Samantha Anthony

Dr. Samantha J. Anthony is a Senior Scientist in the Child Health Evaluative Sciences (CHES) Program at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) Research Institute. She has over 20 years of experience in the SickKids Transplant and Regenerative Medicine Centre as a Social Worker, and is an Associate Professor in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. 

Dr. Anthony has been recognized for her dedication to clinical practice and the application of research for improved patient outcomes. Her program of research centres on establishing an evidence-based foundation for successful psychosocial adaptation and enhanced quality of life for individuals with chronic disease, with a specific focus on paediatric solid-organ transplantation. She has received numerous grants and awards, including funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Health Canada, Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program, Canadian Society of Transplantation, Enduring Hearts, the Kidney Foundation of Canada and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation.

Research

Dr. Anthony’s program of research examines the biopsychosocial impact of pediatric transplantation on patients and their families and aims to improve their health outcomes by transforming clinical practice through research.

• Capturing the patients’ voice - Exploring the transplantation experience from the perspective of those who live it and create meaning from it.
• Engaging patients meaningfully - Focusing on patient-identified priorities and integrating their experiential knowledge through patient-centred partnerships.
• Advancing implementation science - Promoting the development, evaluation and systematic uptake of innovative evidence-informed interventions into clinical practice.

Education and experience

• 2004–2010: Doctor of Philosophy, Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
• 2001–2003: Diploma in Social Work Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
• 1999–2000: Master of Social Work, McGill University, Montreal, QC

Post-graduate and Research Training

• 2014–2015: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Law & Bioethics, Canadian National Transplant Research Program/University of Alberta/University Health Network, Toronto, ON
• 2013–2014: Postdoctoral Fellowship, International Centre for Health Innovation, Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, London, ON
• 2010–2013: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON

Achievements

• 2023: Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health (IHDCYH) Talks Video - 1st Place Winner, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
• 2023: Beverly Antle Leadership Award, Ontario Association of Social Workers
• 2018: Career Development Award, Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program
• 2017: New Investigator Grant in Maternal, Reproductive, Child & Youth Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
• 2015: Career Enhancement Program Award, Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program
• 2011: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Institute of Health Development, Child and Youth Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research2010: Research Fellowship Award, McMaster Child Health Research Institute, McMaster University
• 2005: Doctoral Research Award, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

Funding

Principal Investigator

• 2023–2024: Capturing Patients’ Voices through Innovative AI Technology to Enhance Compassionate Healthcare. Associated Medical Services (AMS) – Fellowship in Compassion and Artificial Intelligence
• 2023–2025: Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Parents of Pediatric Kidney Transplant Recipients with the iParent2Parent Peer Support Program. The Kidney Foundation of Canada – Kidney Health Research Grant
• 2023–2026: “The Isolation I Feel is Profound”: The iParent2Parent Online Peer Support Program for Parents of Pediatric Solid Organ Transplantation Recipients. Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Project Grant
• 2023–2025: iParent2Parent Peer Support Program in Pediatric Solid Organ Transplantation: A Feasibility Study. Mendez National Institute of Transplantation Foundation – Research Grant
• 2022–2025: Embarking on a Journey to Explore the Realities of Pediatric Solid Organ Transplantation for Indigenous Patients, Families and Communities Across Canada. Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Project Grant
• 2022–2025: “Our Stories Are Our Strength”: Understanding Indigenous Patients, Families and Communities’ Lived Experiences of Pediatric Solid Organ Transplantation. University of Toronto – The Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Health Children – 2021 Catalyst Grant Competition
• 2020–2023: Improving Health Equity: Increasing Access to Living Donor Kidney Transplantation Among Chinese Canadians. Kidney Foundation of Canada – Allied Health Kidney Research Grant
• 2019–2022: Implementation and Evaluation of an Electronic Patient Reported Outcome Measure Platform in Pediatric Transplantation. Health Canada – Health Care Policy Contribution Program
• 2019–2021: Implementation and Effectiveness Evaluation of the iPeer2Peer Support Mentorship Program within Pediatric Heart Transplantation. Enduring Hearts – Direct Grant Competition
• 2019–2021: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Retreat for Mothers of Pediatric Heart Transplant Recipients. SickKids Labatt Family Heart Centre – Innovation Fund
• 2019–2020: InSight: Creation of an Electronic Patient-Reported Outcome Measure Platform in Pediatric Transplantation. Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program and Astellas Pharma Canada – Research Innovation Grant

Co-Investigator/Collaborator

• 2023–2026: Empowering Diverse Youth with Diabetes thrOugh precisioN mEdicine, ‘EVERYONE’ Study. Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Team Grant
• 2023–2024: Partnering with Parents for Pumping Success: Feasibility of Personalized Lactation Support Utilizing Point-of-Care Human Milk Biomarkers. Canadian Institutes of Health Research -Project Grant
• 2022–2027: Empowering Next-Generation Researchers in Perinatal and Child Health (ENRICH). Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Training Grant
• 2022–2027: Canadian Heart Function Alliance: A Network of Likeminded Canadians Committed to Improving the Lives of Persons Living with Heart Failure (HF). Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Network Grant – Heart Failure Research
• 2022–2026: ICU-ROOM: Intensive Care Unit Rooms, Objectified, Observed and Measured. Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Project Grant
• 2022–2025: Health Care Inequities and Child - and Family Centred Care in Pediatric Hospital Care; a Multi-Center Mixed Method Study. PSI Foundation – New Investigator Grant
• 2022–2025: ImplemeNting a Sudden Cardiac dEath Risk Assessment Tool in Childhood Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (INSERT-HCM). Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Project Grant
• 2022–2024: A Feasibility Study for a Personalized Nutrition Mediterranean Diet Intervention for Adolescent Depression. The Hospital for Sick Children – Department of Psychiatry Endowment Fund
• 2022–2023: Advancing Pandemic Capacity in Pediatric Care. Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Planning and Dissemination Grant
• 2021–2024: Network to Extend Well-being and Life after Transplant (NEW Life). University of Toronto – DOM Research Network Seed Funding Program
• 2021–2024: Measuring What Matters: Development and Dissemination of a Core Outcome Set (COS) for Clinical Trials in Pediatric Anxiety Disorders. Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Project Grant
• 2021–2022: Integrating PROMs into EPIC Using the Voxe Software Platform Team. Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario – Quality Improvement, Knowledge Implementation and Translation Awards
• 2021–2022: Developing Guidelines to Place Priority on Mental Health of Youth with Upper Limb Disabilities.
• 2019–2023: Electronic Patient Reported Outcome Measures to Improve Patient Centered Solid Organ Transplant Care. Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Project Grant
• 2018–2022: Adolescent Type 1 Diabetes Treatment with EMPaglifozin for Hyperglycemia & HyperfilTration Trial “ATTEMPT” Trial. Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Operating Grant
• 2018–2021: Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program (CDTRP): Maximizing Benefits through National Infrastructure and Sustainability Planning. Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Network Grant in Transplantation Research

1. Anthony SJ, Nicholas DB, Regehr C & West LJ. ‘My Transplanted Self’: Adolescent Recipients’ Experience of Post-Traumatic Growth Following Thoracic Transplantation. The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, 2023;42(3):327–334. 
2. Anthony SJ, Pol SJ, Lin J, Barwick M, Brudno M, Manase D, Parekh R, Silva A & Stinson JN. Creation of an Electronic Patient-Reported Outcome Measure Platform Voxe: A Mixed Methods Study Protocol in Pediatric Solid Organ Transplantation. BMJ Open. 2021;11(10):1–7.
3. Anthony SJ, Young K*, Ghent E, Gold A, Martin K, Solomon M, Teoh CW & Stinson JN. Exploring the Potential for Online Peer Support Mentorship: Perspectives of Pediatric Solid Organ Transplant Patients. Pediatric Transplantation, 2020;25(5):1-6.
4. Pol SJ*, Snyder J & Anthony SJ. “Tremendous financial burden”: Crowdfunding for Organ Transplantation Costs in Canada. Public Library of Science, 2019;14(12): 1–11. 
5. Anthony SJ, Stinson H, Lazor T*, Young K*, Hundert A, Santana MJ, Stinson JN & West LJ. Patient-Reported Outcome Measures Within Pediatric Solid Organ Transplantation: A Systematic Review. Pediatric Transplantation, 2019;23(6):1–15. 

See a full list of Dr. Anthony's publications on Google Scholar.