Meet Our Team | Canada East Spine Centre, Saint John, New Brunswick

Erin Bigney, MA Experimental and Applied Psychology

Director of Research

Erin Bigney is the Director of Research for Canada East Spine Centre and Canada East Foot & Ankle. She also co-Founded Canada East Foot & Ankle along with Dr. Jacob Matz. Bigney holds a Master’s degree in Experimental and Applied Psychology and has worked in the field of research for the past 15 years. Bigney’s educational and work experiences have focused on experimental design, methodology and program evaluation. She has multiple peer-reviewed publications and has presented at national and international scientific conferences.

Eden Richardson, B.A. Political Science & English, Graduate Certificate-Human Resources Management

Database Program Manager

Eden Richardson is the Research Database Manager for Canada East Spine Centre and Canada East Foot & Ankle, and serves nationally as the CSORN Data Quality Coordinator and Trainer for the Canadian Spine Society. In her role with the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network (CSORN), Eden oversees 6 of the 23 participating sites across Canada, including Saint John Regional Hospital, The Moncton Hospital, Sault Area Hospital, Health Sciences North (Sudbury), and The Ottawa Hospital – Civic Campus.
In addition to site oversight, Eden leads data quality initiatives for CSORN at the national level. She has hosted and delivered national training sessions for research coordinators and surgeons, with a focus on data quality, registry standards, and best practices within CSORN. Eden also manages and coordinates multiple CSORN sub-studies across her six sites, including studies on adult spinal deformity, cervical spondylotic myelopathy, and degenerative/idiopathic spondylolisthesis.
Eden holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New Brunswick, Saint John campus, where she completed a double major in Political Science and English and graduated with First Division standing. She also earned a Graduate Certificate in Human Resources Management from Seneca College.

Jill Kearney

Operations Manager

Jill Kearney is the Operations Manager for Canada East Spine Centre and Canada East Foot & Ankle. She has several years of quality assurance and management experience in a business environment. Jill manages our staff and volunteers, and oversees our Volunteer Mentorship Program. She is also responsible for quality inspection of our systems and processes, and has oversight of our Clinical Trials program. Other responsibilities include coordinating our Research in Medicine (RIM) students, overseeing our social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter, and our maintaining the CESC website. Jill assists with our valuable work with the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network and the Rick Hansen Institute as well. As our main patient contact, she enjoys working closely with Orthopaedic and Neurosurgery patients and their surgeons for consenting and follow-up involvement in our research projects.

Dresden Forshner

Clinical Trials Associate

Dresden Forshner's experience as a past Volunteer Research Assistant for CESC, as well as prior positions in other departments throughout Horizon Health, provided a strong foundation for his role of Clinical Trials Associate for Canada East Spine Centre and Canada East Foot & Ankle. Dresden is passionate about the work he does with our patients and coordinates with many of our surgeons for our clinical trials. He is also a current undergraduate student at the University of New Brunswick, where he is pursing his Bachelor of Health with a major in Biomedical Science.

Emily Thomson, BSc, Double major in Biology/Psychology

Research Assistant

Emily Thomson is a Research Assistant for Canada East Spine Centre and Canada East Foot & Ankle. She holds a BSc with a double major in Biology and Psychology, and is finishing her graduate studies at Dalhousie University in the Department of Pharmacology. Emily is leading our "Prospective evaluation of the Preoperative Realistic Expectation Alignment tool" project with the Orthopaedic Surgeons at Saint John Orthopaedics. Sheis excited to be expanding her scope in research with CESC by gaining knowledge in orthopaedic medicine. Emily hopes to continue pursuing research within the health-care system, and to have a positive impact in the community!

Janet Debly, BSc Hons., MSc

Clinical Research Scientist

Janet Debly is a Clinical Research Scientist for Canada East Spine Centre and Canada East Foot & Ankle. She holds an undergraduate degree in Biology-Psychology and a Master of Science in Biology from the University of New Brunswick, Saint John. Since becoming involved in research in 2019, Janet has contributed to a wide range of clinical and laboratory-based research, developing skills in study design, research ethics, and scientific writing. She works collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams to support research that advances orthopaedic care, from project development through publication. Janet is a published, peer-reviewed author and remains committed to advancing clinical research that improves patient care and surgical outcomes.

Ore Alugo

CORP Research Coordinator

Ore Alugo is the CORP Research Coordinator for Canada East Spine Centre and Canada East Foot & Ankle. She is a medical student at Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick and previously graduated from Western University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. Ore has a background in research from her time at Western, spending summers with the Centre for Research in Integrated Care at UNB, and her previous experience as a Research Assistant with Canada East Spine Centre.

Meghan Fitzgerald, BN, RN, ONC(c), Nurse Manager

Clinical Research Associate

Meghan graduated with a Bachelor of Nursing from the University of New Brunswick (Saint John campus) in May 2000. In 2006 she was one of the first Registered Nurses to write the CNA certification exam for Orthopaedic Nursing and has maintained this certification through continuous learning credits. After 8 years working as a Registered Nurse on the Orthopaedic inpatient unit at the Saint John Regional Hospital, Meghan accepted the position of Unit Manager. Her analytical mind loves a good clinical chart review so she is thoroughly enjoying her adverse event reporting work with Canada East Spine Centre.

Janice (Loop-D) Kenny RN, BN

Neurosurgery Case Manager

Loop-d graduated with a Diploma in Nursing from the Saint John School of Nursing in 1981, and completed Post-Graduate studies in Neuroscience Nursing from the Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill University in 1987. More recently, she completed her undergraduate degree in Nursing from UNBSJ in 2006. Loop-d has held the National CNA Certification in Neuroscience Nursing since 1991. She has served on the National Board of Directors for the Canadian Association of Neuroscience Nurses and was the National President in 1995. She is currently practicing Nursing in the Neurosciences. Loop-D's clinical interests are in Neuro Trauma, and Neuro Critical Care in the management of Brain & Spinal Cord Injuries.