Mental Health Archives - Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research

Phillipina Schandorf

thedinh — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 21:45:12 +0000

Phillipina Schandorf is a public health researcher and teacher with the Ministry of Health in Ghana. She holds a first degree in Biological Sciences and a master’s degree in public health, both from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana. Her career path has involved working as part of research teams committed to strengthening health systems by producing evidence to support the implementation of effective health policies. One of such initiatives is the home-based care programme for the management of fevers in children for the Malaria control programme in Ghana. She has also been involved in the training of District Health Research Teams and student nurses and midwives in the conduct of operational research.

She is extremely passionate about the planning and implementation of strategies that facilitate improved health, especially for vulnerable groups such as women and children, leading to improved global health. It is this passion which drives her PhD research on the impact of climate stressors on mental health at the Biological, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Department of the School of Public Health, University of Ghana.

Research Keywords

Household air pollution; climate change; mental health

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Karen Naidoo

natpat — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 19:16:56 +0000

Dr. Karen Naidoo is an adjunct professor in Caribbean Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her research investigates how young Canadian-Caribbean people understand and respond to mental health services. She completed her post-doctoral research with the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness (COH) as a content developer, specializing in the dissemination of research knowledge on interventions that end or prevent the experience of homelessness for young people to policymakers and service providers. In addition, she is the cofounder and managing director of SOAR-Caribbean Inc., aimed at building linkages for educational institutions and community-based organizations operating in Grenada, Jamaica, and Guyana. Her international projects draw focus to the examination of transnational youth voices, mental health, and queer youth education.

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Angel George Buendia

natpat — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 14:16:53 +0000

Angel George Buendia is a recent graduate of the Global Health program at �첥��Ƶ, with a specialization in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.

She is currently involved in a �첥��Ƶ-funded study on the impact of the 2024 CUPE 3309 labour strike on undergraduate students’ mental health as a Research Assistant under Dr. Benedict Weobong and PhD candidate Queenie Cheung at the Dahdaleh Institute of Global Health Research.

Her work includes designing recruitment instruments and coordinating recruitment logistics, liaising with York community members, faculty, and departments, tracking deliverables, and conducting research on assigned study areas.

Additionally, she is also working on a separate project with Dr. Weobong to evaluate how course components as experiential learning experience, could influence student perspectives.

Apart from her present works which primarily focus on the theme of mental health, Angel hopes to work on the issue of healthcare accessibility and governance, both in research and practice in the future.

Research Keywords

Mental health; applied research; mix methods research

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Radhika Jain

natpat — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 18:31:20 +0000

Radhika Jain recently graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Global Health, specializing in Policy, Management, and Systems. She currently serves as the inaugural Global Health Alumni Coordinator, collaborating with Dr. Godfred Boateng to strengthen connections within �첥��Ƶ's Global Health Alumni community. In this role, she leads a team dedicated to establishing a sustainable Global Health Network for �첥��Ƶ's Global Health community. Her passion for policy and program evaluation stems from her experience as a research intern with the Euro Health Group in Denmark and her (policy & program-related) role in her local community's health centre's committee.

As a research associate at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research and the Global and Environmental Health Lab, Radhika will work with Dr. Boateng on the "Resource insecurity, health and Sustainable Livelihoods" project. Her main focus will be to explore the impact of sleeping disorders on psychosocial health outcomes (mental health conditions) for those impacted while examining the overlooked link between housing insecurity and mental health conditions in lower-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. She will be looking specifically at Kenya's HIV and AIDs impacted population and what can be done to improve the gaps that are present.

Research Keywords

Kenya; Sleep Disorders; Housing Insecurity; HIV; AIDs; Psychosocial Health Outcomes; Resource Insecurity; Mental Health

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Lauren Corridore

natpat — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 15:14:28 +0000

Lauren is a fourth-year Honours BSc Psychology student, specializing in Psychology & Law and Psychological Humanities. She is a Research Assistant at the Wellness Impact Lab, where she oversees digital media and program management under the supervision of Dr. Harvey Skinner and Susan Harris. She has previously completed a literature review on the intersection of mindfulness based applications and climate distress. Her current project will be addressing the role of trauma on climate-related disasters and displacement. Her broader research interests focus on the interactions between emotion and cognition that determine subjective wellbeing and stress resilience.

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Lisa Freire

natpat — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 20:03:42 +0000

As an intern with the Wellness Impact Lab at the Dahdaleh Institute, Lisa works under the supervision of Dr. Skinner to conduct mini-literature reviews on the application of yoga as a wellness technique to mitigate climate distress. Her research explores the intersection of mental well-being and environmental challenges, contributing to a broader understanding of holistic approaches to climate resilience.

Lisa is also a Research Assistant at the Global Strategy Lab (GSL), where she contributes to the development and implementation of knowledge translation strategies aimed at addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Research Keywords

Yoga; wellness; climate distress; mental health; climate resilience; holistic health; environmental stress; mindfulness; well-being; AMR; knowledge translation

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Sophia Bryan-Carbonell

natpat — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 15:49:09 +0000

Sophia Bryan-Carbonell is a fourth-year Specialized Honours Psychology student at �첥��Ƶ, specializing in Neuropsychology and Applied Methods and Analysis. She is a Lab Coordinator at the Wellness Impact Lab, where she works closely with Dr. Harvey Skinner and Susan Harris to support research and student engagement initiatives on climate change, wellness, and mental health. Sophia assists in knowledge synthesis projects on nature-based mental health interventions, coordinates the expansion of Climate Cafés, and co-develops The Nest, a student-led initiative that fosters peer support and climate action. Her academic interests lie at the intersection of neuropsychology, addiction, and the mind-body connection, with a commitment to advancing equitable and accessible approaches to mental health care.

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Sarah Merghani

natpat — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 13:45:40 +0000

Sarah Merghani is currently pursuing an Honours BSc in Global Health at �첥��Ƶ, specializing in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, along with a general certificate in Refugee and Migration Studies.

She serves as both Lab Coordinator and Research Assistant at the Wellness Impact Lab, under the mentorship of Dr. Harvey Skinner and Susan Harris. Her work includes facilitating Climate Cafés, assisting with program evaluations and manuscript preparation, and supporting knowledge synthesis. She also develops outreach materials and manages digital communications through content creation and social media. Currently, she is contributing to a scoping review on arts-based interventions for climate emotions.

Sarah is also a Research Assistant at the Global & Environmental Health Lab, mentored by Dr. Godfred Boateng. Her current research explores the health impacts of rising temperatures on older adults in Canada, with a focus on climate change, aging, and health equity.

With a long-term goal of supporting vulnerable populations through medicine and public health, Sarah is passionate about translating research into practical action and is deeply committed to advancing health equity, humanitarianism, and community-based approaches in global health.

Research Keywords

climate change; health equity; global health; public health research; aging populations; climate emotions; displacement; community-based research; youth engagement; arts-based interventions; digital health communication; planetary health; humanitarianism; mental health; knowledge translation

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Mbalu Lumor

natpat — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 19:25:00 +0000

Mbalu Lumor completed her Master in leadership and community engagement at �첥��Ƶ. She is currently a doctoral student in Health Policy & Equity, at �첥��Ƶ. Mbalu is a community organizer with over 20 years experience in the immigration and refugee sector. Her research explores psychiatry's DSM-5 and trauma care approaches for survivors of torture, war, crimes against humanity and genocide.

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