Selina Ma

Selina Ma is a first-year Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences student at Queen’s University with developing interests in public health, global health and the factors that shape health outcomes across populations. She joined the Global Health Implementation Research Lab as a research intern, where she is gaining experience in how health interventions move from research into practice and how they can be adapted to different communities and health-system contexts.

Selina’s research experience began at the Deep Bay Marine Field Station, where she investigated Vibrio-associated disease and antimicrobial resistance in Pacific oysters. Using molecular techniques including DNA extraction and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), she explored questions at the intersection of infectious disease, environmental health and biological resilience. This experience introduced her to laboratory-based disease research while also prompting broader questions about why disease occurs, how it can be prevented and how environmental and population-level conditions influence health.

Her growing interest in these wider questions led her toward public and global health research. Through her work with GHIRL, Selina is beginning to explore how evidence can inform health interventions, how programmes are implemented in real-world settings and why approaches that work in one setting may need to be adapted for another.

Outside of academics and research, Selina is the co-founder of Chords of Care, an international organization that uses music to connect musicians across more than 50 cities in seven countries. She has also taught piano to students ranging from beginner to advanced levels. These experiences have strengthened her interests in communication, community engagement and the ways shared activities can bring people together across different settings.

In her free time, Selina enjoys hiking, skiing, surfing and spending time outdoors.