Lakehead University is receiving more than $360,000 from New Frontiers in Research fund

May 23, 2019 – Thunder Bay, Ont.

Lakehead University researchers are receiving $361,325 from the federal New Frontiers in Research fund for two research projects. New Frontiers in Research is a new, highly competitive tri-agency program designed to support groundbreaking interdisciplinary research.

These research projects will explore the connection between personal identification access and public health and will define and look at the impact of socially accountable medical education.

Photo of Dr. Chris Sanders

Dr. Chris Sanders, Assistant Professor in Sociology, in partnership with Kinna-aweya Legal Clinic, is receiving $196,500 to spend two years exploring the impact of lack of access to personal identification like birth certificates on First Nations communities’ ability to access health care.

Lack of personal identification has significant consequences for an individual’s ability to access health services and stay healthy throughout their lifespan. This study will consider the breadth of the problem of having no personal identification, and the impact of missing personal identification on Indigenous communities.

Dr. Sanders will work with co-applicants Dr. Kristin Burnett, Associate Professor, Indigenous Learning at Lakehead University, and Dr. Kelly Skinner, Assistant Professor, School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo, to address barriers to accessing personal identification and develop a toolkit to help organizations and communities in the region develop personal identification clinics.

photo of Dr. Erin CameronDr. Erin Cameron, Assistant Professor, Northern Ontario School of Medicine, is receiving $164,825 to spend two years examining how socially accountable medical education fosters transformation in rural health care systems.

The project seeks to explore social accountability in the context of medical education and investigate how students, faculty, and community understand and embrace social accountability. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is leading the project in collaboration with international, national, and local collaborators.

“The New Frontiers Exploration program is a bold initiative that provides funding for early career researchers with interdisciplinary projects,” said Dr. Andrew P. Dean, Lakehead’s Vice-President, Research and Innovation.

“We are very proud that our faculty have been successful in this opportunity and thank the Government of Canada for its continued investment in transformative research,” he added. 

Funding from New Frontiers also generates support from the federal Research Support Fund to offset the indirect costs of research incurred by universities.

In 2018/19, Lakehead University will receive nearly $2 million in assistance from the Research Support Fund to support the indirect costs of research, which includes costs for supporting the management of intellectual property, research and administration, ethics and regulatory compliance, research resources, and research facilities.

 

New Frontiers in Research Funding Recipients

Total: $361,325

Projects:

“The Transformative Potential of Socially Accountable Education: Understanding Global and Local Perspectives”

Applicants:

  • Dr. Erin Cameron, Assistant Professor, Northern Ontario School of Medicine
  • Dr. Penny Moody-Corbett, Associate Dean, Research and Senior Associate Dean, Northern Ontario School of Medicine
  • Dr. Roger Strasser, Professor of Rural Health, Dean and CEO, Northern Ontario School of Medicine
  • Dr. Hoi Cheu, Associate Professor, Modern Languages and Literatures, Laurentian University

 

Collaborators:

  • Dr. Jill Allison, Assistant Professor of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland
  • Dr. Amy Clithero-Eridon, Senior Lecturer, Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine (USA)
  • Dr. Torres Wolley, James Cook University, College of Medicine and Dentistry (Australia)
  • Dr. Joseph LeBlanc, Director, Indigenous Affairs, Northern Ontario School of Medicine
  • Danielle Barbeau-Rodrigue, Director, Francophone Affairs, Northern Ontario School of Medicine

 

“Personal Identification and Social Determinants of Health: Invisibility as a Barrier to Services among First Nations in Northern Ontario”

 

Applicants:

  • Dr. Chris Sanders, Assistant Professor, Sociology, Lakehead University
  • Dr. Kristin Burnett, Associate Professor, Indigenous Learning, Lakehead University
  • Dr. Kelly Skinner, Assistant Professor, School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo

Community Partner:

  • Kinna-awaya Legal Clinic

 

 

 

 

 

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Media: For more information or interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Communications and Marketing Associate, at (807) 343-8177 or mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.

 


 

Lakehead University has approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and 2,000 faculty and staff in 10 faculties at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead is a fully comprehensive university: home to Ontario’s newest Faculty of Law in 44 years, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and faculties of Engineering, Business Administration, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Social Sciences & Humanities, Science & Environmental Studies, Natural Resources Management, Education, and Graduate Studies. Maclean’s 2019 University Rankings place Lakehead University among Canada's Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities and in 2018 Research Infosource named Lakehead Research University of the Year in its category for the fourth consecutive year. Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.