91社区

Project Supervisor

Professor Jennifer Fishman

Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy

Project Description

The "Bridging the Global Gap in Abortion Access through Telehealth" project aims to address the global gap in abortion access by leveraging telehealth technologies. Recognizing the disparities in abortion access across different countries, this project seeks to examine the use of telehealth to provide confidential and compassionate care to individuals in need, regardless of geographic location or legal restrictions.

Central to this project is a strategic collaboration with Women on Web, a pioneering international online abortion provider renowned for its commitment to abortion research, advocacy, and service provision. Women on Web (WoW) is a Canadian non-profit organization, founded in 2005, and is a digital community composed of medical practitioners, help desk members, and researchers. Over its19 years of operation, WoW has been offering safe abortion care in restrictive settings and has also been leading abortion research and advocacy in the field of telemedicine. Through innovative telehealth solutions and remote follow-up care, WoW offers non-judgmental and compassionate abortion care to individuals and communities living in restrictive settings.

Research lies at the core of Women on Web鈥檚 operations. WoW integrates research with service provision and advocacy. In the past, WoW's research has played a crucial role in shedding light on online abortion trajectories in restrictive environments and has also been instrumental in informing legal reforms in several countries. Within the framework of this internship program, we are looking for interns to join our research program to support our research efforts on abortion access trajectories.

Student Responsibilities and Deliverables

The intern will be assigned to analyze a dataset specific to a chosen country. This dataset comprises demographic information of individuals seeking abortion services, details regarding the causes of unwanted pregnancies, factors prompting them to seek abortion through Women on Web, and insights into their abortion experiences.

The primary responsibilities of the intern will encompass conducting a thorough descriptive analysis of the dataset assigned. This analysis will involve synthesizing key trends and patterns within the data, such as demographic characteristics of abortion seekers, prevalent causes of unwanted pregnancies reasons for seeking abortion services, and variations in abortion experiences across different age groups.

If he/she/they wishes, the intern will also have the opportunity to delve deeper into the data to identify correlations or associations between various variables. This could entail examining relationships between demographic factors and reasons for seeking abortion or abortion experiences.

The intern will be supported by the WoW research team throughout the data analysis process. The final deliverable of this project is a report reflecting on the data analysis. Overall, this role presents an opportunity for the intern to gain hands-on experience in data analysis within the context of abortion research, contributing to a deeper understanding of abortion access and experiences on a global scale.

Project Team

Dr. Jennifer Fishman will supervise the student, who will work closely with the research team at Women on Web. The research team at Women on Web is led by a researcher, Dr. Hazal Halay, affiliated with Sciences Po Paris, France. The intern will primarily interact with these two researchers and will work under their supervision.

The intern is not required to participate in lab or team meetings but is welcome to join if they wish. However, the intern is expected to share updates and progress regarding the data analysis and is to attend regular bimonthly meetings with the researchers.

Technical Skills

The intern is expected to have basic data analysis skills, including some proficiency in statistical analysis and data manipulation techniques for quantitative data, and ideally qualitative data as well. These skills will be essential for conducting the data analysis, identifying trends and patterns.

Familiarity with data visualization tools and software packages such as R, Python, or SPSS would be an asset.

While prior experience in data analysis is preferred, candidates with basic knowledge in data analysis and willingness to learn new skills should be sufficient.

Background can be in any area, but interest in reproductive health is essential.

Transferable Skills

The intern is expected to demonstrate strong critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills to draw insightful conclusions from the data. Attention to detail is paramount for this task, as even minor nuances in the data can lead to significant findings. Additionally, the intern should possess a keen eye for detail to ensure accuracy and reliability in their analysis.

We highly value teamwork and effective cross-cultural communication skills, given the collaborative nature of our work and the different partners involved. We therefore expect the intern to be open and interested in working on a collaborative, international team.

Project Supervisor

Professor Jill Baumgartner

Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy | Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health

Project Description

The internship will offer the intern an opportunity to work at the intersection of climate change and health. The intern will be involved in organizing sessions for a high-profile conference on climate change and health, coordinating with student groups around campus, and contributing to impactful research through literature reviews and program reviews. If you have a creative flair, there's also the opportunity to help develop visualizations and other engaging content for the Centre for Climate Change and Health, blending science with design. This hands-on experience will provide students with a deeper understanding of the health challenges posed by climate change.

Student Responsibilities and Deliverables

The deliverables of the internship can vary based on the intern's own interests and skillset. If you are applying for this project, please explain which aspects of the project description you would most like to work on and why they interest you. The deliverables will be finalized during discussions between the intern and supervisor and formalized into a workplan at the start of the internship.

Project Team

The intern will be supervised by Professor Jill Baumgartner, and will also work with Professors Jura Augustinavicius, Scott Weichenthal, and Jonathan Chevrier.

Technical Skills

There are no specific technical skills required for this internship. Candidates should explain in their applications how they are well-suited to or experienced with the deliverables they are most interested in working on, as well as any other skills or experience that seem relevant to the focus of the project.

Project Supervisor

Professor Matthew Hunt

School of Physical and Occupational Therapy

Project Description

A living laboratory in rehabilitation ethics (LEVIER) has been established at the Institut de r茅adaptation Gingras-Lindsay-de-Montr茅al (IRGLM). The LEVIER undertakes participatory and collaborative research with members of the rehabilitation hospital community, including patients, caregivers, staff, and managers. It aims to develop innovative approaches to address ethical challenges by mobilizing members of the community to co-create actions, particularly by integrating patients into the process. An initial hospital-wide consultation process is nearing completion and has enabled us to identify a range of ethical concerns and questions.

The project team will review issues raised by the consultation process and select one to be the focus of a first co-design process. Selection criteria, defined collaboratively, will consider the relevance, potential impact on patients and the IRGLM community, and feasibility within the scope of the living laboratory. The team will then develop a research question and conduct a rapid literature review related to the chosen issue, providing a foundation for the co-creation process. Approximately 10people (patients, caregivers, clinicians, managers, and other staff members) will be invited to join co-creation workshops. We anticipate that three to four sessions will be needed to complete the iteration聽cycles. The ideation activities held in these co-creation workshops will be determined by the team (e.g., brainstorming, World Caf茅, mind mapping, etc.) and will visually track the co-creation process. The workshops aim to identify possible approaches and action plans to address the selected ethical issue. Following these steps, one or two concrete actions will be retained, and the team will operationalize the steps (action plan, timeline, and resources) needed for their implementation and evaluation.

Student Responsibilities and Deliverables

The intern will participate in multiple steps of the co-design process. They will collaborate with other members of the research team on the literature review of the selected topic in rehabilitation ethics to inform the co-creation process. They will support the implementation and facilitation of co-creation workshops with patients, caregivers, clinicians, and staff, and contribute to the analysis of data that is collected. The primary deliverable will be a project report that summarizes the literature review findings, describes the co-creation process, and presents the action plan with steps and timelines for implementing the proposed strategies in the rehabilitation hospital.

Project Team

The intern will work closely with the project team which includes four researchers, two PhD students, a patient partner, a clinician and a manager. The intern will also interact with other members of the LEVIER鈥檚 Scientific Committee and the participants in the co-design workshops.

The project will be supervised by Matthew Hunt (School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, 91社区) in close collaboration with Julien D茅ry (D茅partement d鈥檈rgoth茅rapie, UQTR), who led the consultation phase. Camille Desforges, the project coordinator for LEVIER, will also play a crucial role in supporting the intern, helping coordinate activities, and ensuring smooth communication across the team. The intern will participate in regular lab and team meetings, with tasks requiring both independent work (e.g., literature review and workshop preparation) and collaborative efforts with other team members. Mentorship will be provided throughout, ensuring integration into the team and fostering professional development.

Technical Skills

• Training in a relevant field (e.g. rehabilitation, bioethics, health sciences, social sciences)
• Experience (or at least strong interest) in qualitative research and participatory methods. Experience using qualitative analysis software is an asset
• Experience reviewing and synthesizing academic literature

Transferable Skills

• Bilingual (French and English 鈥� spoken and written), with excellent communication skills
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team, as well as accomplishing tasks independently
• Capacity to facilitate group activities
• Strong analytic abilities

Supplemental Materials

Please provide writing samples in French and English.

Project Supervisor

Professor Am茅lie Quesnel Vall茅e

Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy | Department of Sociology

Project Description

This internship will contribute to a literature review exploring the determinants of care-seeking behavior in situations where individuals face incomplete information about their health, particularly in the context of advancements in RNA-based therapies, such as those pursued in the DNA to RNA (D2R) project.听

The review will synthesize research聽from聽health economics, behavioral science, and decision theory to understand how individuals navigate uncertainties in medical decision-making. Key factors expected to influence care-seeking include socioeconomic status, health literacy, perceived severity of symptoms, and trust in medical systems. These determinants are likely to shape patients' ability to interpret ambiguous or incomplete information and their willingness to seek timely care, especially when innovative treatments, such as RNA-based therapies, are involved.

The review will examine disparities in access to cutting-edge treatments caused by information asymmetry, which may disproportionately affect vulnerable populations. It will also explore how behavioral economics frameworks, such as loss aversion and the status quo bias, influence patient choices under uncertainty. In addition, the review will analyze potential policy responses and the role of healthcare providers in bridging these gaps through education and communication strategies, aimed at improving patient outcomes when faced with incomplete information.

Given the rapidly evolving landscape of molecular medicine, the D2R initiative will provide a unique opportunity to investigate these dynamics in real-time. This review will aim to identify gaps in the current literature, with particular attention to the need for empirical research on how emerging technologies influence care-seeking behavior and the role of equity in access to advanced treatments.

Student Responsibilities and Deliverables

Literature Search and Database

The intern will help set up a curated database (using reference management software like Zotero or EndNote) of relevant academic articles, reports, and grey literature on the determinants of care-seeking behavior and decision-making under incomplete information, particularly related to RNA-based therapies.

Final report and presentation

They will produce a final report (and associated poster presentation) of 5-10 pages summarizing their work, including the search methodology, key findings, gap analysis (this could include a matrix or table mapping where more research is needed), and potential policy or clinical practice implications.

The report will also feature an annotated bibliography in appendix summarizing the main findings, relevance, and quality of the sources reviewed through the semester.

Project Team

Prof Paul Wankah Nji (Dentistry)
The intern will participate in Prof. Quesnel-Vall茅e's lab meetings (with postdocs and grad students).

Technical Skills

Literature Review and Research Skills
Proficiency in conducting literature searches: Ability to navigate academic databases (e.g., PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus) and grey literature sources.
Experience in systematic reviews: Familiarity with systematic or scoping review methodologies, including search strategy design and inclusion/exclusion criteria.
Critical appraisal of sources: Ability to assess the quality, reliability, and relevance of research articles.

Analytical and Synthesis Skills
Thematic analysis: Competence in identifying key themes, trends, and patterns across diverse sources of literature.
Conceptual framework development: Skill in organizing and synthesizing research findings into coherent structures or models.
Gap analysis: Ability to identify research gaps and areas where further empirical work is needed.

Writing and Communication Skills
Academic writing: Strong ability to write clear, concise, and well-organized summaries, abstracts, and reports that align with academic standards.
Summarization skills: Experience with drafting annotated bibliographies and summarizing complex information in an accessible way.
Clarity and precision: Ability to translate technical, complex findings into understandable outputs for both academic and non-academic audiences.

Information Management and Organization
Reference management: Proficiency in tools like EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley to organize and cite sources efficiently.
Database creation: Ability to create and maintain a comprehensive, searchable database of relevant research materials.

Transferable Skills

Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis (asset)
Familiarity with research methodologies: Understanding of quantitative and qualitative research methods used in health economics, behavioral science, and healthcare decision-making.
Basic data analysis skills: Comfort with interpreting basic statistical findings聽from聽research articles.

Technology and Digital Literacy
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite: Ability to use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to create reports, tables, and presentations.
Data visualization tools: Experience with creating charts, graphs, or conceptual diagrams using tools like Canva, PowerPoint, or Tableau is a plus.

Attention to Detail
Accuracy: High attention to detail in documenting search strategies, categorizing sources, and ensuring accuracy in citing references and summarizing findings.

Time Management and Project Organization
Efficiency: Ability to manage a tight timeline and prioritize tasks effectively within a limited number of hours (120 hours).
Independence: Capable of working independently, taking initiative, and managing project milestones with minimal supervision.

Interdisciplinary Understanding
Knowledge of healthcare systems and policies: Familiarity with healthcare decision-making, equity in health access, and emerging medical technologies, especially RNA-based therapies.
Understanding of behavioral science and health economics: Background in disciplines relevant to care-seeking behavior, like health economics, sociology, or psychology, would be advantageous.

Project Supervisors

Professor Arijit Nandi

Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy | Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health

Project Description

According to the World Economic Forum鈥檚 2023 Global Gender Gap Report, India ranked nearly dead last, 142nd out of 146 countries, in terms of women鈥檚 economic participation and opportunity. In contrast to most other countries, labor force participation rates among India鈥檚 working-age women have declined precipitously over the past 40 years. A potential determinant of gender differences in labor force participation is discrimination in hiring practices on the part of prospective employers. However, this remains poorly understood, since it is challenging to identify discrimination in empirical research.

We aim to advance research in this area by conducting a large-scale 鈥渃orrespondence study鈥�. We will create sets of CVs that are identical in all applicant characteristics, such as educational background and work history, except for gender. Gender will be set by assigning either 鈥榤ale-sounding鈥� or 鈥榝emale-sounding鈥� names to applications聽at random. We will then submit CVs in response to job openings and measure how often prospective employers contact each hypothetical applicant. This will allow us to directly measure the impact of gender discrimination on potential hiring, as well as how the extent of discrimination may vary across applicant and job/employer characteristics. The internship project will contribute to the development of this larger project by helping to develop the core elements of the study design and methodology, which will be evaluated through a pilot study.

Student Responsibilities and Deliverables

1. Develop a tool for scraping application and employer information directly聽from聽job postings聽from聽prospective employers in the top online job portals in specific industries/sectors and cities in India, focusing on the 10 largest cities by population size;
2. Create an automated process for generating content for CVs (i.e., applicant鈥檚 biographical and employment data) using generative artificial intelligence tools;
3. Design system for generating applicants鈥� email addresses, to be submitted with their CVs, with all replies聽from聽prospective employers forwarded to a master account for monitoring correspondences; consider using a script to automatically code callbacks聽from聽prospective employers.
4. Contribute to pilot study for evaluating the methodology and mechanics of the correspondence study.

Project Team

The intern would be joining a multidisciplinary team of investigators, including epidemiologists, economists, and policy experts,聽from聽Canada and India, with experience with large-scale data collection and analysis. The intern will have bi-weekly meetings with investigators based at 91社区, and be welcomed to join meetings with the full team.

Technical Skills鈥�

Academic background in computer programming, informatics, and/or a data science related field; required skills include programming, with applications including web scraping and the use of generative AI. Interest in the social sciences, including themes related to gender equity, policy, and labor, is considered an asset.

Transferable Skill

The applicant should be able to work independently, think critically, communicate clearly, and present their work in an organization manner.

Project Supervisor

Professor Jura Augustinavicius

Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy

Project Description

Research has shown that climate change can impact mental health directly and indirectly. In turn, organizations such as the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) implement programs that seek to address health needs related both to climate change and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS). Nevertheless, there are gaps in knowledge as to what climate change and MHPSS programming is being implemented, how the climate change and MHPSS components are being integrated in programs together, and how the programs can be evaluated to assess their impact. At the same time, there is a need for more data examining the links between climate change and mental health in different contexts. In collaboration with the IFRC, this project seeks to address these gaps in the knowledge.听

To describe the content and characteristics of IFRC programs on climate change and MHPSS and barriers that organizations face in undertaking this work, this project will rely primarily on qualitative methods. Virtual in-depth interviews and focus group discussions will be held with IFRC employees globally to understand program content and how programs are implemented. Results聽from聽this project will be used to gather information on the current implementation of climate change and MHPSS programs聽from聽IFRC worldwide, improve future integration of climate change and mental health into programs, and to inform聽program monitoring and evaluation.

Student Responsibilities and Deliverables

Through their activities, the intern will be expected to contribute in several key ways. They will be integral in establishing the research framework for the study by working closely with lab supervisors and IFRC collaborators to draft the protocol and standard operating procedures. As participants will be contributing in their professional capacities, the study should be exempt for human ethics review, however the intern will help develop an application for the exemption聽fromthe Research Ethics Board. Additionally, the intern will engage in preparatory activities in advance of data collection, including drafting the facilitation guides for in-depths interviews and focus group discussions. They will undergo training for methods in qualitative research, as related to the study (i.e. theoretical frameworks, purposive sampling, in-depths interviews, focus group discussions). Where time and progress allow, the intern will engage in data collection.听聽

By the end of their internship, the intern will be expected to a) have an understanding of climate change and MHPSS program implementation by organizations such as IFRC b) have meaningful first-hand experience on starting a collaborative research project, and c) have first-hand experience engaging in collaborations with partners outside of academia. We also hope they will have continued to develop their confidence in discussing and presenting their thoughts and opinions in a research context. Their contributions will be recognized by authorship or acknowledgement on any papers or dissemination materials based on fulfillment of ICMJE criteria:聽.听

Project Team

The intern will be mentored by both Dr. Jura Augustinavicius and postdoctoral research fellow Dr. Lani Cupo. They will also interact with partners at IFRC through virtual meetings.听

Technical Skills

No special technical skills are required. An academic background and/or research experience in public health, mental health, or environmental sciences are considered assets, but not required.听

Transferable Skills

Candidates must demonstrate a high level of organization and motivation as well as a strong command of oral and written communication.听

Supplemental Materials

An academic writing sample.

Project Supervisor

Professor Claire Boone

Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy | Department of Economics

Project Description

Medical guidelines often use sharp thresholds to determine which patients should or should not be diagnosed. However, research has shown that physicians do not always adhere to these guidelines, and some patients who tested positive do not get diagnosed, and others who tested negative do. This project employs a regression discontinuity approach to examine how primary care physicians make decisions, specifically focusing on the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. We aim to compare the diagnosis rates of marginally positive patients, exploring whether diagnosis varies by patients鈥� socio-economic characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, and insurance status.

Student Responsibilities and Deliverables

The intern will be responsible for dataset construction and data analysis, using the publicly available All of Us data resource. The final deliverable will be a clean dataset with all key study variables, annotated scripts used to construct the dataset, and a data dictionary. Depending on the intern鈥檚 progress, a second final deliverable is an initial regression discontinuity design analysis of the impact of hemoglobin A1c on diagnosis with type 2 diabetes.

Project Team

This work is largely independent, and the intern will meet weekly with Professor Boone to discuss progress, troubleshoot, and for guidance.

Technical Skills

This is a data analysis-focused internship, and prior experience with R and/or Stata is required. Experience with Python or another language, but a desire to learn R and/or Stata is also accepted.听

Students聽from聽any major are encouraged to apply, but students in Economics, computer science, or public health may be particularly well-suited.

Transferable Skills

The ideal candidate will have an interest in health policy, medicine, economics, or epidemiological research, and an interest in learning about analysis with complex and large-scale medical data.

Supplemental Materials

Please submit an annotated code sample in your preferred language, along with a short, one paragraph description of what the code does. This could be聽from聽a class or an extra-curricular activity.

Project Supervisor

Professor Frank Elgar

Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy | Department of Psychology

Project Description

This project investigates the association of social media use and youth mental health using data聽from聽a national longitudinal study (Canadian Health Survey of Children and Youth). The question we are investigating is whether the association of heavy social media use and mental health problems are intensified by the experience of income poverty or household food insecurity. The aim is to provide knowledge about the psychological consequences of social media use and identify groups that are at increased risk.

Student Responsibilities and Deliverables

A draft research report (literature review, preliminary results, conclusions), to be later developed into a co-authored article for publication.

Project Team

The interns will work together and with Dr. Elgar at DEEP and the QICSS lab. We will have regular meetings (at least weekly) to discuss data access procedures, conceptual development of the paper, selecting variables, modelling approaches, and interpreting the results.

Technical Skills

Required skills: literature reviews, multivariate statistics. Assets: experience using STATA.

Transferable Skills

Academic writing, statistics

Project Supervisor

Professor Jura Augustinavicius

Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy

Project Description

The intern will contribute to a systematic review of published literature on climate change and mental health in the Americas to support initiatives in this area by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Systematic reviews have been conducted on this topic globally and this review will build on them in several key ways. This review will examine regional evidence of climate change鈥檚 impact on mental health and highlight challenges that may be unique to the Americas. Where possible, the review will explore how regional sociopolitical, economic, and cultural factors relate to the challenges and impacts. The results from this systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and may informPAHO鈥檚 policy work on climate change and mental health across the Americas.

Student Responsibilities and Deliverables

Through their activities, the intern will obtain a comprehensive understanding of the process of preparing and writing a systematic review and submitting a manuscript for publication. They will be asked to draft standard operating procedures for review-related activities (i.e. data extraction), contribute to screening (i.e. read and screen abstracts and/or full-text articles while adhering to inclusion and exclusion criteria for article selection, extracting relevant data, and discussing findings with mentors/collaborators). They will collaborate with mentors and other team members to synthesize findings and discuss the structure of the manuscript. They will be asked to contribute to the final manuscript by participating in drafting and/or reviewing/editing as time allows. Additionally, they will be asked to participate in lab meetings and to present a summary of their findings in the final meeting.

By the end of their internship, the intern will be expected to a) have a solid foundation of knowledge regarding the evidence linking climate change and mental health, especially in the Americas b) have a deep understanding of the systematic review process (including what distinguishes systematic reviews from other types of reviews) and understand the process of drafting and submitting a manuscript c) have first-hand experience engaging in collaborations with partners outside of academia. We also hope they will have continued to develop their confidence in discussing and presenting their thoughts and opinions in a research context. Their contributions will be recognized by authorship or acknowledgement on the paper based on fulfillment of ICMJE criteria: .

Project Team

The intern will be mentored by both Dr. Jura Augustinavicius and postdoctoral research fellow Dr. Lani Cupo. They will also interact with partners at PAHO through virtual meetings.

Technical Skills

No special technical skills are required. An academic background and/or research experience in public health, mental health, or environmental sciences are considered assets, but not required.

Transferable Skills

Candidates must demonstrate a high level of organization and motivation as well as a strong command of oral and written communication. Spanish and/or French language proficiency would also be considered assets.

Supplemental Materials

An academic writing sample.

Project Supervisors

Professor Claire Boone

Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy | Department of Economics

Professor Skyler Wang

Department of Sociology

Project Description

The impact of physicians' gender on patient trajectories and outcomes remains a vital area of research. Studies indicate that female physicians tend to conduct longer consultations than their male counterparts (Martinez and Rothberg, 2022), engage in more emotional labor (Nadkarni and Biswas, 2022), and are more sought after, particularly for female patients (Fink et al., 2022). Moreover, recent findings suggest that patients treated by female doctors generally experience better perceived and actual health outcomes than those treated by male physicians, with these benefits being amplified among female patient populations (Derose et al., 2001; Miyawaki et al., 2024). This may indicate a higher level of trust in female physicians within clinical settings.

As the growth of telemedicine and medical AI accelerates, understanding the factors influencing human-computer interactions in digital health environments becomes imperative. In this experimental study, we seek to investigate whether the perceived gender of an AI medical chatbot influences users' trust in the information it provides. We hypothesize that perceiving medical chatbots as female can significantly impact user trust, and that gender concordance between patient and medical chatbot also impacts trust, potentially enhancing expectations for diagnostic accuracy and medical advice. Interrogating the effects of gender on the trustworthiness of medical AI is essential for designing safer and more responsible AI systems and can have profound policy implications for regulating such deployments.

Student Responsibilities and Deliverables

1. Conduct a comprehensive literature review on gender perceptions in healthcare and human-computer interaction.

2. Assist in designing the experimental framework, including outlining study protocols and drafting survey questions.

3. (If time) Set up the study on Prolific, including testing and finalizing survey questions and recruitment strategies.

Project Team

This is a joint project between Professor Skyler Wang (Sociology) and Professor Claire Boone (DEEP and Economics). The intern will work largely independently with guidance聽from聽PIs and join the regular PI team meetings to receive feedback and new assignments.

Technical Skills

Candidates with training and research interests or experience in public health, sociology, computer science, or human-computer interaction are encouraged to apply.

An ideal candidate will have some statistical training, and some research experience, ideally experience with digital platforms for crowdsourcing or experiments, such as Prolific or Mechanical Turk. Experience with, or a strong interest in learning about, large language models is an asset.

Transferable Skills

Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to work independently. Attention to detail, particularly in writing survey questions and conducting literature reviews.

Supplemental Materials

A writing sample of approximately 500 words. The writing sample can be a paper or assignment聽from聽a class, a document聽from聽a job or extracurricular activity, or any other work that showcases your ability to communicate clearly. The content of the writing sample does not need to align with this project.

Project Supervisor

Professor Keiko Shikako

School of Physical and Occupational Therapy

Project Description

In this project we have engaged with a large number of disability organizations and advocates, government departments, and scholars to assess to what extent the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has influenced policy, laws, and advocacy efforts for persons with disabilities in Canada. We also want to understand how persons with disabilities in Canada and their allies have drawn on the CRPD in their advocacy efforts. Finally, we want to identify best practices that can empower interested parties in monitoring and enhancing the implementation of the CRPD in Canada.

Our project aims to identify the priority areas for disability rights and policy in Canada from the perspectives of Canadians with disabilities and multiple sources of knowledge (social media, civils society reports, public consultations and policies) and to apply these priority areas to engage in constructive dialogue with multiple interested parties. The disability rights field currently lacks a multidisciplinary, systematic in-depth analyses of the diverse processes that have shaped the influence of the CRPD in Canada.

Project Team

The intern will work in close collaboration with the research team that includes researchers, civil society organizations and organizations of persons with disabilities, research associates and knowledge mobilization specialists in the PI lab.

Student Responsibilities and Deliverables

Systematic content analysis of laws, policies, and programs adopted by the federal and all provincial and territorial governments as well as court decisions in the following three sectors: education, healthcare, and accessibility since the ratification of the CRPD by Canada (2010-2022). We selected these three sectors because they allow an assessment of how the division of responsibilities within a federation may affect the realization of the CRPD. We will also examine secondary data from Statistics Canada that includes disaggregated data on disabilities to identify the information on persons with disabilities pre/post the CRPD that relate to outcome indicators on the selected UNCRP articles (e.g., children with disabilities enrolled in school). This may shed light on the potential impact of programs and policies created since the implementation of the CRPD and identify data gaps. Interns will identify policies following a framework provided by the research team, and will conduct analysis of the identified policies in collaboration with the research team.

Technical Skills

Background: Rehabilitation, Education, Health and social policy, Law
Policy analysis experience is preferred, but not mandatory.
Familiarity with systematic reviews and/or searches, desk reviews, disability studies, and equity frameworks is an asset.

Transferable Skills

Bilingual (reading and writing).
Ability to work independently while reporting to and collaborating with a large team.

Project Supervisor

Professor Jennifer Fishman

Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy

Project Description

The "Bridging the Global Gap in Abortion Access through Telehealth" project aims to address the global gap in abortion access by leveraging telehealth technologies. Recognizing the disparities in abortion access across different countries, this project seeks to examine the use of telehealth to provide confidential and compassionate care to individuals in need, regardless of geographic location or legal restrictions.

Central to this project is a strategic collaboration with Women on Web, a pioneering international online abortion provider renowned for its commitment to abortion research, advocacy, and service provision. Women on Web (WoW) is a Canadian non-profit organization, founded in 2005, and is a digital community composed of medical practitioners, help desk members, and researchers. Over its 19 years of operation, WoW has been offering safe abortion care in restrictive settings and has also been leading abortion research and advocacy in the field of telemedicine. Through innovative telehealth solutions and remote follow-up care, WoW offers non-judgmental and compassionate abortion care to individuals and communities living in restrictive settings.

Research lies at the core of Women on Web鈥檚 operations. WoW integrates research with service provision and advocacy. In the past, WoW's research has played a crucial role in shedding light on online abortion trajectories in restrictive environments and has also been instrumental in informing legal reforms in several countries. Within the framework of this internship program, we are looking for interns to join our research program to support our research efforts on abortion access trajectories.

Project Team

Dr. Jennifer Fishman will supervise the student, who will work closely with the research team at Women on Web. The research team at Women on Web is led by a researcher, Dr. Hazal Halay, affiliated with Sciences Po Paris, France. The intern will primarily interact with these two researchers and will work under their supervision.

The intern is not required to participate in lab or team meetings but is welcome to join if they wish. However, the intern is expected to share updates and progress regarding the data analysis and is to attend regular bimonthly meetings with the researchers.

Student Responsibilities and Deliverables

The intern will be assigned to analyze a dataset specific to a chosen country. This dataset comprises demographic information of individuals seeking abortion services, details regarding the causes of unwanted pregnancies, factors prompting them to seek abortion through Women on Web, and insights into their abortion experiences.

The primary responsibilities of the intern will encompass conducting a thorough descriptive analysis of the dataset assigned. This analysis will involve synthesizing key trends and patterns within the data, such as demographic characteristics of abortion seekers, prevalent causes of unwanted pregnancies reasons for seeking abortion services, and variations in abortion experiences across different age groups.

If he/she/they wishes, the intern will also have the opportunity to delve deeper into the data to identify correlations or associations between various variables. This could entail examining relationships between demographic factors and reasons for seeking abortion or abortion experiences.

The intern will be supported by the WoW research team throughout the data analysis process. The final deliverable of this project is a report reflecting on the data analysis. Overall, this role presents an opportunity for the intern to gain hands-on experience in data analysis within the context of abortion research, contributing to a deeper understanding of abortion access and experiences on a global scale.

Technical Skills

The intern is expected to have basic data analysis skills, including some proficiency in statistical analysis and data manipulation techniques for quantitative data, and ideally qualitative data as well. These skills will be essential for conducting the data analysis, identifying trends and patterns.

Familiarity with data visualization tools and software packages such as R, Python, or SPSS would be an asset.

While prior experience in data analysis is preferred, candidates with basic knowledge in data analysis and willingness to learn new skills should be sufficient.

Background can be in any area, but interest in reproductive health is essential.

Transferable Skills

The intern is expected to demonstrate strong critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills to draw insightful conclusions from the data. Attention to detail is paramount for this task, as even minor nuances in the data can lead to significant findings. Additionally, the intern should possess a keen eye for detail to ensure accuracy and reliability in their analysis.

We highly value teamwork and effective cross-cultural communication skills, given the collaborative nature of our work and the different partners involved. We therefore expect the intern to be open and interested in working on a collaborative, international team.

Project Supervisor

Professor Chris Barrington-Leigh

Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy | Bieler School of Environment | Department of Economics

Project Description

Wellbeing policy is gaining momentum worldwide. There is an emerging global movement to bring better concepts and measures of human wellbeing to the centre of policy-making.

The Canadian federal government, several provinces and an increasing number of municipal governments and community organizations are approaching policy and budget decisions based on a growing body of knowledge about what makes life good. A global pandemic has also increased public understanding of what really matters for wellbeing and there is a call for governments to make wellbeing or quality-of-life a central policy objective and source of accountability.

The Canadian Wellbeing Knowledges Network (CWKN) brings together organizations and individuals from public, private, academic and community sectors to share ideas for advancing and supporting wellbeing policy approaches in Canada.
Our common purpose is to provide opportunities for people to engage in catalytic conversations and idea sharing about how they conceptualize, measure, research or support wellbeing and how policy decisions can use a wellbeing lens; to build, exchange and leverage our collective knowledge on the latest wellbeing policy evidence, initiatives and practices; and to activate and strengthen a cross-sectoral and inclusive collaboration network for wellbeing policy across Canada.

More background information is available on the .

Prof Chris Barrington-Leigh (PI), who co-leads the CWKN, has a research focus on life satisfaction, measured as individuals' single-question, subjective, quantitative assessment of how good life feels, overall. This is one leading approach for deriving evidence about human outcomes for policy-making.

This project is to support our knowledge mobilization efforts, primarily by聽synthesizing and compiling relevant evidence and policy news into periodic bilingual newsletters.

Project Team

This project will be independent with supervision from and regular meetings with Professor Barrington-Leigh, but may include collaborations with our outside partners and Leadership Team.

Student Responsibilities and Deliverables

The primary deliverables will be a (1) series of newsletters, each in both English and French, throughout the term, (2) an updated or evolved web site. Composing newsletters involves understanding the policy and practice community of the CWKN network, and organizing, synthesizing, and translating news and announcements for that audience.

Additional tasks may include:

• maintaining / updating web site content using WordPress content management interface
• maintaining the Network membership database and mailing list
• helping with online member "caf茅s", webinars, and stakeholder meetings
• organization of online documents
• supporting other CWKN activities

Technical Skills

• Composing pretty/formatted (ie HTML) emails using a standard email client or a specialized mailing list manager service.
• Managing a website using WordPress.
• Managing files using Google Drive.

Supplemental Materials

An English writing sample is required; it can be from a course assignment.
A French writing sample is also suggested.

Project Supervisors

Professor M贸nica Ruiz-Casares [91社区] & ICCRP Project Manager [ICCRP]

Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy

Project Description

聽was formed in 2015. Through its prior work on the interconnections of children's rights to participation and protection, the ICCRP identified a critically overlooked element in realizing child rights:聽intergenerational relationships. The expanded ICCRP is now focusing on this new, innovative research direction to examine how intergenerational relationships can transcend current barriers to implementing聽children's rights, through intergenerational partnerships, in research, policy, and practice.

The ICCRP includes young people with lived experience, 38 researchers, and 30 partner organizations from universities, NGOs, major human rights institutions, and governments in Canada and in multiple countries across the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.听The current research objectives of the ICCRP are:

1. Expand conceptual models for intergenerational partnerships;
2. Investigate processes for fostering intergenerational partnerships to support child rights, including youth activism;
3. Identify and develop relational practices (intergenerational, decolonial, cross-national, cross-cultural, ethical) that can reform and stimulate research, public policy, and practice to support child rights; and
4. Explore and analyze child rights education environments and how they support or hinder understanding of child rights among children, as well as intergenerational partnerships.

Project Team

The intern will report to M贸nica Ruiz-Casares and the ICCRP Project Manager, and will work closely with other ICCRP research staff and partners.

Student Responsibilities and Deliverables

The successful intern will provide virtual support and contribute to the overall goals of the international research partnership. The successful intern will gain knowledge of social science research design, methodologies, and the execution of academic and customized policy research on children rights both in Canada and around the world. The successful intern will assist with the development of ICCRP policy briefs, contribute to the ICCRP website, and support conference preparations. They will assist ICCRP staff members with the partnership鈥檚 communication and knowledge dissemination strategy and efforts in line with the Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy鈥檚 contributions to the partnership e.g. newsletter, social media, online webinars, etc. The candidate will gain important knowledge of the ethical implications and policy related issues that arise from real-world situations whereby NGOs, governments, and academic institutions involve young people in their human rights efforts.

The successful intern鈥檚 role will include some or all of the following ICCRP activities (specific responsibilities will be commensurate with qualifications and determined in partnership with the selected intern):

• Research and writing support, including literature reviews and reports;
• Attend the ICCRP Policy Working Group meetings to support dialogue, learning, and research outputs such as webinars, practice notes, and potential publications;
• Support research team long-term projects as needed, including background research and fact-checking, preparing slide decks for presentations, managing documents, and responding to emails
• Data collection and analysis
• Communications (e.g. prepare and present information to others, contribute to knowledge mobilization efforts)
• Networking and collaborations
• Outreach activities
• Report writing/editing
• Activities that provide international experience
• Interdisciplinary local, national, and international engagement with children鈥檚 rights stakeholders as required

Technical Skills鈥�

• Excellent written, verbal, and non-verbal communication skills
• Strong organizational and critical analysis skills;
• Advanced knowledge of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and GSuite (Docs, Sheets, Drive and Gmail);

Transferable Skills

• Demonstrated knowledge of child rights and child and youth participation;
• Ability to build strong interpersonal relationships with young people and adults;
• Capacity and willingness to work remotely;
• Priority will be given to those with previous experience engaging children and youth people in research.

Project Supervisor

Professor Claudia Mitchell

Department of Integrated Studies in Education

Project Description

Pathways2Equity: Youth-led, Indigenous-Focussed, Gender-Transformative, Arts-Based Approaches to Challenging Gender Norms in Addressing GBV (2021-2024). This project expands the work of More Than Words and responds to the calls from Indigenous girls and young women, in all their diversity, to include boys and young men in gender-based violence (GBV) prevention. Both More Than Words and Pathways2Equity are made possible through funding from Women & Gender Equality Canada (WAGE).

P2E is a girl-informed project, focusing on work with Indigenous boys and young men in communities across Canada. Now more than ever there is a recognition of the importance of working with boys and young men in separate and non-threatening, yet inclusive and integrated ways to address SGBV. The leadership of Indigenous girls and young women critically informs and frames the engagement of Indigenous boys and young men in participatory and creative ways. Specific objectives of the project include: fostering leadership with Indigenous girls and young women, engaging Indigenous boys and young men in ending GBV, creating local and culturally relevant dialogues and knowledge-sharing around the root causes of gender inequality and violence. Indigenous youth are supported in establishing a Pathways2Equity Youth Framework based on local and national engagement and promising practices.

Project Team

The intern will collaborate with the staff and students of the Participator Cultures Lab (PCL), particularly Leann Brown, Project Coordinator for Pathways2Equity and Angela MacDonald, the Administrative Coordinator for the lab. There are several graduate students working as Research Assistants on the project that the intern will collaborate with. Ideally work will be done on-site in the PCL (2001 91社区 College, suite 930) and the intern will take part in project meetings alongside staff and students.

Faculty Leader: Claudia Mitchell
Project Administrator: Leann Brown
RAs Bori Godley; Emi Romeo
Postdoc: Monica Shank

Student Responsibilities and Deliverables

A key focus of our funder, WAGE, is a commitment to gender-transformation and deepening an understanding of how Indigenous boys and young men can play a role in combating gender-based violence through policy dialogue. Central to this internship, we would involve the intern in two key components of the project: (1) helping to assemble the data with and about boys and young men that we have collected through Pathways2Equity fieldwork and assisting in the creation of visual resources to represent the findings and promising practices (much of this work is in the form of videos); (2) assembling literature between 2021 and 2024 on boys and young men in policy dialogue. This literature review will complement a previous literature review, Collaborating Masculinities, conducted in 2021-2022. The output from #1 will be an up-to-date inventory of the data, and compilation of visual resources. The output for #2 will be a draft literature review.

Technical Skills

Students with interests and experience with participatory visual research methodologies (e.g. arts-based approaches, photovoice, cellphilming) and qualitative data collection and analysis will be particularly suited to this position. Strong writing skills are required. A base level of design experience in regard to representing findings graphically (posters, infographics and diagrams) as an asset. Knowledge of Indigenous worldviews and approaches as an asset.

Transferable Skills

Responsive, two-way communication is an important component to the success of our team. Interns will need to be organized and able to manage, and communicate about, their schedules and commitments. The ability to work both independently and as part of our wider team is important. Interns will be responsible to drive their projects, but will have continuous access to support from the team.

Project Supervisor

Professor Jura Augustinavicius

Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy

Project Description

In collaboration with colleagues at 91社区 and the University of Chile, the intern will contribute to a systematic review of published literature on climate change and mental health in the Americas to support initiatives in this area by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Systematic reviews have been conducted on this topic globally and this review will build on them in several key ways. This review will examine regional evidence of climate change鈥檚 impact on mental health and highlight challenges that may be unique to the Americas. The review will also examine interventions that have been implemented to address these effects. The results from this systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and may inform PAHO鈥檚 policy work on climate change and mental health across the Americas.

Project Team

The intern will be mentored by both Dr. Jura Augustinavicius and postdoctoral research fellow Dr. Lani Cupo. They will also collaborate with partners at the University of Chile through virtual meetings.

Student Responsibilities and Deliverables

The intern will obtain a comprehensive understanding of the process of writing a systematic review and submitting a manuscript through their activities. They will be asked to contribute to screening (i.e. read and screen abstracts and full-text articles while adhering to inclusion and exclusion criteria for article selection, extracting relevant data, and discussing findings with mentors/collaborators). They will collaborate with mentors and other team members to synthesize findings and discuss the structure of the manuscript. They will be asked to contribute to the final manuscript by participating in drafting and/or reviewing/editing as time allows. Additionally, they will be asked to participate in lab meetings and to present a summary of their findings in the final meeting.

By the end of their internship, the intern will be expected to a) have a solid foundation of knowledge regarding the evidence linking climate change and mental health, especially in the Americas b) have a deep understanding of the systematic review process (including what distinguishes systematic reviews from other types of reviews) and understand the process of drafting and submitting a manuscript c) have first-hand experience engaging in an international collaborations. We also hope they will have continued to develop their confidence in discussing and presenting their thoughts and opinions in a research context. Their contributions will be recognized by authorship or acknowledgement on the paper based on fulfillment of ICMJE criteria: .

Technical Skills

No special technical skills are required. An academic background and/or research experience in public health, mental health, or environmental sciences are considered assets, but not required.

Transferable Skills

No specific transferable skills are required, however a strong command of written communication would be an asset. Spanish and/or French language proficiency would also be considered assets.

Supplemental Materials

Academic writing sample.