In the News
High Levels of Hazardous Chemicals Found in Canadian Nail Salons
Researchers at U of T's Dalla Lana School of Public Health, in collaboration with Parkdale Queen West Community Heath Centre and the Healthy Nail Salons Network, have found that nail technicians in discount salons are exposed to several chemicals widely used as plasticizers and flame retardants. The study, published Feb....
Less is more: Dr. Gillian Parker’s research takes aim at low-value care
By Alisa Kim, IHPME Being prescribed antibiotics for a viral infection or getting an MRI scan for low back pain are examples of low-value care—health care practices that yield little or no benefit, or even cause harm. Yet, according to a 2017 report by the Canadian Institute of Health...
Positive Zero Transport Futures takes a holistic approach to decarbonizing transportation
By Safa Jinje in University of Toronto Engineering News A new research collaboration supported by U of T Engineering’s Dean Strategic Fund aims to accelerate the decarbonization of transportation. For Professor Marianne Hatzopoulou (CivMin), who co-leads the new initiative, this means going well beyond clean technologies. “Decarbonization is not just...
Blake-Hepburn: Let us Celebrate Black Resilience
by Françoise Makanda, Dalla Lana School of Public Health Denessia Blake-Hepburn hopes this Black History Month, the diaspora celebrates resistance and resilience. The recent MPH graduate worked with DLSPH Prof. Roberta Timothy and fellow student Falan Bennett as co-investigators on the Black Health Matters COVID-19 survey about how Black people...
Meet DLSPH’s new 2SLGBTQ+ Health Lead
By Elaine Smith Daniel Grace, an associate professor at DLSPH, has been named the School’s new 2SLGBTQ+ Health Lead, effective Jan. 1, 2022. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to support the advancement of education and research in 2SLGBTQ+ health,” says Grace, Canada Research Chair in Sexual and Gender...
DLSPH Launches New Equity Hub
Dear DLSPH Community, We would like to take a moment to share with you the launch of DLSPH’s first Equity Hub. There is and has been excellent work happening around the school being led by students, faculty, and staff to help move the needle on issues related to equity, inclusivity...
‘Always give back’: trainee develops research opportunities for youth amidst doctoral studies
By Alisa Kim As an undergrad studying kinesiology, Troy Francis thought he might become a physiotherapist or a chiropractor. As he continued his studies, however, Francis, currently a PhD student in the Health Services Research program at IHPME, was drawn to a big-picture view of the health system. His...
Dean’s Statement—2022 Black History/Black Futures Month
Dear DLSPH Community, Today is the beginning of Black History/Black Futures Month. I’d like to share some events that our School is hosting to celebrate Black excellence and some thoughts about what this time means to me, as a public health academic. On Feb. 3 at 6:30 pm, I hope...
Shelly Bolotin to Head Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases
By Heidi Singer Shelly Bolotin has been fascinated by infectious disease all her life – first the biology of it, and then the profound way social, economic and other human factors drive its spread. “Viruses are smarter than we are -- that blows my mind,” says DLSPH’s Associate Professor of...
Statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Dear DLSPH Community, Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day -- a chance to remember and learn from the Shoah. The conditions that gave rise to Nazism share much with genocides across the world and throughout history. We typically explain them by pointing to factors like political upheaval, extremist ideology and...