Celebrating Department Success

Whether you're a prospective student, a current member of our department, or a collaborator, we invite you to explore the incredible work being done by our faculty and staff. Their dedication to research, education, and community engagement is what makes our department thrive.

Help us celebrate by making submissions for this page here. 

Winter 2026 Spotlight Stories

Faculty Excellence

• Dr. Sanja Stanojevic named Distinguished Killam Memorial Chair
  Dr. Sanja Stanojevic has been awarded a Distinguished Killam Memorial Chair (Established Research Leader) by Dalhousie University and the Killam Trust Foundation, one of the most prestigious research honours at the university. Awarded only once every five years, the Killam Memorial Chair recognizes exceptional research leadership and scholarly excellence with national and international impact.
  
  This appointment marks the first time a faculty member in the Department of Community Health & Epidemiology has received a Killam Memorial Chair. The five‑year term, running from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2031, provides significant support for salary relief, research activities, and trainee development, including funding for a doctoral student. Dr. Stanojevic’s work continues to advance Dalhousie’s research priorities while strengthening the department’s impact across research, training, and knowledge generation.
  
  
• Dr. Jill Hayden receives CIHR career award
  Dr. Jill Hayden, professor in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, has received the Barer‑Flood Senior Career Prize in Health Services and Policy Research from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. One of CIHR’s most distinguished career honours, the award recognizes her sustained leadership in advancing evidence‑based care, including nationally and internationally influential research on chronic low back pain and health system improvement.
  
  Read more here.
  
  
• Dr. Robin Urquhart provides invited commentary in HealthcarePapers
  Dr. Robin Urquhart was invited to contribute a commentary to a special issue of HealthcarePapers marking the 10-year anniversary of the Advisory Panel on Healthcare Innovation. Established by former federal health minister Rona Ambrose, the Panel was tasked with identifying priority innovation areas to improve accessibility, quality of care, and health system sustainability in Canada. A decade later, experts from across the country were invited to reflect on progress made since the release of the Panel’s landmark report. In her commentary, Dr. Urquhart examines progress in patient engagement, highlighting how far Canada has come—and the critical work that remains to fully realize the potential of meaningful patient partnership in healthcare and health research. 
  
  Read the commentary here.
  
  
• Dr. Jill Hayden's CIHR project grant success
  The CIHR Fall 2025 Project Grant competition results were recently announced and among the successful applicants is Dr. Jill Hayden, recognized for her project, Development and implementation of an exercise prescription toolkit for the management of chronic low back pain (ExRX Study). This important work aims to advance evidence-based, accessible strategies for managing one of the most common and debilitating chronic conditions worldwide.
  
  Dr. Hayden joins five other researchers across the Faculty of Medicine, IWK Health, and Nova Scotia Health (NSH) in receiving funding in this round.
  
  Please join us in congratulating Dr. Hayden on this tremendous accomplishment.
  
  
• Dr. Cindy Feng’s new manuscript accepted for publication
  Dr. Feng's article, “Concurrent Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Among Canadian Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Population-Based Study,” has been accepted for publication in Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada and will appear in Volume 46:6 (June 2026).
  
  This population-based study provides important insight into the intersection of mental health and substance use among Canadian adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Feng’s work contributes valuable evidence to help inform health promotion strategies, service planning, and prevention approaches nationwide.
  
  Please join us in celebrating this achievement and in recognizing Dr. Feng’s ongoing contributions to public health research.

• Dalhousie’s Dr. Daniel Dutton testifies before Canadian Senate on food insecurity
  Dr. Daniel Dutton appeared before the Canadian Senate’s Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry on December 4, 2025. The committee is examining the role of the agriculture and agri-food sector in addressing food insecurity in Canada.
  
  Dr. Dutton provided evidence-based insights on how health policy and food systems intersect, emphasizing the need for practical solutions to ensure equitable access to nutritious food for all Canadians.
  
  Watch the full recording: Senate Committee Meeting Video (time stamp: 9:14:30)
  Read the meeting details: Notice of Meeting & Witness List
  
  
• Dr. Watson‑Creed invited to provide CJPH commentary
  Congratulations to Associate Dean, Serving and Engaging Society, Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed on her invited commentary in the Canadian Journal of Public Health, “The roads not yet taken: 50 years after Lalonde—where does public health go from here?” (2025). Building on the Lalonde Report’s legacy, Dr. Watson‑Creed poses timely questions for the next half‑century of public health: How ready are we to help surface Canadian societal values? To engage the complex structural determinants and the power dynamics they invoke? And to evolve our discourse on the social determinants of health—joining work already underway to advance wellbeing? This brief piece invites renewed, values‑aware action across policy, practice, and scholarship.
  
  Read the publication here.

Staff Achievements

• Coming soon!

Student Success

• MSc student Malcolm MacKinnon featured at New Brunswick Heart Centre Year in Review
  Malcolm MacKinnon, an MSc student in the Department of Community Health & Epidemiology, was recently selected as a featured presenter at the New Brunswick Heart Centre’s annual Year in Review. His presentation highlighted the Centre’s clinical data collection and management initiatives, with a focus on their application in quality improvement, administrative decision-making, and cardiovascular research.
  
  These clinical registries will also inform Malcolm’s thesis, which examines heart attack outcomes in the context of geographic inequalities in patient care, supporting evidence-based approaches to improving cardiovascular health across the region.
  
  
• Celebrating student scholarship success
  The Department of Community Health & Epidemiology is pleased to recognize the achievements of our graduate students who have recently been awarded competitive scholarships in support of their academic and research work.
  
  Students in the program recently awarded scholarships
  - Rachael Ansems, Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master’s
  - Morgan Klym, Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master’s
  - Malcolm MacKinnon, Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master’s
  - Mallory Murphy, Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master’s
  - Heather McTavish, One‑Year Master’s Scholarship
  - Elias Habib, Dalhousie Research Excellence Scholarship, Faculty of Medicine Graduate Scholarship
  - Samuel Silva, Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral
  
  Incoming students recently awarded scholarships
  - Rachael MacDonald‑Spracklin, Killam Predoctoral Scholarship
  - Jordan Cole, Faculty of Medicine Graduate Scholarship
  
  We congratulate these students on their success and look forward to the important contributions they will make to community health and epidemiology through their studies and research.
  
  
• Recent graduate Eric Poarch publishes MSc thesis chapter
  Recent graduate Eric Poarch, MSc (Epidemiology & Applied Health Research), has published a chapter of his master’s thesis in the Community Mental Health Journal. Co‑authored with faculty supervisors and collaborators, the study uses population‑based health data to examine how chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension are managed among people treated for serious mental illness and/or substance use disorders. The findings reveal persistent inequities in recommended lab testing and medication management, despite frequent primary care use, highlighting the need for more equitable models of care. Eric completed his MSc under the supervision of Dr. Ruth Lavergne and is graduating this spring from Dalhousie University.
  
  Read his work here.
• Rachael MacDonald‑Spracklin awarded Killam Predoctoral Scholarship
  Congratulations to Rachael MacDonald‑Spracklin on receiving a prestigious Killam Predoctoral Scholarship, recognizing her outstanding accomplishments as an emerging scholar. Rachael will begin her PhD this fall in the Dalhousie Department of Community Health & Epidemiology, where she will be co‑supervised by Dr. Mark Asbridge and Dr. Kara Thompson at St. Francis Xavier University.
  
  
• Alexa Davis advances to PhD at Oxford University
  Congratulations to Alexa Davis, former MSc student in the Dalhousie Department of Community Health & Epidemiology, on beginning her PhD in the Department of Social Policy and Intervention at the University of Oxford. Supervised by Dr. Mark Asbridge, Alexa completed an outstanding MSc thesis examining health service utilization among participants enrolled in Managed Alcohol Programs in Canada. Her research has been published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, and she will continue her work in alcohol research at the doctoral level.
  
  Read her paper here.
  
  
• Leon and Rose Zitner Prize awarded to Dr. Jonah Sheinin
  Congratulations to Dr. Jonah Sheinin, recipient of this year’s Leon and Rose Zitner Prize at Dalhousie University, which recognizes outstanding student contributions to citizen knowledge and community engagement in health. The award honours his Research in Medicine project—co‑supervised by Dr. Thomas Brothers and Dr. Mark Asbridge—which has since been published in AIDS and Behavior. Dr. Sheinin is now continuing his training as a resident in Internal Medicine at McMaster University.
  
  Read more here.
  
  
• CH&E Graduate Grace Rheault wins top student award
  Community Health & Epidemiology graduate Grace Rheault was awarded the Top Student Award at Clinical Neuroscience Research Day in March 2026 for her thesis, “The Prevalence of Acute Substance Use in Injured Off‑Road Vehicle Drivers in Canada.”  Drawing on data from 18 emergency departments nationwide, Grace’s research examines substance use and risk factors among injured ATV, snowmobile, and dirt bike drivers. Her work was co‑supervised by Dr. David Clarke and Dr. Mark Asbridge. Congratulations, Grace!
  
  
• Hugh Atkinson named CAME Rising Star (Certificate of Excellence) — 2026
  Hugh Atkinson, an MSc student in the Epidemiology & Applied Health Research program, has been awarded the 2026 CAME Rising Star – Certificate of Excellence, a national award recognizing learners who demonstrate exceptional commitment to medical education through research, leadership, and educational innovation.
  
  Hugh’s impact spans student leadership—serving as co-president of the Community Health & Epidemiology Student Society (CHESS), president of the Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics Dalhousie Chapter (CSEB-DAL), and student representative for the Canadian Public Health Association on campus—where he launched hands-on workshops and journal clubs, re‑established CHESS to expand student‑led programming, and helped introduce Orientation Week and a new peer mentorship program. He also contributes to the department’s EDIRA (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Reconciliation and Accessibility) committee, bringing an interdisciplinary lens from his BA in the History & Philosophy of Science (UBC).
  
  His thesis research, examining the diagnostic accuracy of khat immunoassay testing and its links to mental health outcomes in Ethiopia, underscores his dedication to rigorous scholarship and global health equity.
  
  
• Celebrating research excellence: Samuel Silva’s achievement
  We’re thrilled to share that Samuel Silva, PhD student, was invited to co-author a paper with international colleagues, highlighting the latest evidence on low back pain diagnosis and prognosis. This collaboration underscores Samuel’s growing impact in advancing musculoskeletal research and contributing to global scientific dialogue.
  
  Read the full publication here.

Recent Publications & Projects

Highlights from recent research, community initiatives, and strategic collaborations. 

• Dr. James Clay publishes in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
  Dr. James Clay, postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Community Health & Epidemiology at Dalhousie University, is a co-author on a newly published study in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. The population-based cohort study examines sex differences in alcohol‑attributable emergency department use in Ontario over a 17‑year period, offering important insights into alcohol-related harms and health system utilization.
  
  Working with Dr. Mark Asbridge and colleagues, Dr. Clay brings an interdisciplinary lens to alcohol policy and health equity research, combining population-level data with a focus on how policy environments shape health outcomes. His work continues to inform evidence-based approaches to alcohol policy and public health in Canada.
  
  Read the paper here. 

• Dr. Alexa Yakubovich and team publish powerful new paper on IPV
  Dr. Alexa Yakubovich and her research team are advancing critical evidence on housing interventions for women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV)—the most common form of violence against women and a leading cause of women’s homelessness
  
  Supported by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, this mixed-methods project systematically examined international research to better understand which housing approaches support safety, housing stability, and trauma‑informed care for IPV survivors. The team’s latest open‑access publication in Social Science & Medicine presents a qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis of women’s experiences with housing interventions.
  
  The research was guided by a diverse community of practice that included service providers, policymakers, advocates, and women with lived experience, helping to ensure the findings inform real‑world, solutions‑focused research and policy directions in Canada.
  
  Read the paper here.
  View the infographic here. 

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