DR. GHISI SHARES HER DEFINITION OF SUCCESS, WHY SHE’S PASSIONATE ABOUT KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION, AND HOW HER BACKGROUND SHAPED HER WORK.
Dr. Gabriela Lima de Melo Ghisi’s career is an ongoing collaboration. As a KITE Affiliate Scientist and Assistant Professor (status only) at the University of Toronto, she partners with colleagues around the world to support cardiac rehabilitation programs by providing expertise in program evaluation, training and capacity building, quality improvement initiatives, and patient education, all tailored to diverse economic settings. As a supervisor and mentor, Dr. Ghisi actively listens to her students’ interests and includes them in meaningful projects, supporting their learning journey and professional development. And as a researcher, she works alongside patients to integrate their lived experiences into her work.
With over 160 published manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, Dr. Ghisi has established herself as an expert in cardiac rehabilitation and patient education. Expertscape lists her as a global expert in cardiovascular research, and in 2024, SciVal’s metrics ranked her as the top contributor in “Enhancing Cardiac Rehabilitation for Improved Outcomes."
We sat down with Dr. Ghisi to discuss her journey, her process, and her hopes for the future.
You’ve spoken before about how strongly you feel about the importance of collaboration between researchers and people with lived experiences. How did you develop this belief?
I developed my strong belief in collaboration between researchers and people with lived experience through my early work in a low-resource setting in Brazil. Initially, our approach was limited — we mainly responded to patients’ questions and provided basic information through pamphlets and notes, such as explaining how attending sessions reduces the risk of another cardiovascular event. However, I realized this one-way flow of information was insufficient.
To understand patients’ true needs, I created a questionnaire to assess their knowledge. This revealed significant gaps — not only in what they knew, but also in what they wanted to learn. For example, while I assumed patients needed more guidance on healthy eating, many were actually more concerned about issues like improving their sleep.
This experience taught me that patients' priorities and concerns often differ from what researchers expect. It became clear that meaningful impact requires working collaboratively—not only with patients but also with their families and communities—to identify real needs and co-create solutions.
Over the past 20 years, this insight has shaped my research philosophy. Collaboration is now fundamental to my work, whether through advisory groups, co-authorship, or participatory methods. Ensuring that patients’ voices shape research questions and priorities is essential to delivering relevant, effective interventions.
You often share your knowledge and your journey on social platforms and in the media. How do you go about being the spokesperson for your research, and how would you encourage your peers and colleagues to engage with the public?
When I began my research career, I believed that simply publishing my work was enough. I soon realized that very few people actually read academic manuscripts, and I wanted my research to have a real-world impact — to be understood, applied, and replicated in diverse settings.
Social media has become a vital bridge between research and the public. For me, engaging on these platforms is not about self-promotion; it is about translating knowledge into accessible language, fostering engagement, and sparking meaningful dialogue beyond academic circles.
As a spokesperson for my research, I focus on sharing findings clearly and relevantly, emphasizing their practical implications. I aim to connect with clinicians, patients, advocates, and other researchers to encourage broader understanding and collaboration.
To my peers and colleagues: Don’t feel intimidated by these platforms. We need more evidence-based voices in public conversations. I think we learned that during COVID, with all that misinformation and fake news that people published.
You don’t need to be perfect or polished, just genuine and informed. Social media offers a powerful space to connect researchers, clinicians, patients, and advocates. Platforms like Twitter/X and LinkedIn give us the tools to shape public conversations credibly, transparently, and inclusively.
SciVal Metrics ranked you as a top global contributor in 2024 in Enhancing Cardiac Rehabilitation for Improved Outcomes— congratulations! But you’ve also talked before about not putting much weight on rankings and metrics. How do you personally measure success and influence?
While I appreciate the recognition from SciVal Metrics as a top global contributor in Enhancing Cardiac Rehabilitation for Improved Outcomes, I personally place less emphasis on rankings and metrics. For me, success is measured by real-world impact—how research influences policy, improves clinical care, and empowers patients to better understand and manage their conditions.
For example, just a few months ago, a former colleague from Toronto Rehab, who is now involved in developing clinical recommendations for peripheral arterial disease in Ontario, reached out to me on LinkedIn. She expressed how my work had directly supported their efforts and encouraged me to take pride in that contribution. Moments like these—knowing that my research makes a tangible difference in practice—are the true measures of influence and success in my career.
That's really rewarding for me. Metrics like citations or awards can be helpful, but they only tell part of the story.
Have these past few years felt successful to you, or is success something you keep moving towards?
Success is a moving goalpost. In academia and science, you are constantly learning, and with each new insight, you uncover more gaps that need to be addressed. My definition of success has evolved with every environment I have worked in. Early in my career in Brazil, I faced the harsh realities of a low-resource setting. Later, when I came to Canada, I expected to learn from what I assumed was an ideal cardiac rehabilitation system. However, I quickly realized that many barriers still exist here — albeit different ones. Most recently, in October of last year, I was invited to visit Kenya to receive training from the World Heart Federation and encountered yet another distinct set of challenges and opportunities.
Each time you achieve a goal, your aspirations shift as you learn more. These past few years have been marked by both significant accomplishments and continuous learning, and I acknowledge these with pride. Yet, I remain deeply motivated to do more — particularly in translating knowledge into action through meaningful collaboration. As a mother, an immigrant, and someone for whom English is not a first language, I continue to navigate challenges unique to my identity. While these factors have presented barriers, they have also become sources of strength and resilience.
I hope my journey can inspire others to embrace their own unique paths and leverage them to create impactful, meaningful work.