Meet the Team

OnSPARK is led by a multidisciplinary team of data scientists, epidemiologists, and long-term care (LTC) sector experts, ensuring the platform delivers cutting-edge insights while maintaining high-quality data security and ethical standards.  

Our leadership team’s extensive experience and long-standing partnerships within the long-term care sector guarantees OnSPARK is informed directly by LTC partners to meet their needs and improve quality across the sector. 

Platform Co-lead

Dr. Andrew Costa

  • Dr. Andrew Costa is the co-founder of OnSPARK, and co-leads CanSPARK, a national learning health system for long-term care. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI) at McMaster University and holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Integrated Care for Seniors. He also serves as Research Director of the St. Joseph’s Health System Centre for Integrated Care and as Associate Scientific Director of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. A fellow of interRAI, Dr. Costa contributing to international standards for vulnerable sector care, and is a member of McMaster’s School of Computational Science and Engineering and the MacDATA Institute Scientific Advisory Committee. 

    Dr. Costa has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and has led or co-led more than $70 million in research funding. His translational research has shaped national guidelines on frailty assessment, chronic disease management, and pandemic response, and his findings have been cited in more than 140 policy documents, including reports from the World Health Organization, the CDC, and the Government of Canada.

Arthur Sweetman

Platform Co-lead

Dr. Arthur Sweetman

  • Dr. Arthur Sweetman is a Platform Co-Lead for OnSPARK, where he applies his research expertise in health and labour economics, and public policy, to help build an effective sector-governed learning health system for long-term care. Dr. Sweetman leverages high-quality health data to improve quality of care and outcomes for the LTC sector, and inform evidence-based decision-making in policy.

    At McMaster University, Dr. Sweetman holds the Ontario Research Chair in Health Human Resources, serves as Co-Director of the Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis (CHEPA), and is the Director of the interdisciplinary Health Policy PhD Program housed in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact. He is also a Professor in the Department of Economics.

Scientific Program Lead and Bruyere Lead

Dr. Colleen Webber

  • Dr. Colleen Webber is a Scientist at the Bruyère Health Research Institute in Ottawa, Ontario, with a PhD in Epidemiology from Queen’s University. Her research focuses on improving care and healthcare outcomes for older adults, including those residing in long-term care. Utilizing population-based health administrative data, her work explores critical issues related to healthcare access, quality, and equity. As Scientific Program Lead and Bruyere Lead for the OnSPARK LTC Data Platform, Colleen is committed to advancing translational research and supporting innovative quality improvement initiatives to enhance long-term care residents' well-being.

  • Supporting LTC is important to me because it is an opportunity to provide good care to people who have contributed to their families, communities, and society throughout their lives. Residents deserve more than safe, high-quality care. They deserve dignity, meaningful relationships, choice, comfort, and opportunities for a good quality of life. I’m passionate about using research and data to understand what matters most to residents and families, identify what works, and translate evidence into meaningful improvements in care and policy. I want to contribute to a system that provides the kind of care and quality of life that people deserve.

Managing Director, OnSPARK

Gioia Buckley

  • Gioia is a senior university researcher and manager with over 25 years of experience leading and supporting interdisciplinary research programs. As Managing Director of the OnSPARK LTC Data Platform, Gioia serves as the central administrative and delivery lead, overseeing internal operations such as human resources, budget and financial management, and executive support for the platform. Prior to joining OnSPARK, Gioia spent 25 years at McMaster University’s Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis where she served as a Research Associate in Health Economics. Her work spanned program management, health economics and policy research, and operational leadership. She is specialized in managing large-scale research programs, conducting data analysis, developing and monitoring budgets, coordinating deliverables, and fostering collaboration among academic, government, and community partners.  Gioia holds an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Commerce from the Università degli Studi di Perugia, Italy, and a Master of Arts in Economics from McMaster University.

  • Throughout my career, I have been motivated by the opportunity to use evidence to improve health systems. Supporting long-term care is deeply meaningful to me because it helps improve the quality of care and quality of life for some of our most vulnerable populations.

Michelle Stillman photo

Director Partnerships & Governance, OnSPARK

Michelle Stillman

  • Michelle Stillman is a strategic leader with more than 15 years of experience advancing impact across the nonprofit, health, and research sectors. She has led multidisciplinary teams, developed and scaled complex programs, and guided organizations through periods of growth and change, building the partnerships, structures, and strategies needed to translate ideas into sustainable impact.

    Throughout her career, Michelle has focused on addressing complex challenges affecting older adults across the continuum of care. She has worked collaboratively with researchers, government, health system and long-term care partners, and people with lived experience to develop and implement initiatives that translate evidence and knowledge into practical solutions.

    As Director, Partnerships and Governance at OnSPARK, Michelle works closely with long-term care homes, researchers, government, and sector partners to strengthen collaboration and ensure data can be meaningfully used to support evidence-informed decision-making and quality improvement. She brings a particular strength in aligning diverse stakeholders around a shared vision and creating the governance, partnerships, and processes that enable innovation to move from ideas into action.