Zoya Gomes
Zoya Gomes is a fourth-year medical student at Dalhousie University. Zoya’s interest in research was sparked when she had the opportunity to connect with and work alongside inspiring mentors in the field of cardiovascular medicine during her undergraduate, graduate and medical career.
Zoya’s first exposure to cardiology was as a volunteer at a cardiology clinic in Hamilton, which predominantly served marginalized populations affected by low socioeconomic status and low health literacy rates. She helped design and develop a patient education workshop that would run out of the clinic waiting room with her mentor, cardiologist Dr. Gregory Curnew. One of her main goals was to facilitate open discussions with patients who were unaware of some of the prevention and management strategies for heart health and wellbeing. In particular, she made it a priority to tailor her content to focus on unique challenges that women experienced, as she recognized that there continues to be a lack of information available about women’s heart health experiences.
During her time as a MSc. Global Health student concentrating in Disease Burden, Challenges and Changes, Zoya had the opportunity to expand her knowledge base while working as a research assistant in Indigenous women’s heart health. In this role, Zoya had the opportunity to collaborate closely with a team of Indigenous women, including Dr. Bernice Downey, to conduct a review on the perspectives and experiences of Indigenous women living with heart disease globally. This article was particularly meaningful as much of the literature available on women’s heart health today focuses on biological markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and neglects female narratives on the psychosocial influences and social determinants of health that can often accompany the onset of CVD, especially in populations that continue to be underrepresented. Zoya further mentions how the “CANet CHAT community has helped facilitate networking with strong mentors who are interested or already paving the way in women’s heart health.”
Additionally, Zoya highlights how female representation in the field of cardiology and cardiac surgery has only improved marginally in the past few decades. She notes how women as a whole are underrepresented in CVD research which contributes to a lack of diagnoses, and limits available treatment options and accessible supports. Further discussing her passion for research, Zoya shares that she is “passionate about closing the research gap and have focused my efforts on improving the heart health and well-being of women in my community and beyond.” For Zoya, it has been a long-standing goal since, to meet the needs of underserved, underrepresented populations of women living with heart disease in particular, by making cardiac rehabilitation programming and other supports accessible and affordable.
Presently, Zoya is co-leading the Women@Heart pilot project taking place in Nova Scotia – a community-based peer support program for women living with CVD under the supervision of Dr. Sharon Mulvagh. This initiative takes place virtually and has already had a cohort successfully participate. They are currently working towards enabling its broader distribution to women living in rural and remote settings, addressing one of the present barriers to cardiac rehabilitation. Zoya plans to assess the psychosocial impact of peer-led support for women with CVD with the hopes of initiating this program across Canada.
Zoya has also been a member of the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance (CWHHA) for over 3 years. There are several ongoing initiatives from CWHHA that she is participating in as a member of the Knowledge Translation and Advocacy Working Group, including the recently published ATLAS Chapter’s 8 and 9 in CJC open.
Each of these experiences have only continued to inspire and fuel Zoya’s interest and desire to work in this field and make a positive impact. As a trainee, quite early in her career, the opportunity to be a part of the CANet CHAT community is something she notes as being “an incredible bridge for applying her knowledge, collaborating with peers and ultimately amplifying my advocacy work for equity in cardiovascular medicine”. As a CHAT Trainee, Zoya further shares how “the CHAT community has been instrumental in connecting me with inspiring peers and mentors across the globe in the field of cardiovascular medicine.”
In October of 2023, Zoya presented her research during the CANet Expert Knowledge Exchange (EKE) in Montreal titled “The Women@Heart NS Pilot Project: Rationale and Design of a Community-Based Peer Support Program for Women Living with Heart Disease in Nova Scotia”. Reflecting on her participation in the poster competition, Zoya said the EKE was an “enriching experience; it allowed me the opportunity to share my research with colleagues, gain new perspectives, and collaborate on future endeavours.”
In her free time, Zoya spends her time in the great outdoors and enjoys alpine skiing and snowboarding! Taking this interest a step further and combining her interests, Zoya completed a Wilderness Medicine course in Alberta over the summer!
Publication highlights:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589790X22002086
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589790X2300255X
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14796678.2024.2348382