Advancing rehab in First Nations communities 

Two major wellness initiatives launched in the spring through a partnership between First Nations communities and UM’s College of Rehabilitation Sciences. 

Wiiji Bimoseyang Binesi (Thunderbird Helping Them Walk), a 10-unit housing complex in Sagkeeng First Nation, supports adults who have lived with disability and homelessness. 

Grow Our Own Specialists through Education (GOOSE) addresses the shortage of rehabilitation health-care professionals in northern Manitoba and the underrepresentation of Indigenous people in rehab careers. Read more 

Dr. Kellie Thiessen, Dr. Hope Anderson and Dr. Josée Lavoie

Three new leaders take the helm 

Dr. Kellie Thiessen – an associate professor, midwife clinician-scientist and registered nurse – was appointed dean of the College of Nursing on Feb. 1. She previously led the development of UM’s midwifery program and directed it from 2015 to 2023. Read more 

On July 1, Dr. Hope Anderson became dean of the College of Pharmacy. A professor and principal investigator with the Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research in Health and Medicine at St. Boniface Hospital, Anderson brings expertise in cardiovascular health and academic leadership. Read more 

As of Aug. 1, Dr. Josée Lavoie leads the new College of Community and Global Health as its inaugural dean. A professor of community health sciences, she directed Ongomiizwin Research – Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing from 2014 to 2023. Read more 

Drs. Henry Friesen and Estelle Simons

Remembering health pioneers 

The Rady community paid tribute to two influential figures from the Max Rady College of Medicine. 

Dr. Henry Friesen, a UM medical alum and visionary leader, died April 30 at age 90. His work led to the founding of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research 25 years ago. Read more 

Professor emerita Dr. Estelle Simons died Nov. 5 at age 80. A pioneer in pediatric allergy research, she was renowned for her groundbreaking research on allergic diseases. Read more 

Mpox virus

Mpox on the move 

Dr. Jason Kindrachuk, Canada Research Chair in molecular pathogenesis of emerging viruses and associate professor at the Max Rady College of Medicine, is part of an international team tracking the rapid spread of mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 

The research team had a study featured on the cover of the prestigious journal The Lancet. It found that mpox has now spread to nearly every region of the DRC, with cases rising from 18 provinces in 2010 to 24 provinces in 2023. Read more 

(From left to right) Terry Duguid, Dr. Anastasia Kelekis-Cholakis and Dr. Doug Eyolfson

$6.1M for better access to dental care 

The Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry received more than $6.1 million in federal funding to improve access to care for marginalized Manitobans and give students experience in caring for underserved populations.  

The funding supports four UM projects through Health Canada’s Oral Health Access Fund, which supports initiatives that reduce barriers to care for groups including children, Indigenous Peoples, newcomers and seniors. Read more

Dr. Sabine Mai gives a tour of the Nano and Cell Imaging Facility during its grand opening.

New home for Nano and Cell Imaging Facility 

The Rady Faculty’s Nano and Cell Imaging Facility (NCIF) has a new home on the Bannatyne campus. 

After three years of planning and renovations, the facility moved from CancerCare Manitoba to the department of physiology and pathophysiology on the fourth floor of the Basic Medical Sciences Building. 

NCIF is open to students, faculty and researchers from across Canada and beyond. Read more 

Elder Charlotte Nolin

Honouring transgender lives 

More than 60 people attended the first Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony held on the Bannatyne campus. 

The day is observed on Nov. 20 to remember transgender people who have been lost to transphobic violence, suicide and other violent deaths. Speakers called for safety for all trans people. 

Elder Charlotte Nolin, a two-spirit Elder-in-residence at Ongomiizwin, urged those in attendance to speak out when they witness discrimination toward trans people. Read more 

Md. Abdul Aziz, Deanne Nixie Miao and Barrett Monchka.

Vanier Scholars from Rady Faculty 

Three of the four UM PhD students awarded Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships in 2025 – each worth $150,000 over three years – hail from the Rady Faculty.  

Md. Abdul Aziz, College of Pharmacy, is studying patterns of antidepressant use in Manitoba, and why some patients discontinue treatment. Read more  

Deanne Nixie Miao, Max Rady College of Medicine, is researching the genetics of permanent hearing loss caused by cisplatin, a common cancer drug. Read more 

Barrett Monchka, College of Community and Global Health, is improving data-linkage techniques to enhance research reliability, efficiency and privacy. Read more 

Nitesh Sanghai

New hope for ALS patients 

Nitesh Sanghai, a PhD candidate in the College of Pharmacy, and his supervisor, Dr. Geoffrey Tranmer, co-invented a promising new drug candidate for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), earning Sanghai the Mitacs Innovation Award. 

The drug, borsantrazole, offers an improved version of edaravone, one of the few treatments currently available in North America to slow ALS progression. 

Still in pre-clinical testing, borsantrazole has shown strong safety and efficacy in lab mice engineered to mimic the disease. Read more 

Dr. Tamara Taillieu will study population data to understand the effects of legalization on vulnerable children and youth in Manitoba.

Funding boost for early-career researchers 

Five assistant professors from the Rady Faculty were among 24 recipients of nearly $1.8 million in New Investigator Operating Grants from Research Manitoba.  

The program supports researchers within four years of their first academic appointment, providing up to two years of funding to help establish research programs, build collaborations and generate results for future national-level grants. Read more 

Season’s Greetings, everyone, and congratulations on all the hard work you have put in this year across the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. In the past year we’ve seen a lot of our programs expanding. We’ve also seen transformative leadership changes, with new deans bringing their vision to the College of Nursing, the College of Pharmacy and the College of Community and Global Health.

Among our highlights in 2025, in September more than 280 alumni from all the Rady colleges gathered for our Homecoming Breakfast, filling the Brodie Centre atrium with energy and excitement. We organized and hosted many other significant events, including a symposium on the recruitment and retention of Indigenous scholars in the Rady Faculty — something that’s critical to fulfilling our obligations under the Calls to Action made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Another productive event was a workshop on the Learning Health System, sponsored by the George & Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation. It focused on finding solutions to the issues facing the health system today, which is a goal we all share in the Rady Faculty. I am proud to be part of a multi-disciplinary UM community that invests so much in caring for Manitobans. I am also proud of all our efforts to advance equity, access and participation. 

As the year comes to a close, I sincerely thank you for all your dedication. I wish you a peaceful and restful holiday season, and I look forward to working with you in the new year.

At 33 years old, the Red River Métis woman with three small children knew she was taking on a major challenge.

“I needed a good career to support my kids,” she remembers. “I was determined.”

This year, all the determination that McDonald has brought to improving Indigenous wellness was recognized with an Indspire Award – the highest national honour in the Indigenous community.

From the beginning, she had a passion for serving communities. “Community, population and public health are the core to good health and wellness,” she says.

McDonald, who grew up in Winnipeg, entered UM through the Access Program, which provides Indigenous students with academic, personal and cultural supports that she found invaluable.

After completing her bachelor of arts, she became one of five Indigenous students in her UM medical school class. The five were “adopted” by the team at the Northern Medical Unit (now Ongomiizwin – Health Services).

“They gave us a place to study and created opportunities for us to gain experiences and build community. That really set me on the path to work in Indigenous health,” McDonald says.

“I finished medical school through all the challenges, including the overt racism in the health-care system.”

That Indigenous-specific racism must be confronted, she says.

“How do you treat that scared mom with a sick child at Children’s Emergency in the middle of the night? Is there shaming and blaming? Are there assumptions that they’re using drugs and alcohol, or that there’s an abusive situation going on?

“We have a responsibility to call it out for what it is, and work to make change.”

After completing her medical degree in 1998, McDonald did postgraduate training in community medicine and psychiatry.

Now retired in Victoria, she spent most of her career in British Columbia, attaining leadership positions such as executive director of Aboriginal health at the B.C. Ministry of Health and chief medical officer at the province’s First Nations Health Authority.

Her work ranged from advancing anti-racism in health care to addressing the opioid crisis in First Nations communities.

“As an Indigenous woman, I could connect with people who wanted traditional medicines, or wanted an Elder to visit, or just wanted somebody who understood what was going on with them,” she says.

“Indigenous health and wellness are about relationship and respect. It’s about working together with common goals. That’s how we worked on developing the First Nations Health Authority in B.C. – through one meeting at a time, one insight at a time, finding barriers and ways to move over or around them, or to create new pathways without barriers.”

Better Indigenous health care starts with compassion, McDonald says.

“As health professionals, we have a responsibility to welcome people with care and consideration.

“Transformative change needs to happen at a political level, but it also needs to happen at the bedside. We need to get past the fear and ignorance and just care about people.”

Read more about the Indspire Awards: https://indspire.ca/events/indspire-awards/.

The event, titled Visionary Lens: An Educational Tool, showcased the creativity and social awareness of students as they explored health and justice through art.

Dr. Punam Mehta

Dr. Punam Mehta, an instructor in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences’ College of Community and Global Health, founded Visionary Lens, which began as a classroom project in 2021. She teaches courses on program planning and health promotion, centring Indigenous and feminist voices – an approach reflected in the exhibit’s themes.

“Visionary Lens uses storytelling to promote respect and dignity in community and global health,” said Mehta. “It’s about transforming how we teach, learn and understand health and wellness.”

In her photography, student Hilary Rosteski captured the emotional weight and personal meaning of a treaty card, showing how it can represent generations of history, identity and survival.

“My photograph speaks to the theme of continued colonization,” said Rosteski. “This piece of plastic holds a lot of meaning. It means more to me than a piece of ID. It is my cultural background, my family background…. It’s a type of colonization, a treaty card still happening in Canada, having to carry around a piece of plastic that has proof of what ethnicity an individual belongs to.”

Hilary Rosteski presents her image at the Visionary Lens exhibit.

About the exhibit

Mehta said people who viewed the exhibit “were stepping into the lives, experiences and imaginations of students who are learning to see the world through the lens of respect, dignity and justice.”

The exhibit featured 50 photographs selected from more than 500 submissions by Mehta’s undergraduate students.

“Students are not just learners – they are creators, observers and ethical storytellers,” she said. “Our work is grounded in feminist documentary photography…. Every photograph is a relationship, every story requires listening and every image carries a responsibility to reflect the strength and dignity of its subjects.”

Diverse student perspectives

Students explored topics such as homelessness, food insecurity, aging, Indigenous health and violence against women.

“What the photographs revealed are intimate, powerful moments,” said Mehta.

One image came from a partially deaf student who reflected on sound and silence, showing how communication, identity and community take shape in ways that are often overlooked.

Artwork by a student who is partially deaf, featured in the Visionary Lens exhibit.

Mehta said the exhibit included work from students with diverse backgrounds, providing local, rural and international perspectives.

“I’m also empowering Indigenous students and diversity in the classroom. I’m talking about anti-Black, anti-Indian, anti-Asian racism,” she said. “Visionary Lens aims to bring the human race together.”

Mehta said the classroom remains one of the most radical spaces of possibility, and Visionary Lens is a testament to that.

“The College of Community and Global Health has an opportunity to support marginalized communities and to touch Indigenous peoples’ lives in the path of reconciliation in ways that are transformative,” said Mehta.

Hoque, who studies health sciences in UM’s interdisciplinary health program on the Fort Garry campus, said: “I want to see what’s available and who does what. As a first-year student, I really don’t know what’s available.” 

The information village on Joe Doupe concourse.

The annual Graduate Studies Open House started with an information village where students visited booths, followed by presentations from 13 graduate programs in Theatre B at the Basic Medical Sciences building.  

Departments highlighted what makes them unique and the supports available, including financial assistance, research funding and professional development opportunities. 

Presenters also talked about what graduates’ careers can look like in the future, from working in academia and industry to non-profits and government.  

“When I came here today, I thought, ‘Whoa! There’s so much more than I imagined,’” said Hoque. “There are so many opportunities.” 

Why choose graduate studies? 

Dr. Samantha Pauls, assistant professor at the College of Pharmacy and Rady Faculty programming lead for graduate student professional development, spoke about why students should consider graduate studies – both the professional and research programs. 

The professional programs, which include master of physician assistant studies, master of public health, master of science in rehabilitation sciences, master of nursing and others, emphasize coursework and clinical training. 

Dr. Samantha Pauls addresses event participants in Theatre B at the Basic Medical Sciences building.

“Health care is a team sport. MDs and nurses just can’t do all of the health care that’s needed for our communities and society,” said Pauls. 

“These professional programs – that are master’s programs – really will turn you into competent and compassionate members of the health-care team as a whole.” 

The research programs in departments such as medical microbiology and infectious diseases and human anatomy and cell science typically require a thesis and involve significant research work.  

Pauls said undergraduate studies focus on “what we already know.” Graduate research asks, “What don’t we know?” and challenges students to add new knowledge that could lead to better health treatments and policies.  

Building on a passion for research 

Hans Sanchez, a soon-to-graduate student in microbiology on the Fort Garry campus, is considering graduate studies. His interest lies in improving human health through research. 

He has research experience through a co-op term in associate professor Dr. Ayesha Saleem’s lab at the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry. 

Sanchez attended the open house to learn about what different departments and colleges provide to their graduate students. 

“I’m here to figure out which grad program will best support my research interests,” he said.  

“What classes can we take? Do we have a stipend? I love presenting, so I’m finding out what opportunities they have for grad students to present their work – whether it’s local or international. I want to be in a program that will support my academic goal.” 

Graduate programs offer interdisciplinary paths 

Both Sanchez and Hoque were excited to learn that graduate studies offer interdisciplinary opportunities. 

“Programs aren’t limited to their college’s name – pharmacy programs, for example, explore much more than pharmaceuticals,” said Sanchez. 

Hans Sanchez (left) and Raeesa Hoque (right) at the University of Manitoba’s Bannatyne campus.

Hoque, whose interest is in neuroscience and global health, said she appreciates the knowledge she gained at the event. 

“This is why the open house is so good – to network, to talk, to do hands-on activities,” she said. “After the presentations, it made me think maybe I’d want to do a joint program instead of focusing on just one department.” 

Sanchez shared some advice for students considering research. 

“Put yourself in uncomfortable situations and get your foot in the door,” he said. “Go to those open houses, talk to those professors. They’re there to help and guide you in achieving your career goals. And maybe one day, you’ll also be a leader in health care. It just takes one small but important step.” 

*** 

Learn more about graduate programs in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at  umanitoba.ca/health-sciences/programs-of-study 

Drawing from their own lived experience, Sebring brings firsthand insight to the challenges of chronic illness. Their research focuses on functional neurological disorder (FND) – a condition that causes multiple neurological symptoms without a clear medical cause. 

“I was appalled by my experiences as a patient trying to find a diagnosis and how difficult it was to get the care I needed for debilitating neurological symptoms,” they said. “At the same time, I was also fascinated by what I was learning about the brain and how these symptoms manifest.”  

As they learned more about FND, they were inspired to focus their research on supporting others with FND and involving the community in improving care. 

Sebring said no research currently exists on the experiences of people with FND in Canada. They hope their work will change that. 

They completed an undergraduate degree in women’s and gender studies at the University of Winnipeg before pursuing their master’s and PhD at UM. Sebring is a 2022 Vanier Scholar and 2025 Research Manitoba PhD studentship recipient.  

Sebring shared more about their journey in community health and how art became central to their research. 

“Lift the Weight or Deepen the Wound” by Vaishali Sharma

What challenges do people with FND face that make it different from other conditions? 

FND symptoms can range from cognitive issues – such as memory and concentration problems – to speech disorders, limb weakness and seizures. These conditions can be quite unpredictable, and health-care providers may know little about them.  

Patients often struggle to access care, frequently shuffled between specialists without clear direction. Some physicians refer patients to psychiatrists, who then send them back to neurologists. This referral pattern creates a cycle of confusion and stigma. 

They’re not considered high priority, even when FND affects their daily lives. Many are accused of faking their symptoms because test results show nothing abnormal.  

Can you tell us more about your research and how it can impact health care? 

I conduct qualitative research with people living with FND across Canada, using interviews, conversations and art-based methods. 

Participants first share their experiences with the health-care system through interviews. Then, they take part in a six- to eight-week workshop where they create art that reflects their stories. This approach gives us rich insights – often ones we wouldn’t have come across through interviews alone. 

My goal is to raise awareness in the medical community and ensure patients’ perspectives are reflected in research and health-care education. By centring their voices, we can create meaningful change that addresses their needs and concerns. 

Left, “It’s All in Your Head” by Bronwyn Berg; right, “Une connection à la fois” by Amélie M.

How has the College of Community and Global Health supported you in your learning? 

It’s been a great college to be in because we get a solid grounding in health research, our health system and all these different dimensions of what that research can look like. CCGH has been very open-minded since my study isn’t what typically comes to mind when people think of health research. 

I’ve also received mentorship, travel funding and other forms of support. Those resources have helped me pursue different professional opportunities, which has been exciting. 

What’s next? 

I recently launched a website featuring artwork created by research participants, where health-care providers and Canadians can learn from their experiences.  

My next project will explore what recovery looks like for people with FND, including the creation of visual timelines that map their journeys. I’m also envisioning an interprofessional health education initiative – training health professionals across disciplines to better support those living with FND. 

Through my continued commitment to this community, I hope to shed light on the realities of FND and help patients access the care they deserve. 

*** 

To learn more about Sebring’s research, visit: undoingdisorder.ca.

The field of neuroscience has a particularly male-centric track record, two speakers said in their presentations to about 85 attendees at the 2025 Equity Symposium organized by Women in Science: Development, Outreach and Mentorship (WISDOM).

“Over the past 50 years, neuroscience has exploded with discovery,” said Dr. Jennifer Rabin, a clinical neuropsychologist and scientist at the University of Toronto.

“Most of this research has been carried out on the male brain, including male cells, male animals and male human participants.”

Only a tiny number of imaging studies have examined the brain in relation to women’s experiences, such as pregnancy, menopause and hormone therapy, Rabin said. “We know more about the surface of Mars than we do about women’s brain health.”

Rabin spoke about Alzheimer’s disease, noting that nearly two-thirds of people with the disease are women, and research is needed on how menopause may play a part in its development.

The professor said she is happy to see the drug lecanemab approved in Canada for early-stage Alzheimer’s, but the fact that it slowed cognitive decline by 43 per cent in male patients and only 12 per cent in female patients was buried in the supplemental material of the key research paper.

Dr. Tamara Franklin

Neuroscientist Dr. Tamara Franklin from Dalhousie University also spoke at the Oct. 30 gathering held by WISDOM, an organization supported by the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences that connects and encourages women in science.

Franklin described how women’s diseases receive scant research support in comparison to how prevalent they are. “Female-dominant diseases are underfunded, which means they’re also understudied.”

Emphasizing the need for sex and gender-based analysis in health research, Franklin said male rodents have been overwhelmingly favoured for lab studies, based on invalid assumptions that hormonal variability only affects females.

A study in Franklin’s lab used female mice to explore whether women who experience stressors such as abuse during adolescence – a time of important brain development – are more likely to experience postpartum depression when they later give birth.

Comparing mouse mothers that had been subjected to stress as adolescents with a control group, Franklin’s team found that the stressed mothers gained less weight for lactation, provided less maternal care to their babies, were less motivated to start grooming themselves, and ate less of a food that required effort to access.

Another strong theme at the symposium was that of engaging and collaborating with communities to advance health equity.

Speaker Dr. Purnima Madhivanan, a physician-scientist at the University of Arizona, described the extremely high rate of cervical cancer in India.

Madhivanan led a community-based research project, revealing that women’s reasons for not being screened for the cancer included fear and stigma, as well as lack of autonomy because of needing their husbands’ and families’ permission.

With awareness of such barriers, successful screening programs have taken a community approach, integrating grassroots female peer education and mobile clinics.

UM speakers at the symposium included Dr. Marissa Becker, an infectious disease physician who is a professor in the College of Community and Global Health, and Dr. Josée Lavoie, dean of the College of Community and Global Health.

Becker described a UM study in Nairobi, Kenya that aims to improve HIV and sexually transmitted infection programs for sex workers by adopting a place-based approach, focusing on “risky places” rather than “risky people.”

In partnership with local people, researchers are mapping locations where sex workers and those who use their services congregate, so that health services can be optimized.

Lavoie spoke about the Qanuinngitsiarutiksait program of research, which was developed in partnership with Inuit Elders to document patterns of health and other service use by Inuit living in Manitoba, or traveling to Manitoba from Nunavut.

The project is grounded in Inuit principles and validates Inuit ways of knowing. “If [our research] does not resonate with them, we got it wrong,” Lavoie said about Inuit communities.

The symposium also included equity-themed research presentations by six students.   

The granting program is designed to support early-career researchers within the first four years of their initial academic appointment.

By providing up to two years of operating funding, the program helps new faculty members to establish independent research programs, build collaborative networks and generate the results needed to compete for larger, national-level grants.

Additional funds were awarded this year as a result of a recent $5-million increase to Research Manitoba’s operating budget by the provincial government.

The recipients from the Rady Faculty are:

Dr. Alicia Berard

Dr. Alicia Berard, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher with the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM)

Project: “Investigating the role of mTOR in the vaginal microenvironment”

Grant: $130,000 (two years)

While studying bacterial vaginosis, which is associated with an increased risk of sexually transmitted infections and poor reproductive health outcomes, Berard’s team has found a link between a cellular pathway called mTOR and the vaginal microbiome. They will investigate the effects of mTOR in the vaginal tissue barrier, with the goal of developing future therapies.

Dr. Tara Horrill

Dr. Tara Horrill, assistant professor, College of Nursing

Project: “Co-development and feasibility testing of a social needs assessment tool in an outpatient oncology setting”

Grant: $130,000 (two years)

Horrill’s study aims to introduce a social needs assessment tool into outpatient care at CancerCare Manitoba. With CancerCare and patient partners, her team will co-develop a tool to assess whether patients with cancer face social challenges such as housing instability and lack of transportation. Connecting patients to resources to address their social needs will promote more equitable access to cancer treatment.

Dr. Joel Pearson

Dr. Joel Pearson, assistant professor of pharmacology and therapeutics, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher with CHRIM

Project: “Understanding the role of a TEAD/homeobox axis in the genesis and evolution of distinct small cell lung cancer subtypes”

Grant: $130,000 (two years)

In small cell lung cancer, most tumours develop resistance to initial treatment within months. Very little is known about what causes this rapid drug resistance and disease relapse. Pearson’s team will study how a protein called TEAD is involved in this process, with the eventual goal of using drugs to prevent treatment resistance.

Dr. Tamara Taillieu

Dr. Tamara Taillieu, assistant professor in the College of Community and Global Health; researcher with CHRIM

Project: “A population-based examination of the impacts of the legalization of recreational use of cannabis on vulnerable children and youth from Manitoba”

Grant: $130,000 (two years)

Taillieu’s team will use population data to study changes in hospital and emergency department visits, criminal charges related to marijuana, and impaired driving among vulnerable children and teenagers in Manitoba since marijuana was legalized for adults. The findings will potentially inform educational materials and programs aimed at decreasing marijuana-related harms among children and youth.

Dr. Cedric Tremblay

Dr. Cedric Tremblay, assistant professor of immunology, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher with CHRIM

Project: “Investigating the role of interferon signaling in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia”

Grant: $130,000 (two years)

Tremblay’s team has recently found that in acute leukemia, cancer cells that resist chemotherapy express markers associated with inflammation. Building on this finding, they will investigate how inflammation contributes to leukemia development and relapse. The long-term goal is to reduce the length of chemotherapy needed for achieving complete remission in children and teens with acute leukemia.

Monchka, who holds a computer science degree from the University of Manitoba, is also a data analyst at the George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation (CHI) — a UM/Shared Health research unit. 

He completed a master’s degree with the department of community health sciences (now CCGH) at the Max Rady College of Medicine and recently received a prestigious 2025 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship to fund his PhD. 

We spoke with Monchka about his path to health sciences and his research. 

What inspired you to pursue a career in health research and drew you to community and global health?  

I worked as a software developer in industry for a few years before pursuing a joint role at UM with CHI and the Vaccine and Drug Evaluation Centre. That exposure to population health research sparked my passion for the field, and I’ve now been with CHI for 10 years. 

I find it extremely satisfying to contribute to our understanding of human health and produce findings that inform health-care policy and planning. I also enjoy improving the methods we use to ensure research findings are reliable.  

Can you tell us about your research and how it could impact health care in Canada? 

Barret Monchka presents his research in a meeting room at the University of Manitoba’s Bannatyne campus.

My research focuses on improving how we link data from multiple sources such as education and health records, using datasets securely accessed from the Manitoba Population Research Data Repository at Rady Faculty’s Manitoba Centre for Health Policy and Statistics Canada’s Research Data Centre. Better linkage helps us understand how social factors like education, income and living conditions influence health.  

Linking data across systems is challenging. For example, schools and health-care systems use different identifiers, so we rely on non-unique information like names and birthdates, which can lead to mismatches. If these mistakes disproportionately affect certain groups — by gender or age, for instance — they can distort study results and worsen health inequities.  

The development of AI models can improve these datasets to more accurately and equitably predict health outcomes. I’m also evaluating privacy-protecting techniques that encrypt personal information before linking, and assessing whether using AI to accelerate linkage increases errors or introduces bias.  
 

How does your role at CHI complement your research at CCGH? 

At CHI, our focus is on the patient’s perspective. Patients, caregivers and their families are involved in every step of the research process. 

Patients are increasingly concerned about data privacy — how their personal information is used and who has access to it. Participants may be reluctant to join health studies if they feel their data isn’t secure.   

In response to these concerns, I’ve spent the past few years at CHI investigating current data linkage practices and identifying key areas for improvement — work that laid the foundation for my PhD research. 
 

Who has mentored you in your research?  

CCGH faculty are experts in their fields, and I’ve been fortunate to learn from many of them. Dr. Lisa Lix, professor at CCGH and Canada Research Chair in methods for electronic health data quality, has been instrumental in guiding me. She’s helped me hone my research skills, especially in developing improved statistical and machine learning methods. 

Dr. William Leslie, professor at the Max Rady College of Medicine and director of the Manitoba Bone Mineral Density Program, is a leading osteoporosis researcher. He mentored me in using AI for medical image analysis. We’ve worked on novel research projects to assess how AI can automatically identify vertebral fractures — fractures in the spine — in bone mineral density scans. 

How has CCGH supported your learning? 

CCGH has a strong reputation for producing outstanding graduates skilled in community health research — both qualitative and quantitative. The program gave me a solid foundation in applied biostatistics and quantitative epidemiology through high-quality courses and mentorship. 

The college is very supportive of graduate students applying for competitive funding. The recommendations and advice I received from CCGH faculty were instrumental in helping me secure awards, including the Vanier Scholarship.

“Representation alone is not enough,” said Dr. Angie Bruce, vice-president (Indigenous) of UM. “We must move beyond tokenism and towards a genuine commitment to inclusion, belonging and respect.” 

Bruce was a keynote speaker at the day-long symposium on the Bannatyne campus on the theme “Reimagining the recruitment and retention of Indigenous scholars in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.”  

The event was co-chaired by the Rady Faculty’s Dr. Peter Nickerson, dean, and Dr. Marcia Anderson, vice-dean, Indigenous health, social justice and anti-racism. 

Reflecting the fact that about 20 per cent of Manitoba’s population is First Nations, Métis or Inuit, the Rady Faculty’s goal is for 20 per cent of faculty members to be Indigenous, Nickerson said. 

Indigenous scholars will soon be hired for a new endowed professorship and chair, both in Indigenous health, he said. 

In her address, Bruce said First Nations, Métis and Inuit faculty members often feel isolated and become exhausted from fighting to create space for Indigenous knowledge.   

Some at UM, she said, have been criticized by their departments for incorporating Indigenous content into the curriculum. Yet at the same time, they have been pressured to teach Indigenous courses that are outside their academic discipline. 

“Leaders must ensure that Indigenous faculty are not only welcomed, but are respected for their academic expertise,” Bruce said. 

The current metrics used for academic promotion and tenure tend to disadvantage Indigenous scholars, speakers said. Giving faculty members credit for community service was suggested as one way to address this imbalance. 

Indigenous academics who attain leadership roles become mentors who “light the way” and help newer Indigenous scholars to navigate the complex university bureaucracy, speakers said. 

(Left to right): Panelists included physician Dr. Sara Goulet, occupational therapist Braydn Matheson, nurse Shayna Moore and pharmacist Derrick Sanderson.

Symposium panelist Shayna Moore, a Cree nurse who graduated from UM last year, recalled being inspired by Maori nursing leaders during an experiential learning trip to New Zealand.   

“Their instructors were Indigenous, and their researchers. It allowed me to see myself in a position like that,” said Moore, who is now a coach for Indigenous students at the College of Nursing. 

Many Indigenous scholars experience a “push and pull” between their academic responsibilities and their community obligations, speakers said. 

Panelist Braydn Matheson, a UM-educated occupational therapist with ties to Peguis First Nation, said that during her studies, she had to take responsibility for a child from her community. She was fortunate, she said, that Indigenous faculty members were supportive. 

Several speakers talked about masking their authentic identities in order to feel accepted in academia.  

“I feel, every time I walk in this building, like I need to be somebody I’m not,” said Dr. Sara Goulet, a UM-educated Métis family doctor who is associate dean (admissions) of the Max Rady College of Medicine.  

Goulet credited her success as a leader to support from other Indigenous faculty. “It is so important for us to have each other,” she said.  

Derrick Sanderson, a UM pharmacy alum who is a member of Opaskwayak Cree Nation, said all UM students in the health sciences need to learn about the holistic Indigenous view of health. 

The event’s second keynote address was given by two leaders from the University of Winnipeg (U of W): Dr. Pavlina Radia, provost and vice-president (academic), and Dr. Chantal Fiola, associate vice-president (Indigenous engagement).  

They spoke about U of W’s recent “cluster hire” of nine Indigenous scholars. 

That process, they said, included ensuring that hiring committees were trained in unbiased practices and cultural sensitivity; circulating job postings widely within Indigenous channels; verifying Indigenous identity as a condition of employment; and providing “wraparound support” to Indigenous hires.  

Radia and Fiola said that in the future, they hope to see Elders and Indigenous community members represented on hiring panels. That’s currently not permitted under the U of W and UM faculty collective agreements. 

Panelists Dr. Wanda Phillips-Beck, Indigenous Research Chair in Nursing and Seven Generations Scholar at the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba, and Dr. Linda Diffey, director of Ongomiizwin – Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing – Research, said the highest priority for many Indigenous scholars is to do research or clinical work that centres on their community’s needs. 

“A lot of scholars want to have direct relationships and ties to their communities,” Phillips-Beck said. 

The panelists called for transformative policy change at UM so professionals across all health disciplines can maintain clinical roles in communities while simultaneously holding faculty positions. Currently, only medical professionals have such flexibility.  

For Indigenous alumni in professions such as nursing, working as a mentor, coach or preceptor (professional who supervises learners) in an Indigenous community could serve as a gateway to a Rady academic appointment, suggested panelist Melanie MacKinnon, executive director of Ongomiizwin. 

“I wonder if … we have an opportunity to reframe what we mean by ‘faculty,’” she said. “We can start bringing them into our university community when they’re practising in community.”   

The insights and ideas that were shared at the symposium will be used in formulating a strategy for the recruitment and retention of Indigenous scholars in the Rady Faculty, organizers said.