Research
Our team investigates how health systems can best adopt different types of interventions, and how implementation research itself can be done better by advancing its methods. Below, we present the applied implementation research studies conducted by the lab, as well as those advancing implementation science methods.
A national study mapping how hepatitis C testing and treatment work at 27 sites, and co-designing the strategies sites would need to adopt and sustain point-of-care testing.
An umbrella study on long-acting HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis. The RISE³ Lab leads Stage 1, the pre-implementation research that prepares sites before implementation trials begin.
Four systematic reviews, and an integrated framework, to guide decisions about testing delivered where people already are, outside central laboratories, for HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections.
A framework, toolkit and reporting standard for the responsible use of artificial intelligence in implementation research and practice. Protocol published; scoping review complete; guidance in development.
A scoping review mapping the statistical methods, outcome structures and designs used in hybrid type II studies, and the gap between the methods available and those applied. Protocol published; review underway.
Evidence synthesis with community and health-system partners to improve hepatitis B models of care for immigrant communities. Funding ended in 2025; analysis of three reviews is underway.
Photos: Ajay Kumar Chaurasiya (CC BY-SA 4.0), NIAID (CC BY 2.0), BalticServers.com (CC BY-SA 3.0), IAEA Imagebank (CC BY 2.0), Whispyhistory (CC BY-SA 4.0) and tup wanders (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons; cropped and shaded.
Studies co-led with colleagues at McGill and elsewhere, or where Dr. Fontaine is a co-principal investigator. They extend the lab's methods to other settings.
Embedding patient-reported outcome and experience measures into routine prostate cancer care, co-led with Dr. Sylvie Lambert within a personalized cancer-care programme.
Applying implementation science to strengthen infection prevention and control practices, including hand hygiene, in a paediatric hospital.
A community-based research study examining inequities in access to HIV prevention and treatment among women in Ontario, led with Dr. Mia Biondi.
National & international leadership
Beyond the lab's own studies, Dr. Fontaine holds leadership roles in research networks advancing implementation science.
Dr. Fontaine co-leads the implementation science stream of CanHepC, the CIHR/PHAC pan-Canadian network advancing research, training and knowledge translation toward the elimination of hepatitis C in Canada.
Visit network →
Dr. Fontaine co-leads the Methods Think Tank of CTN+, the pan-Canadian network advancing clinical trials and research methods across HIV and sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections.
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Dr. Fontaine is the founding co-chair of NEXUS-IDS, an emerging international network at the intersection of implementation science and data science, including AI and machine learning for health systems. The network is launching through a global research priority-setting exercise that will define its first Global Research Agenda.
Co-develop a study, host a site, or bring implementation science methods into your trial or program.
