Let’s Really Talk: Stigma Still Clouds Suicide Numbers
March 23/2022
by Françoise Makanda, DLSPH PhD Candidate C. Dalrymple-Fraser wants the conversation on suicide to change. Dalrymple-Fraser [they/their] does not have answers—just questions about statistics, personal responsibility and disability that could help spark a frank conversation about how the stigma around suicide has not changed. Recent studies have shown that suicide...
DLSPH Welcomes Inaugural Registrar
March 02/2022
By Elaine Smith Throughout her career, Jabeen Aslam has cherished the opportunity to work closely with students. Now she brings her nearly 10 years of experience in student support and enrolment management to the Dalla Lana School of Public Health as its inaugural Registrar and director of Student Services. “The...
‘Always give back’: trainee develops research opportunities for youth amidst doctoral studies
February 03/2022By Alisa Kim As an undergrad studying kinesiology, Troy Francis thought he might become a physiotherapist or a chiropractor. As he continued his studies, however, Francis, currently a PhD student in the Health Services Research program at IHPME, was drawn to a big-picture view of the health system. His...
A vision realized: trainee leads pilot project to deliver eye care to Indigenous children in Toronto
January 17/2022
By Alisa Kim, IHPME A study by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind found one-third of Indigenous Canadians have not had an eye exam within the last two years. Moreover, research has shown Indigenous children experience high levels of astigmatism, an irregularity in the shape of the cornea...
Outreach and Access Program Expands to Runnymede and Westview Centennial High Schools
January 10/2022
by Françoise Makanda, DLSPH DLSPH’s Outreach and Access Program continues to have an impact on more Toronto high schools. It completed its first semester at Westview Centennial. “It feels great that the program continues to expand and that we’re continuing to develop relationships and reaching more schools, more students, and...
Kuan Liu: The Power of Data in Public Health
December 20/2021Kuan Liu is a recent PhD in Biostatistics graduate. She is passionate about the role of biostatistics in clinical and public health research and the potential for using accessible data to inform public health efforts and promote public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. “As public health students, I think...
Farhana Safa: Connecting the Individual with Community Health
December 16/2021Farhana Safa graduated with a Master of Science in Community Health in November. The Bangladeshi-born graduate has always taken a keen interest in addictions and mental health issues within clinical care and research. “In 2018, my husband and I immigrated to Canada, and I was applying to programs with a...
Students Develop Harm-Reduction Toolkit for U of T Community
November 25/2021by Françoise Makanda, DLSPH U of T students developed a “Know Your Drugs 101” toolkit that will help students returning to campus spot the signs of a drug overdose. The toolkit is comprehensive – it includes information on how to respond to an overdose, and how to access and administer...
Waking Up to the Reasons Behind Chronic Sleeplessness
November 23/2021
By Françoise Makanda, DLSPH PhD student Kristie Serota started quilting for a research project on insomnia. Quilting helps her question the ‘sleep industrial complex.’ While she radically accepts her bouts of sleeplessness, her professor in the Social and Behavioural Sciences division, insomnia researcher Michael Atkinson, suggests that it might be...
Falan Bennett: No Regrets on the Path to Black Health
November 10/2021Before enrolling at DLSPH, Falan Bennett heard one piece of advice over and over from students and alumni: the time goes by in a flash. Make sure to grab the most important opportunities. “I really took that seriously, and now I'm realizing just how fast it went and all the...