Meet Our Research Chair- Dr. Ghazal Fazli

This summer, Dr. Ghazal Fazli was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, Geomatics and Environment at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), and the Novo Nordisk Research Chair in Social and Environmental Determinants of Health at the Novo Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations. This role is one that reflects Fazli’s commitment to better understanding the many reasons someone might develop type 2 diabetes. “Preventing diabetes means addressing the root causes — unhealthy living environments, food insecurity, inadequate housing, and unequal access to care. Real impact comes from changing the conditions in which people live to improve their quality of life and achieve better health outcomes," she says.

For the Network for Healthy Populations, this appointment is an important one. “I’m thrilled to welcome Dr. Fazli to this new role,” says the Network’s Director, Dr. Lorraine Lipscombe. “Her expertise and leadership in the social and environmental determinants of health will be instrumental in advancing the Network’s mission to reduce inequities in the burden of diabetes and related conditions. Dr. Fazli has already made meaningful progress in Peel Region, mobilizing the community to host two highly successful diabetes screening and awareness events. We look forward to seeing her work grow and flourish in this new capacity.”

"The work of the Novo Nordisk  Network is proving transformative - for UTM and for the community we serve here in Peel. Dr Fazli will bring her expertise and excellence as a researcher and mentor to the Network and to our campus, and we could not be more pleased to welcome her in this new role," says Dr. Alexandra Gillespie, Vice-President & Principal, UTM.

Fazli’s interest in how diabetes is more prevalent in certain communities is long-standing and one she feels a deep connection with. “When I started my PhD, I was really passionate about understanding the social determinants of diabetes,” says Fazli. “I come from an immigrant family, we arrived from Afghanistan in 1996, and I always felt that diabetes was something that was normalized, where everyone was okay with the fact that eventually someone’s going to have diabetes in the family. This is not the way we should be approaching the disease.”

As she learned more about the condition, Fazli became interested in prediabetes. This, she felt, was the body’s warning system. She became driven to learn more about how to better engage people before they developed type 2 diabetes in order to support more prevention opportunities. There was, however, very little data available in Ontario to help her with her research. Luckily, during her PhD, ICES started to receive access to de-identified data from Ontario labs. This allowed Fazli to look at the prediabetes burden in the province and it’s progression, particularly among immigrant populations. That initial project was the starting point for her current work.

“Today, we’re working with communities to identify how we can screen and detect diabetes early and how we can prevent progression. However, we still need to address the root causes and the inequities that are driving this progression,” she explains.

Over the years, Fazli has become a passionate advocate for patient-oriented research, noting that research projects without lived experience input are incomplete. “As an epidemiologist, there are lots that we learn from the trends and patterns of disease risk and burden. However, that lived expertise is where the inspiration comes from.” In her new role, she will continue to ensure community members and organizations have active roles at the research table.

Already a strong voice within the Network for Healthy Populations, Fazli has led the Network’s education portfolio, including the graduate program and summer research and training program. She also leads the Network’s research on diabetes screening programs, where she works with community partners to co-lead the development of a community screening or early detection program for identifying prediabetes and diabetes in the Peel Region, particularly for those not attached to primary care. As a Chair, she will be able to engage more deeply in this work while also disentangling the social and environmental determinants of health to inform future research and policy decisions. In addition, she will continue to teach the next generation of health leaders at the University of Toronto Mississauga in the Department of Geography, Geomatics, and the Environment (GGE), a role she finds particularly inspiring.

“We are delighted that Ghazal will be in our department leading an active research program, supervising students, and contributing to our overall curriculum,” says Dr. Laura Brown, Department Chair of GGE.