CEDARS CANCER FOUNDATION

Laurie J. Hendren Opal Scholarship


The goal of the Laurie J. Hendren Opal scholarship is to provide financial support to promising undergraduate students to undertake patient-centered summer research projects with the Opal Health Informatics Group at the Research Institute of the MUHC (RI-MUHC). One or two scholarships are awarded annually.

The application deadline is Friday, March 15th, 2024 at midnight.


Please submit your application using this Google form (Google account required).


Prof. Laurie Hendren was a renowned professor of Computer Science at McGill who died from metastatic breast cancer in 2019. As both a breast cancer patient and a computer scientist, Laurie worked tirelessly to improve the Quebec healthcare system by fighting for patients to have full and immediate access to their health data. Through Laurie’s collaboration with Dr. John Kildea (medical physicist) and Dr. Tarek Hijal (radiation oncologist), the Opal patient portal was born. Opal provides patients with access to some of their health data at the MUHC and it is being continuously developed by the Opal Health Informatics group at the RI-MUHC, that Dr Kildea continues to lead.

Each year, the Opal Health Informatics Group will create a list of patient-centered research projects involving the Opal patient portal that undergraduate students can apply to participate in. Scholars are expected to join the Opal Health Informatics Group for a 12-week full-time project (35 hours/week). Participation in the project will be in a combination of remote and on-site work at the Cedars Cancer Centre of the McGill University Health Centre.

In summer 2024, the following two projects are proposed:

Project 1. Clinical data via Opal: Mixed methods research on patients accessing their clinical data via Opal.
Project 2. Design for the Opal platform: Technology and architecture design for the Opal platform.

Detailed descriptions of each project are found below. In their statement of interest, candidates should indicate their preferred project and why they believe they are suited to participating in it.

Applications are accepted from strong undergraduate students in any field of study. Students can participate in the design, analysis, programming, project management or any other aspect of the project that fits their experience and interest.

Applications will be judged by a committee of MUHC cancer patients organized by the Cancer Care Mission Patients’ Committee of the MUHC that Laurie was a member of. Members of Laurie’s family and the Opal Health Informatics Group leadership may participate as observers.

Review criteria include:

  • Academic excellence.
  • Experience or interest in patient-centered care evidenced by CV and statement of interest.

An individual is limited to one Laurie J. Hendren scholarship during their studies.

You will need to provide 4 things:

  1. Completed application form.
  2. Curriculum Vitae – Include information on experience with software design, software development, informatics, clinical research, data analysis, and/or the care of cancer patients (personal experience with cancer or caregiving for a cancer patient is valid).
  3. University transcript showing classes taken and grades – unofficial transcript is acceptable.
  4. A 1/2-page statement of interest explaining your interest in one or more of the listed research projects and how you are suited to participating in the project. Valid experience includes but is not limited to: classes taken, software development experience, data analysis experience, volunteering experience, previous projects you have been involved in, personal experience as a cancer patient or caregiver, general interest in the subject.

All candidates will be notified of the decision.


Projects for 2024

Project 1: Mixed methods research on patients accessing their clinical data via Opal

The Opal patient portal is the only hospital-based patient portal currently operating in Quebec. It has been providing certain MUHC patients with access to some of their clinical data since 2018. These data include appointments at several MUHC clinics, basic diagnosis information, lab results, and clinical notes for patients in radiation oncology. To date, interviews with a small number of patients and limited surveys of Opal users have shown that patients greatly appreciate Opal but feel that they should have access to all of their data at the MUHC. However, as yet no study has examined in detail the experiences of patients who use Opal and their unmet data access needs. This project will do so using mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) research.

Anticipated Student Experience

The Laurie J Hendren scholar working on this project will analyze existing data on patient data access, gather and analyze new data from surveys, conduct semi-structured interviews, and undertake a thematic content analysis of interview findings. The scholar will also have the opportunity to join the planning committee for a symposium on patient data access to be hosted by the Opal Health Informatics Group during summer 2024 at which the results of the research will be presented.

Expected Student Background

This project is open to all students with experience and interest in data analysis and data visualization. Students with prior experience in qualitative research and analysis of survey data would be particularly suited to this project.

Project 2: Technology and architecture design for the Opal platform

The Opal patient portal is the only hospital-based patient portal currently operating in Quebec. It has been providing certain MUHC patients with access to some of their clinical data since 2018. These data include appointments at several MUHC clinics, basic diagnosis information, lab results, and clinical notes for radiotherapy patients. Over the years, the Opal Health Informatics Group has developed a wishlist of additional features to add to Opal based on feedback from Opal users and clinicians. However, adding new features to the platform requires detailed descriptions of the requirements, preparation of mockups, and analysis of architectural modifications. This project will focus on co-designing several new and exciting features to be added to the Opal platform.

Anticipated Student Experience

The Laurie J Hendren scholar working on this project will work with the Opal DevSecOps manager and the Opal software architect to plan software development and architectural changes to the Opal patient portal platform to enable the addition of three exciting new features. The student will develop mockups, sequence diagrams, flow charts, and architectural schematics. To gain an understanding of the development process, the student will also participate in daily development team scrums. Depending on experience, the student may do some software development.

Expected Student Background

To hit the ground running, the student should have prior experience in software design and development. Good writing and communication skills and a background in Computer Science or an equivalent technical discipline will be essential.