Master's of Public Health Program Stream

Open to MPH Epidemiology students.

Supervisor: Effie Gournis 

Project Description: 

Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes create a significant burden on the healthcare system. Understanding how equity and socioeconomic factors impact future risk of chronic disease is important for identifying population inequities and also supports regional planning. The Chronic Disease Population Risk Tool (CDPoRT) is a validated tool that estimates 10-year risk of the first incidence of six major chronic diseases (myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, congestive heart failure, diabetes, stroke, and lung cancer). This is population risk prediction tool uses routinely collected health survey data (e.g., Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)). In this quantitative study, the student will use the CCHS and CDPoRT to estimate 10-year incidence of the first major chronic disease in the adult population. We will assess similarities and differences in chronic disease risk by equity factors in two urban Public Health Units (PHUs), Peel and Toronto. Subsequent assessment of the tool’s applicability at the sub-PHU level will be explored in Toronto, expanding the tool for local evidence-based planning needs. The methods to assess applicability at the sub-PHU level can be expanded to Peel and other urban regions. 

Student tasks and responsibilities: 

• Characterize the 10-year risk of the first incidence of chronic disease across health equity and sociodemographic subpopulations using CDPoRT  

• Conduct quantitative statistical analyses according to the analysis plan 

• Synthesize findings (e.g., visualizations and summary tables) 

• Lead the writing of a report for local health region and a scientific manuscript 

• Meet with associated staff from both Toronto Public Health and Peel Public Health  

• Present results to the project team, as well as members of the Novo Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations 

• Advanced programming and quantitative analysis skills are required for this position 

Who should apply: 

• Interested in gaining research experience, knowledge and skills to prepare for careers that aim to reduce the risk and burden of diabetes and related cardiometabolic conditions 

• Interested in networking with peers, mentors, and subject matter experts  

• Legally able to work in Canada 

• Available to participate full-time (36.25 hours/week) from May 4 – August 21, 2026 (MPH students)  

• Able to work in-person and virtually, as needed, hybrid format (research teams are based in Toronto and Mississauga) 

• Able to meet in-person weekly (dates and times TBD) for networking, mentorship, and knowledge exchange opportunities with other NHP summer students 

Students will be paid $20/hour and will work 36.25 hours per week. 

Open to MPH Epidemiology students.

Supervisors: Dr. Hailey Banack  

Project Description: 

GLP-1 receptor agonist (RA) medications have transformed the management of type 2 diabetes. Semaglutide is one GLP-1 RA that is highly effective for the treatment of diabetes. Despite rising demand, little is known about patterns of GLP-1 RA utilization within Canadian urban and suburban settings characterized by diverse populations and high burden of diabetes. Prior research by the Network for Healthy Populations has reported that Peel Region has some of the highest rates of diabetes in Ontario, particularly among older adults, alongside large immigrant communities and marked socioeconomic gradients. Understanding who is using GLP-1 RA medications is essential to identifying potential inequities in uptake and access to these medications in a region with a disproportionately high burden of diabetes. The goal of this project is to examine the descriptive epidemiology of GLP-1 RA use in Peel Region and the broader Greater Toronto Area. This project will focus on exploring differences in use of GLP-1 RA medications across a range of sociodemographic variables.    

Student tasks and responsibilities: 

• Developing a protocol for a descriptive epidemiology project 

• Experience with data analysis and software code is required 

• Analyzing data   

• Presenting results   

• Writing a complete manuscript including introduction/background, method, results, and discussion 

Who should apply: 

• Interested in gaining research experience, knowledge and skills to prepare for careers that aim to reduce the risk and burden of diabetes and related cardiometabolic conditions 

• Interested in networking with peers, mentors, and subject matter experts  

• Legally able to work in Canada 

• Available to participate full-time (36.25 hours/week) from May 4 – August 21, 2026 (MPH students)  

• Able to work in-person and virtually, as needed, hybrid format (research teams are based in Toronto and Mississauga) 

• Able to meet in-person weekly (dates and times TBD) for networking, mentorship, and knowledge exchange opportunities with other NHP summer students 

Students will be paid $20/hour and will work 36.25 hours per week.

Open to MPH Health Promotion and MPH Black Health students.

Supervisors: Dr. Ibukun Abejirinde and Raquel Bremmer 

Project Description: 

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a growing problem in Peel region with a multidimensional impact on Black communities. In many neighborhoods, people struggle to: access culturally familiar foods that are healthy; benefit from safe green spaces and acquire the knowledge and agency to prevent or manage T2D.  Food is central to how Black, African and Caribbean (BAC) communities experience their cultures and make meaning of health, but mainstream approaches to addressing T2D are not typically responsive to their holistic and cultural needs. Following a successful feasibility study, this project seeks to apply lessons learned on how to design and implement community garden initiatives for BAC groups, by convening Black older adults (65+) and youth (15-29) to grow food, acquire cultural health literacy skills, and interact socially. Guided by the Black Food Sovereignty framework and an eco-social model, the project seeks to inform a culturally congruent, multicomponent intervention addressing T2D risk factors at the macro (policy), meso (community), and micro (individual) levels. 

Student tasks and responsibilities: 

• Define and validate an evaluation framework for the community garden.  

• Support participant recruitment/engagement and coordinate training and growing activities.  

• Conduct process and outcome evaluation using the developed evaluation framework.  

• Analyze data and draft a report.  

• Assist with grant application.  

• Support knowledge translation and mobilization of findings.  

Note: The individual will need to be available in-person at least once a week in Mississauga and be comfortable being outdoors actively participating in gardening activities throughout the summer. 

Who should apply: 

• Interested in gaining research experience, knowledge and skills to prepare for careers that aim to reduce the risk and burden of diabetes and related cardiometabolic conditions 

• Interested in networking with peers, mentors, and subject matter experts  

• Legally able to work in Canada 

• Available to participate full-time (36.25 hours/week) from May 4 – August 21, 2026 (MPH students)  

• Able to work in-person and virtually, as needed, hybrid format (research teams are based in Toronto and Mississauga) 

• Able to meet in-person weekly (dates and times TBD) for networking, mentorship, and knowledge exchange opportunities with other NHP summer students 

Students will be paid $20/hour and will work 36.25 hours per week. 

Open to MPH Epidemiology students.

Supervisor: Dr. Laura Rosella 

Project Description: 

Diabetes disproportionately affects structurally marginalized populations, including racialized populations and those living in low-income households. Reducing diabetes risk in populations requires moving beyond targeting only individual-level behavioral risk factors and instead, characterizing how macro- and community-level factors confer diabetes risk in specific populations. This project follows the creation of a multi-level framework for diabetes prevention, co-developed with Peel community members and public health decision-makers. In this project, the student will characterize diabetes risk across the population groups within the Peel Region based on pre-identified combinations of micro-, meso-, and macro- level determinants (e.g., lifestyle, healthcare access, and socioeconomic/structural factors). To do so, they will utilize the Diabetes Population Risk Tool (DPoRT), a validated population risk tool for predicting future Type 2 diabetes risk in the community and population subgroups. The outputs of this project will support the identification of potentially effective multi-level interventions and prevention strategies that will then be embedded within a precision diabetes prevention approach in the Peel Region. 

Student tasks and responsibilities: 

• Characterize diabetes risk across subpopulations identified through community collaboration using a validated risk prediction tool 

• Conduct quantitative statistical analyses according to the analysis plan 

• Synthesize findings (e.g., visualizations and summary tables) 

• Prepare a project report (rationale, goal, methods, results, discussion) 

• Present results to the project team, as well as members of the Novo Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations 

• Opportunity to lead the scientific manuscript for submission to a peer reviewed journal 

• Advanced programming and quantitative analysis skills are required for this position 

Who should apply: 

• Interested in gaining research experience, knowledge and skills to prepare for careers that aim to reduce the risk and burden of diabetes and related cardiometabolic conditions 

• Interested in networking with peers, mentors, and subject matter experts  

• Legally able to work in Canada 

• Available to participate full-time (36.25 hours/week) from May 4 – August 21, 2026 (MPH students)  

• Able to work in-person and virtually, as needed, hybrid format (research teams are based in Toronto and Mississauga) 

• Able to meet in-person weekly (dates and times TBD) for networking, mentorship, and knowledge exchange opportunities with other NHP summer students 

Students will be paid $20/hour and will work 36.25 hours per week. 

Open to MPH Health Promotion students.

Supervisor: Dr. Lisa McCarthy 

Project Description: 

Overview: The care needs of older immigrants with diabetes and dementia often require long-term care (LTC); however, Peel Region faces a critical LTC shortage. Partners Community Health (PCH), a leading community organization in Mississauga, provides integrated care services for older adults and plans to extend LTC supports into the community to enhance dementia care by partnering with other community organizations. 

Objectives: Working with PCH, this study aims to co-design a culturally tailored program that helps older adults manage their health and social needs as they age in the community. 

Design: This community-based project includes three phases: (1) understanding  community needs, (2) co-developing the program with community, and (3) planning for its evaluation. 

Outcomes: The key output is an evidence- and community-informed plan for implementing and evaluating the co-designed intervention. 

Methods: Using information gathered through an environmental scan and interviews with community informants, a tailored intervention, implementation plan, and evaluation framework will be developed through three participatory workshops involving older adults with diabetes, caregivers, community partners, and healthcare providers. 

Student tasks and responsibilities: 

• Contribute to analysis of quantitative and qualitative data collected from post-workshop surveys 

• Help plan and coordinate community engagement activities, such as participatory workshops and outreach events 

• Contribute to the development of knowledge translation materials, including summaries and visual aids 

• Draft research reports, posters, manuscripts as assigned with opportunities to contribute to other knowledge mobilization activities (e.g., social media, deprescribing.org blog, presentations)  

• Present their work as part of regular investigator team meetings and meetings with key interest groups 

Who should apply: 

• Interested in gaining research experience, knowledge and skills to prepare for careers that aim to reduce the risk and burden of diabetes and related cardiometabolic conditions 

• Interested in networking with peers, mentors, and subject matter experts  

• Legally able to work in Canada 

• Available to participate full-time (36.25 hours/week) from May 4 – August 21, 2026 (MPH students)  

• Able to work in-person and virtually, as needed, hybrid format (research teams are based in Toronto and Mississauga) 

• Able to meet in-person weekly (dates and times TBD) for networking, mentorship, and knowledge exchange opportunities with other NHP summer students 

Students will be paid $20/hour and will work 36.25 hours per week.