Meet Our Research Professor- Dr. Hailey Banack

In September 2024 Dr. Hailey Banack was appointed the inaugural Novo Nordisk Research Professor in Health Equity of Chronic Illness Prevention, as part of Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations at the University of Toronto. In this role, she will develop a community-focused research program aiming to improve the burden of obesity and diabetes in Peel region and improve health equity.

Banack, who completed her PhD in epidemiology at McGill University, also has a master’s degree in kinesiology and is deeply interested in examining modifiable risk factors that contribute to obesity and diabetes in older adults, particularly in women and individuals from racial and ethnic minority groups. Modifiable risk factors include physical activity interventions, which a particular area of focus for Banack, given her Kinesiology background.

It was Banack’s interest in focusing on improving individual and community level health outcomes that inspired her to apply for this chair. “As epidemiologists, we often work with large data sets where there are thousands, if not millions, of observations. I think sometimes when analysing data from such large datasets, we forget that each individual data point comes from an actual person,” she says. “I'm interested in doing work in the community to examine interventions that address the burden of diabetes and chronic disease in high needs groups. I hope to be able to combine my background knowledge and analytic skills to conduct rigorous community-oriented research. My goal is to help communities that are in the highest need, and that are experiencing the greatest burden of obesity and diabetes.”

Working in Peel Region, with its tremendously unique and diverse population, was another draw. Banack says she wants to focus on developing and assessing tailored interventions to meet the needs of this community, including working with community partners to offer services that are culturally relevant or in different languages. In her research, Banack has a particular interest in improving health outcomes for older adults and age-related change in chronic disease risk. “A lot of my work is with older adults. Telling an 85-year-old to go run on a treadmill is not a reasonable request. But asking them, ‘could you go to the mall, park safely in the underground parking lot and take a lap around the flat, safe terrain of the mall to get some physical activity?’ That’s a more reasonable request. It is essential to consider the needs of the particular group that I’m working with, in order to make the research relevant to the people I’m hoping to help.”

Equity will play an essential role in Banack’s work with the Network. Overall, Banack is enthusiastic about taking on this new challenge and working with the Network and its community to improve health outcomes for all.