Marcela Vélez has research experience in both quantitative and qualitative studies, principally in different types of evidence synthesis, such as systematic reviews, meta-analysis, qualitative evidence synthesis, rapid syntheses, and evidence briefs. After completing her medical degree at the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira in Colombia, she earned a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology from the University of Antioquia, and a PhD in Health Policy at McMaster University. Marcela recently finished a postdoctoral fellowship in McMaster University focused on priority setting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marcela’s research interests focus on supporting and strengthening evidence-informed policymaking in Latin American countries, using policy analysis and different research methods applied to knowledge translation.