trevor Hines Duncliffe BA, MA, PhD candidate
Trevor Hines Duncliffe is a PhD candidate in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at The University of Western Ontario and has a paramedic faculty appointment at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. He holds a Master of Arts and Honours Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology from The University of Western Ontario. Trevor’s research interests include stress and its impact on health care providers’ performance, inter-professional teams in health care, and the aging process with a particular focus on maintaining dignity as people age. His doctoral research is focused on the impact stress has on medical inter-professional teams performance. View his research on ResearchGate.
Chelsea Lanos BSc, MSc
Chelsea Lanos is an Advanced Care/Community Paramedic with the County of Renfrew Paramedic Service. She holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Ottawa, and an MSc in Critical Care from Cardiff University. Chelsea is a Clinical Research Assistant with The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute’s Clinical Epidemiology program. Chelsea is a strong advocate for paramedic led research, and her interests are primarily organ and tissue donation as it relates to the role of paramedics in the setting of out-of-hospital death. In addition, Chelsea is passionate about end of life care at home, and the implications of medical ethics on advanced care directives, including ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ orders in the paramedic setting. View her research on Google Scholar and ResearchGate.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4909-1305
William Johnston BA(Hons.), MSc
William Johnston is a Primary Care Paramedic with the Ottawa Paramedic Service. He is a graduate of McMaster University with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour, and an MSc in Health Science Education. He has a keen interest in paramedic driven research with a focus on paramedic initial and continuing education, simulation, and frailty and falls in older adults. View his research on ResearchGate.
Meghan Lysko BSc(Hons.), MSc
Meghan Lysko is a Primary Care Paramedic with Oxford County in Ontario. Prior to paramedicine, Meghan obtained her Honours Bachelor of Science degree with a human biology specialization from the University of Toronto. Meghan then completed her Master of Science degree within the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto. Her focus was in neuro-rehabilitation at the cellular level following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in an animal model. Meghan moved into paramedicine with goals of working more directly with patients, but hopes to continue to fuse her research background with her growing paramedicine knowledge. Some of Meghan’s research interests in the field of paramedicine so far include; infection control and recognition and treatment of addiction. View her research on PubMed or ResearchGate.
Paige Mason BA(Hons.), MA
Paige Mason is a Primary Care Paramedic with the Ottawa Paramedic Service. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology from Western University, and an MA in Interdisciplinary Studies from Royal Roads University. She is an enthusiastic paramedic researcher with speaking engagements nationally and internationally. She is passionate about paramedic driven research and her research interests include female leadership in paramedicine, organizational culture, human factors, decision making, as well as the impact of appreciative inquiry and positive psychology on performance. View her research on ResearchGate.
https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2177-3410
JD Heffern, BPara(Hons.) student
JD’s bio is coming soon
Tyne Markides BPara(Hons.)
Tyne Markides is an Advanced Care Paramedic and Community Paramedic. Drawing on the unique value of working within multiple rural clinical practice settings, Tyne cultivates collaborative relationships with public service stakeholders and healthcare allies. Her desire to push the leading edge of her profession forward has led to her expanded roles in Community Paramedicine, multidisciplinary committee membership, provincial and national project work, education, research, and leadership. Her research interests include palliative and end of life care, professionalism, cognitive bias, women’s leadership, anti-racism, diversity and inclusion, and accessible health equity. Tyne completed her Bachelor of Paramedicine (Hons.) at Monash University. View her research on ResearchGate.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4257-9968
Cameron Woodman BHSc(Hons.) student
Cameron works as a Primary Care Paramedic with Halton Region Paramedic Services and has been working since 2016. He also works on a regular part-time contract basis for Humber College as a clinical skills laboratory instructor. He is currently completing an Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences at Queen’s University and currently striving to get involved in more paramedic-led research. Cameron looks forward to contributing to the development and advancement of this rapidly growing profession in Canada.
Caitlin Zhang BSc(Hons.) Life Sciences student
Caitlin’s bio is coming soon!
Undergraduate summer students
- 2025 – Caitlin Zhang, BSc(Hons.) Life Sciences student, Queen’s University – social prescribing and community paramedicine
- 2021 – Julia Heffern, BA & BNSc(Hons.) student, Queen’s University – community paramedicine and COVID-19
Research outputs
https://www.researchgate.net/lab/Battlab-Alan-M-Batt
Honours and awards
- 2025 Women in Ambulance Honour Recipient, Council of Ambulance Authorities: Jennifer Bolster
- Best Poster Award Winner, PHECC Prehospital Research Day, November 2024. O’Toole et al. HUGS@Home project.
- King Charles III Coronation Medal, 2024. Significant contributions and exceptional service to paramedicine in Canada. Dr. Alan Batt.
- LifTING and Sepsis Canada Trainee Scholarship 2024. Cameron Woodman.
- Victoria Foundation’s Rachel and Ernest Fox Legacy Award 2024. Paige Mason.
- Emerging Scholar Award 2024, McNally Project for Paramedicine Research. Chelsea Lanos.
- Highest Quality Research Award, 999 EMS Research Forum, September 2024. O’Toole et al. The voices of family members and first responders in Ireland.
- Top oral abstract award, Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program, December 2023. Lanos et al. Organ donation after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Canada.
- Highest Quality Research Award, Australasian College of Paramedicine International Conference, September 2023. Batt et al. Developing a competency framework for contemporary paramedic practice in Canada.
- Top 3 Canadian Paramedicine Research Papers, Canadian Paramedicine Research Day, May 2023. Bolster et al. The paramedic role in substance use: a scoping review.
- Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal, 2023. Significant contributions and exceptional service to palliative care in Alberta. Cheryl Cameron
- Top EMS Research Award, Dalhousie University EMS Research Day, October 2022. Bolster et al. The paramedic role in substance use: a scoping review.
- Best oral abstract, Alberta EMS and Paramedicine Research Day, May 2021. Lunn et al. Dealing with dying- progressing paramedics’ role in grief support.
- Award of Excellence for Leadership & Community Building, 2018, Paramedic Association of Canada. Alan Batt
Interested in working with Battlab?
- Members of Battlab are students or graduates who are/were supervised by Dr. Alan Batt.
- We are happy to support fully funded post-doctoral research fellows in the broad areas identified above.
- We are happy to support a limited number of undergraduate students in health sciences and the broad areas identified above. These can take the form of full academic year internships or summer studentships. These positions are unfunded at present.
- Undergraduate students who wish to apply for a CSA Group Undergraduate Research Scholarship should contact Dr. Alan Batt to discuss.