Peniston, an associate professor in the School of Nursing, is the fourth faculty member to hold the fellowship since it was introduced in 2023. Her project, titled “Global Citizenship: Experiential, Decolonial and Transformative Teaching and Learning for a Healthy and Just World,” aims to prepare students to graduate as both skilled health professionals and ethically engaged global citizens.

"We want students to graduate with ethical responsibility and global awareness of what's happening in the world, because there are real-world issues that will impact their profession," says Peniston.

The project unfolds across three interconnected objectives.

The first is professional development for faculty: equipping educators across the Faculty of Health with the tools and frameworks to weave international citizenship themes into their existing courses. The second is Faculty-wide curriculum transformation, co-developing a pan-Faculty general education course and classroom modular teaching resources centred on global citizenship, health equity and sustainability. The third is preparing students to be globally minded by developing their critical thinking, ethical reasoning and ability to work across perspectives, so they graduate seeing themselves as agents of change who feel capable of addressing real-world health challenges.

The most tangible deliverable is a digital global citizenship badge that students can add to their CV or LinkedIn profile, signalling they have engaged meaningfully with health equity, sustainability and social justice during their time at York.

“I want every student graduating from the Faculty of Health to leave not only with expertise in their discipline, but also as a global scholar equipped to engage with the world," says Peniston.

Earning the digital badge will require completing specific elective courses related to global citizenship, including the proposed interdisciplinary pan-University course, participating in a capstone project through York's Cross Campus Capstone Classroom (C4) and engaging with York International's learning partnerships.

Together, these elements are designed to create experiential and digitally connected learning opportunities that reach beyond the classroom.

Peniston also plans to develop a health-focused teaching toolkit to support faculty in incorporating the UN Sustainable Development Goals into their classrooms, building on work she completed through a previous Academic Innovation Fund grant.

Running through all three objectives is a commitment to decolonial teaching practices by centring a broader range of voices, perspectives and ways of knowing in health education.

The decolonial focus is grounded in practical classroom application rather than abstract theory. Peniston points to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action as one framework, and describes integrating Indigenous scholarship, diverse global perspectives and non-biomedical voices into what students read and hear.

"It's bringing in diverse perspectives and materials for students to engage with, inviting Indigenous scholars and other historically underrepresented voices, creating space to listen to those voices that haven't been heard and must be heard," she says.

Peniston will measure success at three levels: changes in student thinking about their professional roles and global responsibilities; increases in the number of faculty incorporating global citizenship modules into their teaching; and the Faculty of Health's ability to demonstrate leadership in socially accountable health education.

"What I find most exciting is the opportunity to work across all the schools in the Faculty of Health to co-create something together," she says. "It's about more than one course or one program; it's about building a shared approach to teaching that connects disciplines and prepares students for the world they're entering after graduation."

With files from Mzwandile Poncana

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At żě˛ĄĘÓƵ, researchers are addressing that gap by bringing patient partners into the conversation to learn from lived experience.

Through its Muscle Health Research Centre (MHRC), York is advancing research that connects scientific inquiry with the lived realities of people affected by conditions and diseases that impact muscle health, ensuring that studies and knowledge-sharing efforts account for how mobility, independence and quality of life are impacted.

The approach recognizes that certain aspects of muscle health are difficult to fully capture without perspectives from those navigating these realities daily.

“Recognizing lived experience as a critical source of knowledge helps to inform future research, education and public understanding related to the real-world impacts facing those living with muscle health disease,” says Christopher Perry, professor and director of the MHRC.

This perspective is particularly relevant for individuals living with mitochondrial disease, a rare genetic condition that affects how cells produce energy.

Working with patient partners, Perry says many report that muscle weakness, fatigue and changes in mobility can cause decline in the ability to execute everyday activities, plan long term and maintain independence. It’s these factors, he says, that are often difficult to capture through clinical measures alone.

“For individuals living with mitochondrial disease, changes in muscle function can emerge gradually or after long periods of stability,” he says. “As mobility declines, the impact extends beyond physical symptoms, requiring adaptation to both physical and emotional well-being.”

Kate Murray, CEO of MitoCanada, says when this decline happens, individuals experience a sense of loss.

“There’s a grieving process for the life and independence they once had,” she says. “From our perspective at MitoCanada, a big part of what we try to do is make sure lived experiences are part of the conversation and stay grounded in what people are navigating in their lives.”

Adding to the challenge is the absence of disease-specific treatments. However, patient partners share one approach helps: exercise.

Resistance and strength training for those living with mitochondrial disease can help maintain function and independence – and Murray says it's important to rethink what exercise can mean in this context.

“I’ve heard community members describe exercise almost as a form of hope. They feel empowered and optimistic about the potential to slow their decline or maintain what they have,” she says. “For these individuals, exercise isn’t about performance or pushing limits, it’s about maintaining function, independence and quality of life.”

Patient partner Louise Gibson, a mitoAmbassador and community advocate with MitoCanada, shares this perspective and will present her insights and experiences to York researchers at the upcoming Muscle Health Awareness Day (MHAD), now in its 17th year.

As a patient advocate, she brings lived experience into research and education settings, helping inform health care teams, support patient education and advocate for greater awareness of rare diseases.

She also emphasizes the role of accessible exercise in maintaining function and quality of life for people living with mitochondrial disease.

“It is difficult to fully understand the conditions we study without hearing from people who live with them every day, which is why the Muscle Health Research Centre is focused on creating space for those voices and finding better ways to ensure they are heard,” says Perry.

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The initiative is part of the ’s fourth-year course Sport and International Development (KINE 4310) that engages students in community-driven projects with local and global organizations.

Led by Associate Professor Lyndsay Hayhurst as part of a community-service learning (CSL) initiative, 45 undergraduate students partnered with seven organizations – Jays Care Foundation, Commonwealth Sport Canada, Free to Run, Skateistan, Prezdential Basketball, Canadian Women & Sport and the International Platform on Sport and Development – to effect real-world change.

Working in small groups, students contributed approximately 25 hours over the term to support partner-identified priorities related to: gender equity; monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning; newcomer inclusion and belonging; climate justice; and youth development.

Each group developed a structured work plan, maintained regular communication with their partner organization and completed a midterm progress report and final report outlining their research, analysis and recommendations.

A core focus of the course was knowledge mobilization, with students producing accessible, action-oriented resources designed to be used in practice by organizations. These outputs included monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) toolkits, policy briefs, infographics, coaching resources and digital content strategies.

The course concluded with a final in-class conference where students presented their knowledge mobilization outputs to partner organizations followed by discussion and feedback from partners and peers.

Partner organizations said the presentations offered practical relevance, clarity and creativity of the presentations, noting that several recommendations would be adopted to inform ongoing programming, evaluation and policy development.

The work, Hayhurst notes, highlights how students are engaging with contemporary challenges shaping sport and development practice.

One project, for example, worked on a policy brief on trans and non-binary inclusion for Canadian Women & Sport just as the International Olympic Committee released new guidance on trans athletes participating in women’s sport.

“The real-time policy shift that is widely interpreted as excluding trans athletes from women’s sports brought urgency to the group’s presentation and sparked conversations about how community sport organizations in Canada can respond with more inclusive, equity-focused approaches,” says Hayhurst.

The Jays Care student group worked on researching how youth-facing barriers to sport participation – and the efforts to address them – shape access, retention and experiences in community baseball. The project maintained a specific gender analysis, with attention to girls’ participation in the broader community-based landscape. Working with Jays Care, students presented an infographic exploring how equity, access, safe spaces, inclusive environments and meaningful participation translate (or fail to translate) into tangible outcomes for girls in baseball across Canada.

Alexandra Blanchard, director of strategy at Jays Care Foundation and York alum, says working with the students was positive experience, noting they were enthusiastic, curious and a pleasure to engage with.

“It's energizing to connect with the next generation of students who are passionate about the field and I'd jump at the chance to do it again,” says Blanchard. “University partnerships like this are a wonderful way to bridge research and community practice, and we'd recommend the experience to any community organization looking to do the same.”

In addition to applied research experience, the CSL model supports skill development in research, communication, teamwork and problem-solving.

“This course has run for the last 10 years with the goal of moving beyond traditional learning by engaging students in collaborative, community-driven projects,” says Hayhurst. â€śStudents are not only developing critical insights into sport, development and social justice, but importantly, they are also creating tangible knowledge mobilization outputs that will be taken up in practice by community partners.”

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With people living longer than ever before, dementia is becoming a common part of aging worldwide.

Parmis Mirzadeh, a Faculty of Health doctoral candidate in kinesiology and health science, says “Dementia is a growing global public health challenge, with over 50 million people affected worldwide and numbers expected to rise substantially in the coming decades.”

Despite its prevalence, Mirzadeh explains, there is still no cure for the condition and existing treatments have only limited effects. As a result, researchers increasingly see prevention as a critical response; however, preventing a condition that develops slowly, often over decades, requires a better understanding of how routine, potentially changeable habits influence risk over the long term.

While previous research links exercise and sleep to dementia, the evidence has often been fragmented. Few large reviews have examined physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep collectively – particularly in middle‑aged adults, when prevention efforts may be most effective.

“Understanding how these everyday behaviours relate to dementia risk earlier in the life course can help inform prevention strategies because they can be targeted through public health and clinical interventions,” says Mirzadeh.

Mirzadeh and Akinkunle Oye-Somefun, a recently graduated PhD student, have addressed this gap with a new study published in which was supervised by Chris Ardern, Faculty of Health associate dean of research and innovation.

The żě˛ĄĘÓƵ-led team conducted a systematic review and meta‑analysis of dozens of long‑running cohort studies dating back to the 1940s and representing millions of adults aged 35 and older. “It provided an opportunity to better understand how daily habits like physical activity, sedentary time and sleep collectively shape brain health over time,” says Mirzadeh.

The study suggests that how people move and rest across the day may be one important piece of protecting brain health as populations age.

The study pooled results across this research to identify consistent patterns among the nearly three million participants included in the analysis. Clear associations emerged across each of the movement patterns examined.

Researchers found that people who met standard physical activity guidelines – roughly 150 minutes of activity per week – had about a 25 per cent lower probability of onset dementia compared with those who were inactive.

The analysis also found that those who slept substantially less than seven hours per night, as well as those who regularly slept more than eight hours, were more likely to experience onset dementia than those who slept seven to eight hours. Longer sleep duration showed the strongest association, echoing earlier research suggesting it may reflect underlying health or early neurological changes.

Sedentary habits proved to be one of the more difficult areas to analyze. “One of the more surprising findings was how sparse the data remains for sedentary behaviour, despite it being recognized as a distinct health risk for more than a decade,” says Mirzadeh. Even so, the available research points to a consistent pattern: individuals who spent eight hours or more per day sitting are more likely to develop dementia.

Taken together, the findings suggest that staying physically active, limiting long periods of sitting and getting a moderate amount of sleep are each associated with better brain health over the long term.

The authors stress that these findings show associations, not cause and effect. Being active or sleeping well does not make someone immune to dementia and factors such as genetics, education and overall health still play major roles. The researchers also note limitations in the available evidence and call for future studies that track movement and sleep over time using objective tools like wearable devices.

Even so, the patterns were strong and consistent enough to matter.

“We hope this work helps raise awareness that everyday behaviours such as physical activity, sedentary time and sleep are associated with brain health,” says Mirzadeh. “Because these are modifiable, they represent practical targets for interventions aimed at reducing dementia risk at the population level.”

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For people who have experienced trauma, early support is critical for regulating distress and restoring a sense of safety. But Harmsen, a PhD candidate in York’s Clinical‑Developmental Psychology program and the Trauma & Attachment Lab, notes that individualized, in‑person therapy isn’t always accessible. Cost, distance, time constraints, mobility challenges and a shortage of trained clinicians can all stand in the way.

During – and after – the COVID‑19 pandemic, many mental health services shifted online to reach more people, she explains. Alongside individual sessions, clinicians also began offering more virtual group formats. Trauma therapy in that format allows multiple survivors to receive care at once. The virtual format can foster a sense of shared understanding and may reduce stigma by helping participants see their responses as common, rather than isolating.

Despite its potential, Harmsen says group therapy remains an underused resource, in part because of lingering public hesitation. That gap helped inspire a research project she's been part of, now published in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, which tested whether online, skills‑based trauma groups could offer meaningful early‑stage support – and how to make them as effective as possible.

The project was developed by a team at York's Trauma & Attachment Lab, directed by psychology professor Robert T. Muller. Harmsen worked collaboratively with Muller and York postdoctoral fellow ł§˛ą°ů˛ąĚý¸é±đ±č±đ˛Ô»ĺ˛ą,Ěý±Ęłó¶ŮĚýł¦˛ą˛Ô»ĺľ±»ĺ˛ąłŮ±đĚýGeorge Langdon, and clinical psychologist Anna Baranowsky. The team designed an eight‑week, skills‑based trauma program delivered in partnership with the community organization Trauma Practice for Healthy Communities. The initiative was offered entirely online and focused on grounding, self‑regulation, basic coping strategies and psychoeducation – tools to help individuals manage distress safely, without detailed trauma disclosure.

“Our guiding goal was to understand how to create an online program that was informative, practical and helpful, particularly during a difficult time,” Harmsen says.

The study followed 178 adults who took part in a series of small, closed online groups between 2020 and 2024. To assess impact, the research team compared changes in participants’ symptoms before the group began with those measured after the final session.

The results were encouraging. PTSD symptoms declined much more after participants completed the program than during the waiting period beforehand, suggesting the program's success. About one‑third of people showed clinically meaningful improvements, with symptoms easing across areas such as intrusive memories, avoidance, and negative mood and thinking. More than a quarter of those who initially scored in the range associated with probable PTSD fell below that screening threshold by the end of the program.

Soon after completing that project, the research team conducted a follow‑up study to better understand why some participants benefited more than others. Although online trauma groups are increasingly used, Harmsen says far less research has examined the factors that help explain how and why they work.

“There are so many different types of therapy,” she says. “Identifying when online group therapy is most successful, and how to use it effectively, is important.”

The follow‑up study examined the experiences of 80 adults drawn from the same community‑based program. Those who participated completed symptom questionnaires before and after the experience, along with post‑program feedback on dynamics and satisfaction.

What stood out most was that satisfaction – not group climate – predicted improvement. Participants who felt the techniques were clearly explained, easy to understand and practical in everyday life showed the largest reductions in trauma‑related symptoms.

In the paper, the researchers note this does not mean the collective setting was unimportant; rather, the findings suggest that for early‑stage, skills‑based trauma groups, the primary value comes from expanding access and delivering practical tools safely and efficiently. Individual improvements, however, depend on how clearly those tools are taught and how easily they can be applied in daily life.

Harmsen stresses that more research is still needed, including randomized trials and longer‑term follow‑up. In the meantime, she hopes the work highlights how early stabilization in online group settings can be a valuable part of broader trauma‑care pathways, and encourages clinicians to think carefully about how similar programs are designed and facilitated.

“Understanding how to make online group therapy as effective as possible will help make services more accessible to those in need,” she says. “I hope this research encourages people to consider using online group therapy in their practices and provides some guidance on how to make the most of these groups.”

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“New grads are not staying in nursing,” says Robbio, who teaches in the School of Nursing at żě˛ĄĘÓƵ. “It’s a lot of sacrifices they’re making, a lot of money they are spending, to not stay in nursing.”

High turnover and ongoing staffing pressures affect not only individual nurses but also the broader health care system, Robbio says. Her work focuses on addressing burnout and retention challenges that emerge early in nurses’ careers.

Many new graduates face a difficult shift as they enter professional practice where support can be limited and workplace pressures high. These challenges were further intensified during the COVID‑19 pandemic, which disrupted clinical placements and contributed to work fatigue among practising nurses.

That transition period prompted Robbio to focus on mentorship and social connection as ways to help students build confidence, resilience and a sense of belonging as they move into the workforce. However, through her doctoral work in 2018 – titled "E-Mentoring as a Socialization Strategy for New Graduate Nurse Role Transitions and Workplace Adjustment" – Robbio confirmed that traditional in‑person mentoring models can be difficult to sustain due to competing priorities, scheduling conflicts and heavy workloads.

In 2023, supported by a York Academic Innovation Fund grant, Robbio expanded her research by launching a pilot e‑mentoring initiative to explore a more flexible approach. The project examined whether virtual mentoring could offer an accessible, cost‑effective way to overcome common barriers to mentorship. It did so through an interdisciplinary research team consisting of co-principal investigator Mavoy Bertram, an associate professor from the School of Nursing; former Teaching Commons educational developer Lisa Endersby; statistician Hugh McCague from the Institute for Social Research; Helen Brennagh from Learning Technology Services; Stephanie Quail, director of the Open Scholarship Department at żě˛ĄĘÓƵ Libraries; and research assistant Doina Nugent.

The initiative explored how an e‑mentoring model within York's School of Nursing could provide psychosocial guidance, networking opportunities and career support for fourth‑year undergraduate collaborative BScN students.

Following positive responses from both mentors and mentees, Robbio received support through a żě˛ĄĘÓƵ Faculty Association Teaching Fellowship and żě˛ĄĘÓƵ Minor Research Grant to integrate the system directly into the curriculum of an undergraduate nursing leadership course she teaches.

The three‑month program – built on the 2023 research work and started in January 2025 – paired third‑year undergraduates (e‑mentees) with graduate nursing students who are also experienced registered nurses (e‑mentors). The mentors came from within the York community.

“We already have nurses at York who are working on their graduate degrees,” says Robbio. “We have a pool of people who want to give back to the profession while continuing their education.”

Mentors created detailed profiles that included clinical experience, years in practice and personal interests to help foster strong matches. Students were then able to indicate preferred mentors, with efforts made to accommodate those choices where possible.

Once matched, mentors and mentees connected by email, text or Zoom every two weeks. They discussed topics such as goal setting, conflict management, career pathways and work-life balance, supported by a series of online learning modules. Robbio emphasizes the tone of the relationship was central to the initiative’s success.

“It was not so much about preaching to your mentee, but really listening,” she says. “It felt more like a peer‑support relationship.”

At the end of the program, e‑mentees completed a reflective learning assignment to assess their development and experiences. Mentors and mentees were also invited to complete a post‑program satisfaction survey.

The findings were positive. A large majority (86 per cent) of e‑mentors said they would participate again, citing the experience as rewarding and meaningful. Many e‑mentees reported they valued the additional guidance and planned to stay in contact with their mentors. While designed to support undergraduate nursing students, mentors also gained from the experience.

“E‑mentoring was really a reciprocal relationship,” Robbio says, noting that mentors had opportunities to reflect on their own practice, strengthen leadership skills and reconnect with their professional purpose.

Ultimately, the initiative aims to support long‑term retention in the profession. By helping students build resilience, navigate challenges and develop coping strategies early in their careers, Robbio hopes it will make a lasting impact.

“Our goal is that whatever skills they’ve learned – whether it’s resilience, conflict resolution or managing work-life balance – this program will help them stay in nursing,” she says.

Robbio and her team plan to continue work on the initiative. In the fall, she hopes to expand the program to support internationally educated nurses, who may face additional pressures as they transition to working in Canada. She is also exploring ways to involve alumni as e-mentors and believes the model could eventually be adapted for use in other programs and disciplines.

With files from Ruth Robbio

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In 2023, a Canadian-wide review of undergraduate nursing programs found that of all 2SLGBTQIA+ topics, gender-affirming care was the least included in the curriculum. Haghiri-Vijehan, assistant professor in the Faculty of Health, was not surprised given her own experience as an educator.

“The literature shows that 2SLGBTQIA+ communities are not feeling safe and health care spaces are not affirming of their needs,” she says. “We need to include this as part of our education.”

As she considered how to incorporate more affirming care practices into her Community Health Nursing course, Haghiri‑Vijeh turned to an asynchronous learning tool called the Sexual Orientation Gender Identity Virtual Simulation (SOGI VS). The open‑access platform offers five‑ to eight‑hour modules featuring common patient scenarios, using interactive simulations to help learners identify appropriate, affirming approaches to care.

Haghiri-Vijeh integrated the tool into her course, but went a step further when she learned about York’s GNL initiative. The opportunity sparked a new idea: what if this simulation could become the foundation of a shared international assignment? It seemed like a powerful way to bring students in two countries into conversation, help them build intercultural competence and test whether a reflective, virtual global partnership could support that growth. Just as importantly, she hoped the project might serve as a practical model for other nursing programs.

To bring the collaboration to life, the GNL team at York connected Haghiri‑Vijeh with Alice Wong, a nursing lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU).

The process behind that has now been published in a paper in . Wong is a co-author along with York colleague Karen A. Campbell and York master’s student Camille Alcalde.

In the paper, the team outlines how they shaped the shared assignment. Early on, Haghiri‑Vijeh and Wong came together to learn about each other’s institutions, consult with their universities’ GNL offices, test the simulation tool and work together to design their co‑teaching approach.

They aligned the assignment timelines across their courses while keeping the activities asynchronous to accommodate the 12‑hour time difference. Students were required to complete the SOGI VS modules on their own and write a three‑page reflection connecting the experience to their specific placements or practicums. They also submitted an aesthetic piece of their choosing – a song, image, drawing or other creative representation – to capture how the coursework resonated with them.

From there, the students were paired across the two countries. York and HKBU partners exchanged reflections and offered constructive feedback. Guiding questions encouraged students to explore similarities and differences between their placements, and to reflect on at least one social determinant of health and one UN Sustainable Development Goal. Then students were asked to write a second reflection capturing what they had learned from the dialogue.

As the exchanges unfolded, both faculty and students began to see the impact of the work. Assignments and class discussions showed students learning about approaches to 2SLGBTQIA+ care in another country, but also about the social and institutional contexts shaping those approaches. Faculty gathered informal feedback through conversations and the student assignments, and identified increased awareness around issues such as cis-normativity, power dynamics in health care organizations and the importance of inclusive policies and representation in clinical settings.

When the project concluded, its success prompted Haghiri‑Vijeh to write about it with the hope of inspiring similar efforts across the field. A second paper is already under consideration with another major journal, this time exploring the data more closely to identify implications for nursing education. Three students are also developing autoethnographies based on their participation, and several alumni have presented their work at international conferences.

Haghiri‑Vijeh continues to advance her work through a recent to learn about migrant 2SLGBTQIA+ students’ sense of belonging and well-being.

For Haghiri‑Vijeh, student involvement has been among the most meaningful outcomes.

“Where possible, we engage students in the writing and co‑creation of knowledge,” she says. “Asking them if they would like to be involved builds capacity for them, as well.”

She is eager to continue the initiative, including with partners beyond nursing. Conversations are already underway with U.S.-based colleagues in psychology and social work.

“I'm a big believer that if you're doing anything that might be innovative or helpful for others, you have to share it,” she says. “You have to mobilize your knowledge.”

With files from Suzanne Bowness

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For people with limb loss, phantom pain and discomfort in the remaining part of the body – sensations that seem to originate from a missing or altered limb – have long captured clinical and research attention.

New work by Andrea Aternali, a doctoral researcher in the Faculty of Health, Heather Lumsden-Ruegg, master’s researcher, and Department of Psychology Professor Joel Katz, is advancing understanding of this phenomenon.

"Despite decades of research on phantom limb phenomena, telescoping has been largely overlooked," says Aternali.

Phantom limb telescoping occurs when someone perceives their absent limb as slowly shortening or pulling inward toward the residual limb, the part that remains after amputation. While many people report the sensation, researchers still know relatively little about how it relates to pain or interacts with emotional factors such as anxiety, depression, resilience or coping. Addressing those gaps, Aternali explains, can help clarify whether telescoping reflects distress, adaptation or a mixture of both and lead to support for the marginalization experienced by individuals.

"We hoped that by understanding a sensation like telescoping, new ways might be found to help this community," she says.

Aternali and her team conducted a study – now published in – involving 51 adults with upper or lower limb loss. Using a custom web-based tool, participants indicated whether they experienced telescoping, among other factors. They also completed standardized questionnaires assessing pain, emotional well‑being and coping styles.

Nearly half of participants reported the phenomenon, suggesting it may be more common than previously thought. Younger adults and those with upper‑body amputations – particularly right-sided, below‑elbow – were more likely to describe it.

The data also revealed that those who felt a more telescope phantom (a shorter phantom limb) reported lower levels of phantom pain and less interference with daily activities. At the same time, they described higher levels of anxiety and depression than those who did not experience the sensation.

For Aternali, the findings indicate that telescoping may, in some cases, reflect the brain’s natural adjustment to limb loss rather than something driven only by distress or pain. The results point to a more nuanced picture in which the sensation may arise from a complex interaction between emotional factors and neural adaptation. That insight could inform more individualized approaches to care for people adjusting to life after amputation.

The researchers note that more work is needed to fully understand how telescoping develops. Studies following individuals over time, using brain imaging and testing targeted interventions – such as virtual‑reality treatments or psychological therapies – could offer deeper insight. Larger and more diverse samples, along with qualitative interviews, may also help illuminate how people make sense of the sensation in their daily lives.

Aternali, Lumsden‑Ruegg and Katz hope their findings will highlight the importance of supporting both the physical and psychological aspects of recovery. They suggest clinicians should routinely screen for anxiety and depression in patients who report telescoping and consider offering tailored psychological support when needed. Doing so, they believe, could help ensure that care reflects the full spectrum of experiences that shape life after limb loss.

"We hope this research informs future treatments for phantom limb pain," Aternali says. "By highlighting the link between telescoping, anxiety and depression, we aim to encourage holistic care supporting both physical and emotional well-being."

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For real-world action to result from academic inquiry, researchers must be able to actively share and apply their findings.

This is the focus of York’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit (KMb Unit): to help scholars build relationships with community organizations, government and other non-academic partners. It supports efforts to share research in ways that are more accessible and usable beyond the University, ensuring York’s work reaches the right audiences.

For Michael Johnny, manager of KMb Unit, that work begins with communicating a simple idea.

“My definition of knowledge mobilization is that it helps take the best of what we know and makes it useful for people in our communities,” he says.

Located in the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, the unit provides services and resources for collaborative projects, helps broker partnerships and offers training and strategy support for researchers, students and non-academic collaborators.

Johnny says it plays an important role because academic research does not always reach audiences in the right way.

“If everybody accessed information through academic journal articles, then we really wouldn’t need a service unit like this at York,” he says. “But it’s safe to say that different audiences like to access information in different ways.”

That means helping researchers build relationships at the front-end of the research cycle, and offering assistance in translating findings into plain language. There is also a multitude of tools and resources that can help implement research into practice.

Among the unit’s core areas of work is partnership-building. Johnny says the office regularly engages with organizations such as York Region, the City of Toronto and United Way Greater Toronto to better understand the kinds of questions and broader thematic issues that matter to them. KMb Unit then works to connect those needs with relevant York expertise.

That collaborative work also shows up in how researchers plan grant applications, with the unit supporting scholars who require a knowledge mobilization strategy for federal funding applications.

“Quite often what they are looking for is help and support around developing that strategy,” Johnny says.

The impact of the unit’s work can be seen in the long-term research partnerships it has facilitated. Johnny points to the work of Jennifer Connolly as an example – a psychology professor in York’s .

Through partnerships the unit helped facilitate in York Region, Connolly’s work took on a new direction, guiding graduate student research and overseeing collaborative projects while conducting research on gender-based violence.

Connolly works in partnership with York Regional Police and York Region’s Children’s Aid Society studying the prevention of sex trafficking. She uses her findings to develop tools and approaches for early intervention, such as the York Simcoe Sex Trafficking Screener.

“It completely changed the trajectory of her engaged scholarship,” Johnny says.

He also highlights the unit’s work with Community Music Schools of Toronto, originally based in Regent Park. After the organization approached the KMb Unit with a broad set of research questions, the unit helped coordinate an advisory group of York academics to respond.

According to Johnny, the resulting connections helped secure a $2-million endowment for the Helen Carswell Chair in Community Engaged Research in the Arts at żě˛ĄĘÓƵ, which creates meaningful opportunities for York students and faculty to work on projects shaped by community-identified needs.

KMb Unit’s training has expanded over time, including the introduction of MobilizeU, a non-credit course in knowledge mobilization. Johnny describes the offering as a “cornerstone service” that helps equip York researchers, students and community partners with tools and skills to maximize the impact of their work.

The success of MobilizeU, says Johnny, is due to the work of Senior Knowledge Mobilization Specialist Krista Jensen, who envisioned the program in 2017 and launched it in 2019.

The unit has also extended its reach through Research Impact Canada, a national network that grew out of early collaboration between York and the University of Victoria. Now made up of 46 members in Canada and the U.K., the network serves as a community of practice for knowledge mobilization, with York set to host its Canadian Knowledge Mobilization Forum in July.

For Johnny, one of the biggest challenges goes back to general understanding of what knowledge mobilization is, and why it’s important.

“For a lot of people, there is an understanding that knowledge mobilization is simply a dissemination or communications-based exercise around research,” he says. “And that’s not wrong. It’s just often incomplete.”

Applying research to real-world challenges, strengthening community partnerships and increasing research visibility are all key benefits of sharing the work of York academics.

Johnny notes that since it began operating in 2006, the unit has assisted in more than 1,600 unique interactions with faculty members, 2,000 non-academic partners and 2,500 students.

For Johnny, those numbers reflect the success of the KMb Unit and speak to the University’s a broader goal: helping research move into the world in ways that are collaborative, responsive and useful.

With files from Mzwandile Poncana

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Ciuying Jian (associate professor, ), Trevor VandenBoer (associate professor, Faculty of Science) and Daanish Mulla (postdoctoral fellow, ) are three of 34 delegates selected to engage in dialogue with policymakers during the 2026 Science Meets Parliament – Ontario Program (SMP-ON).

The event creates opportunities for in-depth knowledge sharing, in which delegates from the academic scientific community gain insights into the legislative process and learn how to effectively communicate research to policymakers.

This is the second year for the Ontario cohort, which is an expansion of the SMP federal program launched by the Canadian Science Policy Centre (CSPC) in 2018. It serves as a non-partisan initiative to benefit scientists, members of provincial parliament (MPPs) and Ontarians.

The three York representatives will bring research expertise in water and energy, air quality and chemical instrumentation, and human movement to the Spring 2026 delegation.

“This initiative is important because it creates a structured space for direct exchange between researchers and policymakers,” says Jian, a professor of mechanical engineering. “This type of engagement helps ensure that decisions are informed by evidence and allows researchers to better understand how policy is shaped in practice.”

Jian’s research explores innovative ways to use carbon and water more effectively. Specifically, her research examines how to sustainably produce carbon-based functional materials and use them to clean wastewater and improve environmental monitoring and green energy systems. Her lab also uses computer modelling to understand the behaviour of materials and interfacial systems at a microscopic level.

She plans to highlight to policymakers the importance of supporting both applied and fundamental research and hopes to help build mutual understanding between scientists and MPPs about how each approaches complex decision-making. Jian says she will share insights learned with Lassonde and the wider York community, as well as external partners such as the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering. She will incorporate these new perspectives into her research practice moving forward, she says.

For VandenBoer, the delegation is an opportunity to help ensure that “science is a non-partisan entity in politics,” and looks forward to scientists and MPPs working together to serve Ontarians

Atmospheric and analytical chemistry is the focus of VandenBoer’s research at York, which develops new tools to track nitrogen from use as fertilizer to grow crops to the air, as well as in the air quality of urban environments including indoor spaces. The research team working with VandenBoer studies how these chemicals travel and change from microscopic interactions at atmospheric interfaces to impacts at a global scale.

VandenBoer notes that by giving MPPs access to experts, and CSPC teaching scientists how to translate research for policy relevance, the program ensures that provincial decisions can be grounded in the best available evidence.

“The collaboration aims to benefit all Ontarians by bringing a wide range of diverse, expert voices into government to solve real-world problems,” says VandenBoer, adding he plans to maintain relationships developed during the delegation.

Mulla, a postdoctoral researcher with Connected Minds at York, sees the delegation as an opportunity to ensure his research generates evidence that is scientifically rigorous, but also directly actionable for public health policy.

His research investigates how the brain and nervous system control movements. By using advanced computer models, he explores how individuals learn new skills or break old habits, with the goal of finding ways to help people learn physical tasks faster and safely.

"Visible collaboration between researchers and policymakers signals that evidence and governance are working together, not in silos,” Mulla says, adding that he’ll apply what he learns to his teaching and research, and will incorporate findings into lessons about science communication.

By participating in the initiative, York researchers will help strengthen connections between science and policy at the provincial level.

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