Mikaila completed her BA in Anthropology at the University of Victoria in 2019. Her interest in paleopathology and osteology lead to participation in a Mortuary Archaeology field school in Poland. Mikaila then turned her focus to the cultural construction and social implications of disease among the living. Her Honours project in Medical Anthropology adopted a biocultural approach to research the effects of ageism and HIV-related stigma on older adults’ social networks. As part of this research, Mikaila helped create educational resources for a sexual health clinic in Victoria, BC. 

Mikaila’s research project at McMaster will continue looking at the experiences of older adults, with and without HIV, in an age of HIV as a chronic manageable condition.