Prior to joining Genome Canada in April 2016, Dr. Ward was an Associate at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute, Clinical Research Unit from 2013-15 with a focus on the design of research and evaluation methodologies, grant writing, and ensuring the reliability and validity of research and evaluation tools. Dr. Ward specialized in linking teams to funding opportunities, developing collaborative relationships between teams at the hospital, locally, and nationally. She was also a lecturer at the School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies, University of Ottawa (2011-15), with a focus on course design and teaching advanced research methodology and project design, in addition to introductory courses in anthropology and sociology.  From 2007-15, she was a Senior Research Associate with the C.T. Lamont Primary Health Care Research Centre, Department of Family Medicine, University of Ottawa where she worked in primary health care and health systems research.
Dr. Ward obtained her PhD in Sociology at the University of Ottawa in 2014. Her research focus includes social representations, equity issues in motherhood, food safety, and patient safety.