Nitima Bhatia 鈥� PhD, Education

Bhatia's innovative dissertation focuses on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Launched in 2016, UN SDGs are a set of objectives with a universal understanding and agreement to end poverty, protect all that makes the planet habitable, and ensure peace and prosperity are enjoyed by all people. Specifically, Bhatia鈥檚 research focuses on how universities in Canada enact their policies and plans related to SDGs.

鈥淚t is believed that Higher Education Institute, especially universities, have a bigger role to contribute to the SDGs,鈥� notes Bhatia. 鈥淚 think my research can provide an understanding of that role and how universities are contributing to the SDGs through their specific initiatives or actions through global and national and local impacts.鈥�

_{A photo of Nitima Bhatia}

Jennifer Hodder 鈥� MScN, Nursing

Hodder has been a critical care trauma nurse for almost 20 years at St. Michael鈥檚 Hospital. For her cutting-edge Master鈥檚 project, she has been studying gun violence through the perceptions of critical care trauma nurses and their experiences of caring for individuals with gunshot injuries and their families.

鈥淲hile their experiences are horrible and hard to be relived the people that I have talked to are so passionate about this and have been so willing to be vulnerable and willing to share their experiences to improve the lives of others and themselves,鈥� shares Hodder.

This qualitative study is meant to expand our understanding of gun violence as a nursing phenomenon and contribute to the discussion of how nurses can actively participate in social justice while working at the bedside.

_{A photo of Jennifer Hodder}

Terry Jones 鈥� MFA, Film

Jones is a Seneca filmmaker who grew up on the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation. His thesis film, Osn枚', is a story of the twelve-year-old Young Speaker, whose preoccupation with WWII conflicts with his grandfather鈥檚 attempts to teach the boy the customs and traditions of Seneca/Haudenosaunee culture. The film raises important and critical themes including the loss of ancestral knowledge, the endangerment of Indigenous languages, war, colonialism and intergenerational historical trauma.

鈥淚ndigenous culture and history to a lot of the general public is a mystery. I feel that there isn't a lot of knowledge in terms of who we were, who we are now, and where we're going to in the future,鈥� shares Jones. 鈥淚 want to be able to inform, entertain and have my audience reflect on this sometimes serious subject matter.鈥�

_{A photo of Terry Jones}

CeAnn Marks 鈥� MA, Psychology

Marks鈥� research highlights that men and women often recuperate from certain conditions like concussions differently. In her MA study, she notes the differences in how males and females recover in visuomotor and emotionality domains after suffering trauma.  

鈥淐oncussion research has mainly looked at males or a combination of males and females but hasn't really looked at distinct differences between males and females,鈥� reveals Marks, 鈥渟o the goal, hopefully, is that this research directly or indirectly will help create specific treatments and approaches to concussion management.鈥�

The individualized treatments that Marks discusses in her research can improve post-concussion outcomes or the symptoms that people experience post-concussion.

_{A photo of CeAnn Marks}

Rupsha Mutsuddi 鈥� MDes, Design

Mutsuddi鈥檚 MA study uses a human-centered approach to understand daily rituals in everyday activities for persons living with dementia and their care partners. Daily rituals are the customized and nuanced ways we go about everyday activities, for instance making a morning cup of tea or coffee.

鈥淲e're trying to understand those experiences first before going into technology design,鈥� explains Mutsuddi. 鈥淲e hope the way that we are incorporating daily rituals sort of paves the way for others to do so as well to create inclusive structures that take into account people's social and cultural and individualized habits as well.鈥�

Her cutting-edge research can have a positive impact on society and make the lives of the aging population more comfortable by keeping people in their homes longer with their families. 

_{A photo of Rupsha Mutsuddi}

Biftu Yousuf 鈥� PhD, Geography

Yousuf鈥檚 dissertation examines Canada鈥檚 refugee protection and resettlement project, which offers a pathway to safety and protection to those who are abroad but are in need of resettlement. Her particular focus is on the invisible sponsorship role of racialized diasporas who have become sponsors, particularly groups of people or communities of people who are made up of formerly resettled refugees or even asylum seekers.

鈥淚 have found that the knowledge mobilization has been the most thrilling aspect of the research,鈥� shares Yousuf. 鈥淪o far, I've had ample opportunities to collaborate with civil society, exchange knowledge ideas and information and even co-develop some solutions to some pressing issues in this private refugee sponsorship program.鈥�

Her important research can influence and inform policymaking decisions in the future and provide solutions to social and economic inequalities.

_{A photo of Biftu Yousuf}

Doug Anderson 

Anderson is completing his PhD in Education at 91亚色. His project, Inaakonigewin Akinomaagegamig, addresses how Indigenous principles can begin to define and orient the resources in education systems in ways that benefit the work of sovereign Indigenous learning and resurgence in the land.

鈥淚 will bring my emerging academic focus under the direction of the Memtigwaake Kinomaage Mawnjiding Advisory Circle, now managing over 20 acres of land in Toronto as a learning space grounded in Indigenous ceremony, sovereignty and laws.  This land hosts cyclical, perennial culture and language learning for Indigenous students in ways that are at the core of how learning and site management proceed,鈥� shares Anderson. 鈥淚 will work to support Indigenous students and partners to have this culture-based learning recognized by Toronto school boards and focus on how the learning can be supported through postsecondary institutions, all in ways defined by Indigenous people and principles. I am grateful for the support of Drs Deb Danard, Steve Alsop, Kate Tilleczek and Deborah McGregor in this work.鈥�

_{Doug Anderson} 

Jean de Dieu Uwisengeyimana

Uwisengeyimana holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Science and Technology of China. His cutting-edge project will focus on developing video-based, biologically inspired, artificial neural networks for dynamic scene understanding. Uwisengeyimana will be affiliated with (Vision: Science to Application), a program which aims to advances vision and produce applications that generate positive health, societal, technological and economic impacts for Canada and the world.

鈥淚 express my sincere appreciation for the opportunity to pursue a Provost's Postdoctoral Fellowship at 91亚色, which will allow me to conduct cutting-edge research to develop computational models of visuocognitive tasks,鈥� says Uwisengeyimana. 鈥淚 will work on this project under the guidance of Dr. Kohitij Kar, a VISTA program core member and faculty member. I appreciate that Dr. Kar is actively interacting with industrial (e.g., Google Brain, Toronto) and academic (e.g., MIT, Harvard) partners to provide me with high-quality networking opportunities to help me advance my career.鈥�

_{Jean de Dieu Uwisengeyimana}

Barron鈥檚 cutting-edge research will examine the use of curriculum modifications for elementary school students. Curriculum modification includes changing a student鈥檚 curriculum to a different grade level if the teacher believes that the student is unable to work at grade level. This is a common practice in elementary education that has not been thoroughly explored by scholars. Barron proposes that the decision to modify a student鈥檚 curriculum is highly subjective and can have long-term negative impacts. This study is vital due to the fact that marginalized students (particularly Black and Indigenous students) have been disproportionately disadvantaged through special education processes throughout history.

鈥淕iven the negative impacts that special education decisions can have on the trajectory of a student鈥檚 academic future, it is essential that we investigate the use of curriculum modifications and their efficacy in achieving their intended outcomes,鈥� says Barron.

Barron鈥檚 research in the Toronto District School Board will examine the use of curriculum modifications in relation to equity, achievement and well-being.

_{Katherine Barron}

Finlay鈥檚 project presents a historical study of the development of transgender health care in the Gender Identity Clinic (GIC) of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Ontario. Through archival research and interviews, the results of the research aim to demonstrate how CAMH has shaped the landscape of transgender health care in Ontario for the last 50 years.

This project presents trailblazing research by preserving an archive of the histories of trans health care practices and trans community activisms in Ontario. This crucial study will provide a story of the ways that trans communities have navigated and resisted dominant discourses about gender to access gender-affirming treatment.

鈥淭his historical study has contemporary relevance to the politicized debates about trans health care taking place globally and to Canada鈥檚 current policy shifts towards gender-affirming approaches to trans health care,鈥� says Finlay of the project.

_{Toby Finlay}

Grothaus provides a glimpse into the deterring implications of black carbon air pollution through her research-creation project, Habitats. She will create visualization and environmental sensing wearables that create a second skin for the user, enabling individuals to bring their environmental data to life. Specifically, her project is aimed to ignite the public imagination and instigate policy change regarding toxic exposures to carbon emissions.

Grothaus believes that her project can create a sense of realization regarding the urgency of addressing global climate change, 鈥淗abitats will focus on empowering citizens to better understand and communicate their local environment, and issues connected to environmental sacrifice zones: places where residents live near environmentally threatening polluting industries and/or heavy usage transportation routes.鈥�

Once complete, the project can be shared with the larger community through educational workshops, public art performances and other contexts intended for raising the alarm about environmental dangers.

_{S. Grace Grothaus}

Sowter鈥檚 research 鈥淭owards a Modified Conception of the Family Lawyer鈥� raises the concern that the current understanding of the lawyer鈥檚 role fails to properly capture the realities of family law. The structure that is being used, reinforces power imbalances and gendered hierarchies in terms of process and outcome. Specifically, the current model does not respond effectively to non-adversarial advocacy, family violence and issues involving a client鈥檚 child.

Her research hopes to offer a reformulation of family lawyers鈥� duties to their clients, inform law reform and amendments to professional codes of conduct and make recommendations for pedagogical reforms at law schools and for continuing legal education.

鈥淔amily law has an impact on more Canadians than any other area of law, yet the family justice system is widely perceived to be broken. There is potential for lawyers to be responsive to family laws鈥� challenges,鈥� says Sowter.

_{Deanne Sowter}

Wilson contends that homeless and precariously housed people continue to be understudied in brain injury research. In particular, women in this population report a greater number of injuries as they are more likely to experience intimate partner violence, making them uniquely vulnerable to repeated mild traumatic brain injury (mTBIs). Wilson explores how those who have suffered mTBIs can experience long-term effects on their psychological health, increasing the risk for both substance use and mood problems. The project aims to create a real-world impact by allowing clinicians to more readily identify individuals at risk for substance use and mental health disorders and develop targeted interventions that may reduce risk of mTBI and improve health outcomes.

鈥淭hese developments are particularly critical for underserved and marginalized populations, who already face numerous psychosocial and economic barriers,鈥� says Wilson.

By increasing our understanding of mTBIs, clinicians will be better informed in assessing and providing treatment, psychoeducation and intervention services to vulnerable community members.

_{Alyssia Wilson}