Research and society
Advancing socially accountable biomedical research through education, engagement and innovation.
Research does not happen in isolation
Our work explores how research, education and community engagement can advance health and innovation while responding to the needs and priorities of society. We are interested in how scientists are trained, how research serves communities, and how diverse perspectives can strengthen discovery and innovation.
Through scholarship in graduate education, social accountability, science communication and community-engaged research, we seek to build a more responsive, inclusive and impactful biomedical research ecosystem.
Three areas of focus
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Social accountability in biomedical research
Research can improve lives, but only when it stays connected to the needs of patients, communities and society. We examine how principles of social accountability can be extended beyond health professions education into biomedical and translational research.
Key areas
- Social accountability in graduate education
- Community-responsive research
- Biomedical professionalism and professional identity
- Research culture and responsibility
- Partnerships between researchers and society
Featured publication: Extending social accountability mandates to biomedical research in Canadian faculties of medicine (2024)
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Graduate education and research training
Tomorrow's discoveries depend on how we train today's researchers. We investigate approaches to graduate education that foster professionalism, leadership, communication, collaboration and the responsible conduct of research.
Key areas
- Graduate and postdoctoral education
- Professional skills development
- Mentorship and supervision
- Science communication
- Leadership development
Examples: a graduate professionalism curriculum, science communication initiatives, supervisor development programs and educational innovation in medicine and health sciences.
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Community engagement, inclusion and research impact
Science is strengthened when diverse voices are included in the research process. We explore approaches that connect researchers, learners, patients and communities so that research is meaningful, relevant and accessible.
Key areas
- Community-engaged scholarship
- Knowledge mobilization
- Patient and public engagement
- Accessibility and inclusion in research
- Building pathways between discovery and impact
Related initiative: the ACCESS Lab
The ACCESS Lab
Accessibility, Citizenship, Community, Equity, Science and Society. The ACCESS Lab explores the lived experience of disability across biomedical research, health care, education and STEM workplaces, working alongside people with lived experience and community partners.
Graduate programs in Accessibility in Biomedicine
The Faculty of Medicine offers a Graduate Diploma and a Master of Applied Science in Accessibility in Biomedicine, fully online, full-time or part-time, in English or French.