Information Box Group
Dr. Norm Buckley Contact Dr. Buckley
Nominated Principal Applicant & Scientific Director
A faculty member of McMaster University since 1988, Dr. Norm Buckley has served three terms as Professor and Chair of the Department of Anesthesia, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. Having held hospital administrative positions as Operating Room Director, Chief of Anesthesia (Chedoke McMaster) and Deputy Chief (Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation), Dr. Buckley’s particular interests are pain, both acute and chronic. His clinical work is focused on chronic pain management at the Michael G. DeGroote Pain Clinic, McMaster University Medical Centre.
In 2010, Dr. Buckley established and is the past director of the Michael G. DeGroote National Pain Centre. He is scientific director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care. In addition, Dr. Buckley is the nominated principal applicant and Scientific Director of the SPOR-funded Chronic Pain Network. With over $30 million in funding to-date, the focus of the Network is to change the way pain is managed in Canada.
Brandon Van Dam Contact Brandon Van Dam
Managing Director
Brandon Van Dam joins the Chronic Pain Network after serving as the Manager, Strategic Initiatives & Programs for the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. In this role, Brandon led and managed strategic initiatives for the Faculty, including the Juravinski Research Institute, which was jointly founded by McMaster and the two Hamilton area hospitals.
Previously, Brandon served as the Senior Manager, Administration & Trusts, where he oversaw the administration of close to $500 million in trust funds that enabled educators, researchers, and clinicians to advance health through learning and discovery. Brandon is currently an Instructor at Wilfrid Laurier University, teaching introductory business and entrepreneurship courses. Previously, he served as the Associate Director of the Schlegel Centre for Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation at Laurier, helping students and alumni build and grow successful ventures. Brandon received his MBA from Laurier specializing in strategic management.
Jessica Bottomley Contact Jessica Bottomley
Administrative Assistant
Jess holds a Bachelors of Arts in International Development & Globalization from the University of Ottawa. Shre brings experience in administration knowledge and content creation from her experience across industries in construction, transportation, the insurance sector and non-governmental organizations. Jess enjoys gardening and raising her twin boys; she brings the same level of care, attention to detail, and patience to her work. She moved to Hamilton to start her family and is proud to be a part of the McMaster community.
Divya Kanwar Bhati
Patient Engagement Lead
Divya is an interdisciplinary researcher with expertise in public health, patient engagement, and knowledge translation. She supports the Chronic Pain Network (CPN) as an Engagement Lead. A post-doctoral fellow from the University of Ottawa and a PhD in public health from India, Divya has eight years of health services research experience in India and Canada. Her goals are to co-create knowledge mobilization resources to support the CPN and improve the health and well-being of people living with pain.