Scientific Associate
Renata Mancopes, PhD
Dr. Mancopes received her clinical phonoaudiology training in Brazil, where she worked clinically for over twenty years. Before moving to Toronto, she worked as a professor at the Federal University of Santa Maria-BR teaching in the area of swallowing and dysphagia. She supervised masters and doctoral students, while also conducting research. Dr. Mancopes is a Scientific Associate in the Steele Swallowing Rehabilitation Lab, with a special interest in swallowing and swallowing disorders in people with lung diseases.
Post-Doctoral Fellows
Isuru Dharmarathna, PhD
Isuru is excited to join the Swallowing Rehabilitation Research Lab at the KITE as a post-doctoral research fellow from January 2023. Isuru Dharmarathna completed her PhD at The University of Auckland, New Zealand on paediatric dysphagia and has contributed to literature on instrumental swallowing assessments by publishing in peer-reviewed journals. She was a recipient of a Commonwealth scholarship to complete her MSc in Clinical Education, University of Edinburgh, UK and is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK. Isuru’s research interests are on improving the quality of instrumental swallowing assessments for children and adults and she is the inclusion representative and a committee member of the International Pediatric Feeding Disorders Alliance.
Irina Araujo, PhD
Irina completed her entire academic training in Brazil, earning both a Master’s and a PhD. Over the past decade, alongside her academic pursuits, she has worked clinically in swallowing rehabilitation within acute care settings, with a current focus primarily on neurological patients. In April 2025, she enthusiastically joined the Swallowing Rehabilitation Research Lab at KITE as a postdoctoral research fellow. Her scientific interests are focused on the impact of the aging process and on the in-depth study of various diseases in relation to swallowing
Clinical Research Manager
Melanie Peladeau-Pigeon, M.H.Sc., P.Eng.
Melanie completed her master’s degree in clinical engineering at the University of Toronto. Melanie currently works as an engineer and Clinical Research Manager at the Swallowing Rehabilitation Research Laboratory (KITE, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network). She has been supporting dysphagia research since she graduated. She has been involved in a number of multi-site clinical trials and has a special interest in the technical components as it relates to supporting best practice recommendations, research data collection and analyses.
Research Associate
Dany Meng, H.B.Sc.
Dany completed her Honours Bachelor’s degree at the University of Toronto and previously worked as Lab Manager at the Agrawal Lab in the Department of Evolutionary Biology. She has also worked in various clinical settings, including at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Dany hopes to bring in new perspectives in research and rehabilitation science to contribute to the innovative work being done at SRRL.
Clinical Research Coordinators
Emily Barrett, M.H.Sc., SLP(C) Reg. CASLPO
Emily completed her MHSc in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Toronto in 2010 and has a Certificate in Francophone Practice for SLPs from the University of Alberta. Emily also received Speech-Language and Audiology Canada’s (SAC) Student Excellence Award. Emily worked clinically at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), where she contributed to quantifying the impact of FEES in acute care and implementing AAC in the intensive care unit. Emily now works clinically at St. Michael’s Hospital in acute care. Emily’s current interest is in the translation of research to evidence-based clinical practice.
Vanessa Panes, M.H.Sc., SLP Reg. CASLPO
Vanessa currently divides her time working as a Speech-Language Pathologist for SRRL and at St Michael’s Hospital in acute care. She completed her undergraduate degree in 2009 at the University of Toronto in Archaeology and went on to complete her Masters of Health Sciences in 2018 at the University of Toronto in Speech-Language Pathology.
Michelle Simmons, M.H.Sc., M.Mus., SLP(C) Reg. CASLPO
Michelle is a speech-language pathologist and professional singer. She holds two master’s degrees from the University of Toronto – one in Health Science and one in Vocal Performance.
Michelle works clinically and in research with adults who have trouble swallowing. She is passionate about making sure patients’ voices are represented in research. Alongside her clinical and research work, Michelle volunteers with the Canadian Implementation Reference Group for the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI), an organization that supports safer food and drink guidelines for people with swallowing difficulties.
When she’s not working in healthcare, Michelle enjoys singing in her community. To learn more about Michelle and her work, please visit: www.michellemsimmons.com
Dominie Yu, M.Cl.Sc, SLP Reg. CASLPO
Dominie graduated from the University of Western Ontario’s Masters of Clinical Sciences Speech-Language Pathology program. She currently divides her work as a Clinical Research Coordinator at SRRL and a Speech-Language Pathologist (S-LP) in both acute care and the Outpatient Neuro Rehab Clinic at Southlake Regional Health Centre. Dominie also previously worked as an S-LP in the private clinic setting, providing interventions to clients across different age groups. Dominie is very excited to join the team and hopes to help bridge the gap between the research and clinical areas.
Hiba Najeeb, M.Sc., SLP Reg. CASLPO
Hiba completed her Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology at McMaster University as a recipient of the Ontario Graduate Scholarship. She has practiced primarily in acute care settings, assessing and treating dysphagia in general medicine, intensive care, and neurological populations. Through her work across various units in different hospitals, she has developed an interest in the standardization of dysphagia research and clinical practice.
Alice Guo, M.Sc., SLP Reg. CASLPO
Research Analysts
Hilary Milne
Hilary is excited to join the SRRL team as a Research Analyst. Hilary completed degrees in Linguistics and Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences from Queen’s University and the University of Texas at Austin. Hilary previously worked in pediatric communication disorders before transitioning into research. She has developed a special interest in swallowing disorders in individuals with lung diseases. Specifically looking at the role of an SLP in post lung transplant care.
Tatiana De Moura Coelho
Tatiana is a physician from Brazil (received her degree from the Federal University of Brazil), specialist in Respirology (Medical Residency in Internal Medicine followed by Residency in Respirology). She also made a Clinical Fellowship in Respirology at the University of Toronto in 2009, where she participated in research with The Gage Institute (in air pollution), CAMH and had the clinical arm of the fellowship at Toronto Western Hospital. As she came back to Brazil, she was actively working as a Physician as part of the Medical Team in a major hospital in Porto Alegre. She is excited to be part of the SRRL team as she will be able to apply her previously field of knowledge in research, hopefully impacting positively the life of others.
Fabiola Frizzo Guimaraes
Fabiola is enthusiastic to be part of the team as a Research Analyst. She received phono-audiology clinical training in Brazil and worked with dysphagia rehabilitation there for almost 10 years. Additionally, she earned her Master’s in Creative Writing in Spanish at the Universidad de Salamanca while living in Mexico. Her interests are wide-ranging and include science, swallowing, language, and communication. Fabiola is looking forward to offering her diverse perspective to the lab.
Gabriela Vanin
Gabriela received her Speech Pathology degree and Master’s of Science at the Universidad Federal de Rio Grande del Sur. In Brazil she worked for 20+ years clinically and academically with dysphagia. Gabriela works as a Research Analyst for the Steele Swallowing Lab and is excited to be a part of the team.