Postdoctoral CIHR Health System Impact Fellow, McMaster University
Stephen Gentles is a postdoctoral CIHR Health System Impact Fellow at Autism Ontario and McMaster University. He has a background in health information and clinical epidemiology, and his program of research is aimed at helping parents of children with development disabilities by developing knowledge and tools to support the important roles they play in navigating and implementing care and intervention.
At Autism Ontario, Stephen participated in the implementation and evaluation of a provincially funded Service Navigation Program, which provides information and support for families for accessing and using direct – funding budgets. At the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University, Stephen works with Dr. Stelios Georgiades and the McMaster Autism Research Team (MacART). Here he implements and supports the expansion of a Pediatric Autism Research Cohort (PARC) study that will contribute new knowledge about the varying trajectories of individuals with autism.
Stephen has also participated in CASDA Leadership Summits since 2018. He attributes his enthusiasm for promoting autistic perspectives in autism research to the relationships he has with autistic advocates and leaders within CASDA.
