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Published on December 19, 2024
Thank you for your continued support, engagement, and invaluable contributions to our global health research community here at the Dahdaleh Institute. Happy holidays and cheers to a new year!
"We are proud and elated to support nineteen exceptional graduate scholars whose research will advance impactful scholarly and real-world contributions to global health across a diverse range of faculties and programs at York University," said Mary Wiktorowicz, associate director of the Dahdaleh Institute.
In October 2024, the Harriet Tubman Institute, the Faculty of Health and the Dahdaleh Institute hosted Nancy Edwards's solo performance of "Rethinking Good Intentions" – a compelling account of a Canadian community health nurse's experiences in the rural villages of Sierra Leone that rattled her cultural preconceptions, provoked her notions of social privilege, and forever deepened her global connections.
Watch the performance and panel discussion
SSHIFTB held a workshop at Brocher Foundation in Geneva from November 20-22, 2023. This “Building Social Equity and Person-Centred Innovation in the Global End TB Response” workshop brought together individuals from various fields, such as social scientists, TB-affected community members, policymakers, funders, and technical agencies, to critically examine proposed approaches, operationalization mechanisms, and funding schemes to achieve person-centred care and equity.
Following the fifth annual Critical Perspective for Global Health Research workshop in April 2024, four York University researchers were awarded $7,000 seed grants to initiate novel and innovative ideas that take a critical social science approach to global health research. Congratulations to Agnès Berthelot-Raffard, Raju J. Das, Andrew Dawson, and Christo El Morr!
The Safe Water Optimization team, including Usman Khan, James Brown, Michael De Santi, Mohamed Moselhy, Ngqabutho Zondo, James Orbinski, and Syed Imran Ali, has been busy this year; here are some highlights of what they've accomplished:
- Highlighted the role of the SWOT and other tools in building resilience amid growing humanitarian needs in conversation with the Wilson Quarterly
- Secured a new grant from Creating Hope in Conflict: A Humanitarian Grand Challenge
- Published new papers:
- in Environmental Science & Technology titled 'Evaluation of the Safe Water Optimization Tool to Provide Evidence-Based Chlorination Targets in Surface Waters: Lessons from a Refugee Setting in Uganda'
- in the special UNC Water & Health Collection by PLOS Water, titled 'Challenges and opportunities for advancing data-driven WASH programming: Reflections from the UNC Chapel Hill Water and Health Conference side event “DATA: A key for unlocking quality in WASH programming."'
In June 2024, Roxanne Cohen, Kate Tilleczek, Bella Lyne, and Kristen Sison delivered a presentation summarizing the 2nd offering of the Rooted and Rising Youth Climate Leadership Certificate program. The program provided a platform for the youth to explore innovative solutions, deepen their connections to the land and each other, and emerge empowered to continue their vital work in their respective communities.
The Dahdaleh Institute collaborated with a group of outstanding global health interns this year on research projects studying equitable global health research; impacts of gender in tobacco control; mental and emotional health and wellness; knowledge translation and acceleration; and AMR and food systems.
Congratulations and thank you to all the interns!
Learn more about our internship program here
Starting in January 2024, the Wellness Impact Lab held a 3-part seminar series focused on Inuit perspectives on mental health and well-being:
- The first session centered around the voices of Bernice Kootoo Clarke, Michael Kusugak, and Becky Han, each of whom shared stories about their connection to the land, how that connection has been shaped by colonization, and how that has in turn affected their identity.
- The second session, led by Sara Ferwati, explored the connection between land, culture, and mental health in Nunavut through epidemiological evidence and frameworks.
- The third session welcomed Jennifer Corriero and her colleagues Waukomaun Pawis, Elder Eileen Beaver, Jennifer Manitowabi, discussing how technology is used to promote virtual learning and wellbeing across Canada, especially in remote, Northern communities.
At an October 2024 event in Toronto, the Voices on the Move podcast was officially launched. Led by Yvonne Su and supported by Sabrina Sam, the seven episodes feature impactful stories with personal voices and scholarly insights from migration researchers, climate migrants, displaced persons, and community leaders—especially from the Global South to foster nuanced public discourse.
York University opened its new state-of-the-art Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Advanced Disaster, Emergency and Rapid Response Simulation (ADERSIM) Lab in July 2024. Designed to act as an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), “we are observing more and more emergencies that require activation of EOCs," said Ali Asgary, executive director of ADERSIM. "More importantly through our research, our EOC can provide support to other activated EOCs in Canada and globally as needed.”
In June 2024, the New Frontiers Research Fund (NFRF) announced funding to support new and groundbreaking Canadian-led initiatives that are interdisciplinary, high-risk, high-reward projects. Congratulations Michaela Hynie, Sapna Sharma, and Idil Boran!
Our members worked on some incredible projects and had some impressive achievements this year; so many that we couldn't fit them all into one newsletter. Here's some news and updates you may have missed:
Planetary Health
- Stephanie Gora and Caroline Duncan held a pilot program in water operator training for youth at the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS)
- Ana Carolina Cardoso attended the 60th session of the Subsidiary Bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
- Kate Tilleczek and the Young Lives Research Lab co-developed Canada’s Digital Wellbeing Hub to support digital citizenship
Humanitarianism
- Liam Michaud presented the findings of an interdisciplinary study evaluating Canada’s Prison Needle Exchange Program (PNEP) at INHSU
- Sarah Khan reflected on India’s growing arms export, as well as the impact it had on surrounding nations in a recent Deccan Herald article
- Michael De Santi, Usman Khan, Shital Desai, and Syed Imran Ali received a Connected Minds seed grant to co-design novel machine learning-enabled Public Health Risk Assessment Tools in Uganda
- Paul Hogan hosted the Falling Sky Studio sessions from May through August 2024 at Scadding Court in Toronto
Foresighting
- Chloe Clifford Astbury and Tarra Penney showcased their multi-country project at the Geneva Health Forum and Geneva Health Week
- Raphael Aguiar, Roger Keil, Mary Wiktorowicz, and Ryan Gray published new papers on:
- Mathieu Poirier attended the High-Level UN meeting, with discussion leading to the creation of the 1-10-100 Goals
Here is a preview of our exciting events for 2025 - register below:
- January 8: It is Time to Save the Decolonization of Global Health Movement: The Urgent Need of a Paradigm Shift, with Luchuo Engelbert Bain
- January 15: Canada, Kenya, Australia: Colonial Encounters, Human Rights and Mental Health Laws, with Marina Morrow
- January 29: Getting Ready for Your Real Life’s Work: An ‘Inspired Conversation’ with Don Simpson
& sign up for our newsletter!
Themes | Global Health & Humanitarianism, Global Health Foresighting, Planetary Health |
Status | Active |
Related Work |
Voices on the Move | Project
Rooted and Rising Lab | Project Global Health: Wellness Impact Lab (WIL) | Project Social Science & Health Innovations for Tuberculosis | Project, Research Critical Perspectives in Global Health | Project, Research Safe Water Optimization Tool | Project, Research |
Updates |
N/A
|
People |
Mary E. Wiktorowicz, Associate Director - Active
James Orbinski, Director - Active Usman T. Khan, Faculty Fellow, Lassonde School of Engineering - Active Kate Tilleczek, Faculty Fellow, Faculty of Education - Active Yvonne Su, Faculty Fellow, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies - Active Tarra Penney, Faculty Fellow, Faculty of Health - Active Syed Imran Ali, Research Fellow, Global Health and Humanitarianism - Active Stephanie Gora, Faculty Fellow, Lassonde School of Engineering - Active Shital Desai, Faculty Fellow, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design - Active Sapna Sharma, Faculty Fellow, Faculty of Science - Active Roxanne Cohen, Community Fellow, Rooted and Rising - Active Roger Keil, Faculty Fellow, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change - Active Raphael Aguiar, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Global Health & Humanitarianism and Planetary Health - Active Raju Das, Faculty Fellow, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change - Active Paul Hogan, Community Fellow, Garden Path Community Health and Wellness - Alum Michaela Hynie, Faculty Fellow, Faculty of Health - Active Mathieu Poirier, Faculty Fellow, Faculty of Health - Active Marina Morrow, Faculty Fellow, Faculty of Health - Active Luchuo Engelbert Bain, Research Fellow, Global Health Foresighting - Active Kristen Sison, Co-Community Fellow, Rooted and Rising - Active Idil Boran, Faculty Fellow, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies - Active Donald Simpson, Senior Fellow, Global Health and Humanitarianism - Active Chloe Clifford Astbury, Research Fellow, Global Food System & Policy - Alum Ali Asgary, Faculty Fellow, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies - Active Yuliya Chorna, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies - Active Valerie Lawson, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies - Active Sarah Khan, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Osgoode Hall Law School - Active Sara Ferwati, Community Fellow, Global Health Foresighting - Active Ryan Gray, Research Associate, AMR-Environmental Stewardship - Active Rupsha Mutsuddi, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Faculty of Health - Active Romeo Joe Quintero, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change - Active Nilanjana Ganguli, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change - Active Ngqabutho Zondo, Graphic Design, Development - Active Nawang Yanga, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Faculty of Health - Active Mohamed Moselhy, Lead Developer, Safe Water Optimization Tool - Active Michael De Santi, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Lassonde School of Engineering - Active Liam Michaud, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies - Active Kathirvel Soundappan, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Faculty of Health - Active Joanne Ong, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Faculty of Health - Active Jesse Sam, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Faculty of Health - Active Jennifer Corriero, Community Fellow, Global Health and Humanitarianism - Active James Brown, Associate Course Director, Humanitarian Water Engineering; Technical Advisor, Safe Water Optimization Tool - Active Hillary Birch, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change - Active Haniehalsadat Aboutorabifard, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Osgoode Hall Law School - Active Caroline Diana Duncan, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Lassonde School of Engineering - Active Brian Waters, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change - Active Babatunde Odugbemi, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Faculty of Health - Active Ana Carolina de Almeida Cardoso, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change - Active Alexandra Scott, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Osgoode Hall Law School - Active Alexandra Frankel, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies - Active Uswa Shafaque, SAFE Antimicrobial Resistance Governance, Global Health Intern [FW23-24] - Alum Thomas Borr, Global Health and Humanitarianism, Global Health Intern [W24] - Alum Sharon Justice-D, Experiential Learning in Global Health, Global Health Intern [F23] - Alum Shamim Samadi, Wellness Impact Lab, Global Health Intern [W23;FW23-24] - Alum Shaista Alokozai, Design and Dissemination, Global Health Intern - Active Safiyyah Ameer, Global and Environmental Health Lab, Global Health Intern [S23;FW23-24;S24] - Alum Richard Wu, Global & Environmental Health Lab, Global Health Intern [W23;S23;FW23-24;S24] - Alum Ravjot Chana, Global Health and Humanitarianism, Global Health Intern [FW23-24;S24] - Active Laura J. Rosa Pereira, Global Legal Epidemiology, Global Health Intern - Active Kelly Kuang, Global & Environmental Health Lab, Global Health Intern [FW23-24;S24] - Alum Kanako Isobe, Planetary Health, Global Health Intern [S23;FW23-24;S24] - Active Igor Akomaye, Global and Environmental Health Research Lab, Global Health Intern [W23;S23;FW23-24;S24] - Alum Hafsa Ugas, Global & Environmental Health Lab, Global Health Intern [W23] - Alum Gurher Sidhu, Social Science & Health Innovation for Tuberculosis, Global Health Intern - Active Giovanna Batti, Experiential Learning, Global Health Intern [FW23-24] - Alum Georgina Birago Odoom Owusu, Global & Environmental Health Research Lab, Global Health Intern [FW22-23;S24] - Alum Gaurika Agarwal, Front-End Development for SaTS Lab, Global Health Intern [W24] - Alum Gabriel Fezza, Global Strategy Lab, Global Health Intern [SU22; FW22-23; SU23; FW23-24] - Alum Delal Hagos, Safe Water Optimization Tool, Global Health Intern [FW23-24;S24] - Alum Clarissa Eggen, Experiential Learning, Global Health Intern [SU23; FW23-24] - Alum Bramjot Aheer, Global and Environmental Health Lab, Global Health Intern - Active Ann Kwarteng, Retooling Black Anxiety, Global Health Intern [W24;S24] - Alum Amen Okungbowa, Climate Change, Health and Environmental Equity, Global Health Intern [FW23-24;S24] - Alum Aaranee Sritharan, Experiential Learning, Global Health Intern [SU23; FW23-24] - Alum |
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