Ali Mozafari during medical first responder training at a Canadian Armed Forces base in Windsor through St. John Ambulance, one of many experiences he pursued beyond the classroom to deepen his understanding of patient care and strengthen his path toward a career in healthcare. (SUBMITTED BY ALI MOZAFARI/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
Ali Mozafari’s path through the University of Windsor has been anything but linear.
A fourth-year nursing student with research experience spanning health sciences and engineering, his story is defined by resilience, curiosity and determination.
“Honestly, it’s been a chaotic journey,” he said. “But I’m proud of how I turned it around and everything I’ve been able to do since.”
— Published on May 13th, 2026
Professor Sherry Morrell, one of the faculty leaders behind the creation and development of UWindsor’s RN Prescribing program, leads nursing students through an experiential learning exercise. Canada’s first cohort of registered nurses with prescribing authority will graduate this spring. (MICHAEL WILKINS/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
As Canada continues to confront longer wait times and growing pressure across a strained health-care system, the University of Windsor is preparing to mark a national milestone that reflects both urgency and innovation in care delivery.
— Published on May 12th, 2026
Dean Debbie Sheppard-LeMoine co-edited Giddens’s Concepts for Canadian Nursing Practice, a new national textbook featuring contributions from experts across the country, including several UWindsor nursing faculty. (RONAK DOOWD/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
At the University of Windsor Faculty of Nursing, classroom concepts have moved into print.
A new national publication featuring several faculty contributors is doing more than filling a gap in academic literature — it’s helping define how future nurses across Canada will learn, think and practise.
— Published on May 11th, 2026
Dr. Natalie Giannotti, pictured with her father, says her work has taken on new meaning through her personal experience supporting him through his cancer journey. Her research examines gaps in the Canadian healthcare system and the need for reliable, patient-centred care. (SUBMITTED BY NATALIE GIANNOTTI/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
Dr. Natalie Giannotti’s research has always focused on improving patient safety and healthcare systems.
But it wasn’t until she found herself navigating the system as a daughter, supporting her father through his cancer diagnosis and treatment, that the gaps she had long studied became personal.
— Published on Apr 28th, 2026
The Faculty of Nursing welcomes Professor Rebecca Balasa to the University of Windsor. Her experience in nursing and public health, along with her research on child health equity, brings valuable insight to our community. (SUBMITTED BY REBECCA BALASA/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
For Dr. Rebecca Balasa, the path to nursing didn't start in a classroom.
Her own experiences as a pediatric patient introduced her to the role nurses play, not only in delivering treatment, but in providing comfort and connection.
“I was really inspired by my own healthcare team,” she said. “It was through my relationships with nurses and seeing everything they do that I decided to go into the profession.”
That sense of purpose continues to guide her as she joins the University of Windsor’s Faculty of Nursing.
— Published on Apr 22nd, 2026
Jane Simanovski (left) and her team of colleagues and students stand with their research poster at the WE-SPARK conference in March, highlighting a cross-border study on caregivers supporting lung transplant patients. (SUBMITTED BY EDWARD CRUZ/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
It takes more than medical expertise to support a patient after a lung transplant.
As April marks Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Month, a new cross-border study examines an often-overlooked part of the transplant journey — the family members and friends who provide care after surgery.
— Published on Apr 21st, 2026
Corina Farai Makore, now a University of Windsor doctoral student researching correctional healthcare policy, is pictured at her 2015 MPH graduation from the University of North Texas Health Science Center. (SUBMITTED BY CORINA FARAI MAKORE/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
When Corina Farai Makore began her PhD at the University of Windsor, she wasn’t just pursuing a long-held personal goal, she was equipping herself to change a system.
As healthcare manager at the South West Detention Centre in Windsor, Makore leads 50 nurses and oversees a 10-bed infirmary providing 24/7 care for incarcerated patients.
At the same time, she is a scholar using her doctoral research to guide policy reform and strengthen correctional nursing in Ontario.
— Published on Apr 14th, 2026
This “Get Swabbed!” stem cell registration drive is centred on Daphne, a Windsor-area mother and grandmother diagnosed with a rare blood cancer. A stem cell transplant is her only potential cure — and you could be the match she’s waiting for. (SUBMITTED BY KATELYN BEDARD BONE MARROW ASSOCIATION/University of Windsor)
By Victor Romao
Fill out a form and have your cheek swabbed. It’s only eight minutes of your time that could lead to saving a life. Daphne’s life.
The Windsor-area grandmother has been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer, and doctors say a stem cell transplant is her only potential cure.
More than 45 million potential donors on a worldwide stem cell registry have already been searched, but no suitable match has been found.
— Published on Mar 24th, 2026
Dr. Noeman Mirza led the ROAR study, advancing research focused on improving healthcare access for rural seniors. (CHERRY THERESANATHAN/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
As winter loosens its grip and the first signs of spring emerge, many Canadians are welcoming the change.
But for vulnerable older adults, particularly those living in rural communities, the most pressing challenge exposed by the colder months does not disappear with the thaw.
For Dr. Noeman Mirza of the University of Windsor’s Faculty of Nursing, winter is more than a backdrop of snow and ice — it is a magnifier. The deeper issue is transportation.
— Published on Mar 24th, 2026
As part of the University of Windsor’s Outstanding Scholars program, nursing student Anna Papanastassiou gains hands-on research experience in a neuroscience lab, contributing to Alzheimer’s-related genetic testing. (ROGERS KOBOJI/University of Windsor)
By Victor Romao
Anna Papanastassiou spends most days in her nursing classes learning how to care for people.
But in a quiet neuroscience lab at the University of Windsor, she is also learning how to study the brain through hands-on genetic testing.
The second-year nursing student is part of the university’s Outstanding Scholars program, a competitive initiative that pairs high-achieving undergraduates with faculty-led research projects.
— Published on Mar 13th, 2026
Ali Mozafari during medical first responder training at a Canadian Armed Forces base in Windsor through St. John Ambulance, one of many experiences he pursued beyond the classroom to deepen his understanding of patient care and strengthen his path toward a career in healthcare. (SUBMITTED BY ALI MOZAFARI/University of Windsor)
