Research, evaluation and policy affairs

She is a clinician-scientist and early career researcher with expertise and training in clinical and heath psychology. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oncology at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She is an Associate Investigator at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. She has carried out many Canada-wide studies on HPV vaccine decision-making and on cervical cancer screening. She has expanded to work on the development, evaluation and implementation of interventions to increase HPV vaccination uptake and encourage other preventive health behaviours e.g., COVID-19 vaccination. Her current research interest focuses on applying implementation science principles to improve cancer prevention and control both within Canada and globally.

From a clinical perspective, she is a staff psychologist at Psychosocial Oncology Program, Supportive Care Services, at the Cedar Cancer Center at the MUHC. She specializes in the assessment and psychotherapy treatment from diagnosis to end of life for cancer patients and their caregivers. She is passionate about the intersection between behavioural and implementation sciences and its relationship with evidence-based public health policy

Publications

Ensuring a Successful Transition From Cytology to Human Papillomavirus
Gabrielle Griffin-Mathieu; Ben Haward; Ovidiu Tatar; Patricia Zhu; Samara Perez; Gilla K Shapiro; Emily McBride; Erika L Thompson; Laurie W Smith; Aisha K Lofters; Ellen M Daley; Juliet R Guichon; Jo Waller; Marc Steben; Kathleen M Decker; Marie-Helene Mayrand; Julia M L Brotherton; Gina S Ogilvie; Gregory D Zimet; Teresa Norris; Zeev Rosberger;

Are healthcare professionals prepared to implement HPV testing? A review of psychosocial determinants of HPV test acceptability in primary cervical cancer screening
Ovidiu Tatar, MD, MSc; Kristina Wade, BSc; Emily McBride, MSc; Erika Thompson, PhD; Katharine J. Head, PhD; Samara Perez, PhD; Gilla K. Shapiro, PhD; Jo Waller, PhD; Gregory Zimet, PhD; Zeev Rosberger, PhD

Using the precaution adoption process model to clarify human papillomavirus vaccine hesitancy in canadian parents of girls and parents of boys
Ovidiu Tatar; Gilla K. Shapiro; Samara Perez; Kristina Wade;  Zeev Rosberger

Cancer!? I Don’t Have Time for That: Impact of a Psychosocial Intervention for Young Adults with Cancer
Samara Perez; Sylvie Aubin, PhD; Zeev Rosberger, PhD; Nada Hafez, MS;Michael R. Noory, BA; Sonja Lehmann, BSc; Gerald Batist, MD; Petr Kavan, MD

Human Papillomavirus Vaccines: Successes and Future Challenges
Samare Perez; Gregory D. Zimet; Ovidiu Tatar; Nathan W. Stupiansky; William A. Fisher; Zeev Rosberger

Factors associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) test acceptability in primary screening for cervical cancer: A mixed methods research synthesis
Ovidiu Tatar; Erika Thompson; Anila Naz; Samara Perez; Gilla K. Shapiro; Kristina Wade; Gregory Zimet; Vladimir Gilca; Monika Janda; Jessica Kahn; Ellen Daley; Zeev Rosberger