Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty Member

Ketan Shankardass PhD, MHSc

Research Interests

• Social epidemiology to support innovative solutions for more equitable health systems.
• Building on training in epidemiology, public health, biology and geography to understand the drivers of population health and equity from “cell to society”.

Education & Training History

Centre for Research on Inner City Health in the Keenan Research Centre of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital
Postdoctoral Fellowship, CIHR Strategic Training Initiative in Health Research

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
PhD, Epidemiology

University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
MHSc, Community Health and Epidemiology

McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
Hons. BSc, Biology with minor in Geography

Other Affiliations

Assistant professor, Department of Psychology and the Health Sciences Program at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Primary Teaching Responsibilities

Honours & Awards

Current Research Projects

• Multisectoral health strategies including Health in All Policies; neighbourhood-level programs to address chronic stress and chronic disease health inequities; and public opinion on health and equity.
• Current and prior collaborations with the City of Hamilton, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (Ontario), the Toronto Tri-hospital Collaborative on Health Equity Data Collection, the Local Air Quality Study for South Riverdale, Leslieville and the Beach, the World Health Organization, the City of Toronto, Health Canada and the University of Nairobi.

Representative Publications

• Shankardass K, Lofters A, Kirst M, Quiñonez C. Public awareness of income-related health inequalities in Ontario, Canada. Int J Equity Health. 2012 11(26) doi:10.1186/1475-9276-11-26
• Daoud N, Shankardass K, O’Campo P, Anderson K, Agbaria AK. Internal displacement and health among the Palestinian minority in Israel. Soc Sci Med. 2012 74: 1163-1171
• Shankardass K. 2012. Place-based stress and chronic disease: A systems view of environmental determinants. In P. O’Campo & J.R. Dunn (Eds.), Rethinking Social Epidemiology: Towards a Science of Change (Part 2, 113-136). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company. DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-2138-8_6
• Shankardass K, Dunn JR. 2012. How goes the neighbourhood? Rethinking neighbourhoods and health research in social epidemiology. In P. O’Campo & J.R. Dunn (Eds.), Rethinking Social Epidemiology: Towards a Science of Change (Part 2, 137-156). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company. DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-2138-8_7
• Shankardass K, Solar O, Murphy K, Greaves L, O’Campo P. A scoping review of intersectoral action for health equity involving governments. Int J Public Health (Special Issue: Intersectoral action to address the social determinants of health). 2012 57(1): 25-33
• Islam T, Urman R, Gauderman WJ, Milam J, Lurmann F, Shankardass K, Avol E, Gilliland F, McConnell R. Parental Stress Increases the Detrimental Effect of Traffic Exposure on Children’s Lung Function. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2011 184:822–827
• Shankardass K, Jerrett M, Milam J, Richardson J, Berhane K, McConnell R. Social environment and asthma: Associations with crime and No Child Left Behind programs. J Epidemiol Com Health. 2011 Oct:65(10):859-65
• Lofters A, Shankardass K, Kirst M, Quiñonez C. Sociodemographic data collection in healthcare settings: An examination of public opinions. Med Care. 2011 49(2):193-199
• Shankardass K, Solar O, Murphy K, Freiler A, Bobbili S, Bayoumi A, and O’Campo P. 2011. Health in All Policies: Results of a Realist-Informed Scoping Review of the Literature. In: Getting Started With Health in All Policies: A Report to the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. Centre for Research on Inner City Health, Toronto, Ontario
• Shankardass K. 2010. Predictors of spatial variation in childhood asthma in Toronto, Ontario. Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
• McConnell R, Islam T, Shankardass K, Jerrett M, Lurmann F, Gilliland F, Gauderman J, Avol E, Kuenzli N, Yao L, Peters J, Berhane K. Childhood Incident Asthma and Traffic-Related Air Pollution at Home and School. Environ Health Perspect. 2010 118(7):1021-1026
• Gallaher G, Kim S, Kirst M, Lofters A, Murphy K, O Campo P, Quiñonez C, Schaefer-McDaniel N, Shankardass K. 2009. Measuring Equity of Care in Hospital Settings: From Concepts to Indicators. Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network Hospital Collaborative on Marginalized Populations, Toronto, Ontario
• O Campo P, Kirst M, Shankardass K, Lofters A. Closing the Gap in Urban Health Inequities, Round Table on Commission on Social Determinants of Health Report. J Public Health Policy. 2009 30(2):183-188
• Shankardass K, McConnell R, Jerrett M, Milam J, Richardson J, Berhane K. Parental stress increases the effect of traffic-related air pollution on childhood asthma incidence. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Jul:106(30):12406-11
• Jerrett M, Shankardass K, Berhane K, Gauderman WJ, Künzli N, Avol E, Gilliland F, Lurmann F, Molitor JN, Molitor JT, Thomas DC, Peters J, and McConnell R. Traffic-related air pollution and asthma onset in children: A prospective cohort study with individual exposure measurement. Environ Health Perspect. 2008 Oct:116(10):1433-8