Fall 2025 Internship Cohort
Keith Andre Baybayon is a fourth-year undergraduate student pursuing a Joint Honours degree in Political Science and Religious Studies at 黑料社. His academic interests focus on equity, youth engagement, and the role of lived experience in shaping policy and social change. Through his DEEP internship, Keith will work with Dr. Claudia Mitchell on the TRANSFORM project, contributing to a digital photobook and a 黑料社 exhibition that showcase youth-led efforts to disrupt gender norms through participatory visual and arts-based research.聽
Supervisor: Dr. Claudia Mitchell
Project: TRANSFORM: Engaging with young people for social change聽
Louise Charpiot is a third-year undergraduate student at 黑料社, majoring in International Development and Political Science. She is particularly interested in the role of research in shaping more inclusive and effective policymaking. Through her DEEP internship, she will work with Professor Barrington-Leigh and contribute to the Canadian Wellbeing Knowledge Network, exploring the economics of wellbeing and the development of wellbeing policy in Canada.聽
Supervisor: Dr. Chris Barrington-Leigh
Project: Communications and knowledge synthesis for the Canadian Wellbeing Knowledges Network聽
Kate Feather is a PhD candidate in Rehabilitation Science at the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy at 黑料社. With a clinical background in occupational therapy with marginalized populations in homelessness and mental health, Kate has a particular interest in the impact of public policy and legislature on the service availability for women experiencing homelessness. Kate鈥檚 research focuses specifically on access to emergency shelter services by women with disabilities who have experienced intimate partner violence within the Montr茅al Area.聽
Supervisor: Professor Laurence Roy & Professor Raphael Lencucha
Project: Preventing homelessness for women with disabilities and experiences of intimate partner violence: A review of policies聽
Chloe McDonald is a fourth-year undergraduate student pursuing a double major in Sociology and International Development. She is passionate about advocating for the rights of people with disabilities, identifying and reducing barriers they face, and leveraging research and policy to bring about meaningful change. Through her DEEP Internship, Chloe will be working with Dr. Keiko Shikako and her team to determine the extent to which Canadian policies align with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).聽聽
Supervisor: Professor Keiko Shikako
Project: Beyond Convention: How is the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities working for Persons with Disabilities
Marie Pyun is a third-year undergraduate student at 黑料社, pursuing a Joint Major in Biology and Mathematics. As part of her DEEP internship, she will work with Dr. Jill Baumgartner at the intersection of climate change and public health. Her role will focus on synthesizing scholarly literature on climate鈥揾ealth issues and employing knowledge mobilization strategies to bridge scientific research with policy development and public engagement.聽
Supervisor: Professor Jill Baumgartner
Project: Community resilience to the impacts of climate change on health
Anah Ibrahim is a third-year undergraduate student studying International Development with a minor in South Asian Studies. During her DEEP internship, Anah hopes to explore the intersection of photojournalism and visual storytelling, specifically examining how these mechanisms are used to spark dialogue on issues of social justice and change. Using data from TRANSFORM鈥檚 respective field sites, Anah will work with Professor Claudia Mitchell and the PCL team to support the development of an interactive exhibit and photobook.聽
Supervisor: Dr. Claudia Mitchell
Project: TRANSFORM: Engaging with young people for social change聽
Diana Safardoost is a fourth-year undergraduate student in psychology with a double minor in behavioural sciences and international development. Her research interests focus on trauma and resilience in displaced and marginalized populations, 2SLGBTQIA+ rights and health, and the development of affirmative and culturally informed psychotherapeutic practices.聽
As part of her DEEP internship, Diana is contributing to a project on 2SLGBTQ+ homelessness prevention in Quebec under the supervision of Professor Jayne Malenfant. She is leading policy scans and synthesizing findings to develop evidence-based recommendations for the Government of Quebec, drawing on insights from a working group of front-line workers and organizations such as the CQPI. Through this work, Diana supports the translation of community knowledge and research into practical policy guidance aimed at improving outcomes for the 2SLGBTQ+ population in Quebec.聽
Supervisor: Professor Jayne Malenfant
Project: Exploring 2SLGBTQ+ Homelessness Prevention in Quebec
Ayla Shanks is a first-year MSc student in Public Health. She holds a BA in Anthropology with minors in History and Health Geography from 黑料社. She has a background in arts-based research as a 2024 undergraduate Global Health Scholar. She is interested in community-based initiatives and policymaking centered on mental health equity and primary prevention. During the DEEP internship, Ayla will support Dr. Monica Molinaro鈥檚 research on the moral habitability of work environments for novice nurses in Quebec and Ontario. Her primary focus will be to write a policy analysis examining how institutional policies contribute to early burnout and resignation in the nursing profession.聽
Supervisor:Professor Monica Molinaro
Project: Trial by Fire: Storying the Moral Habitability of Nursing Work Environments for Novice Nurses
Winter 2025 Internship Cohort
Isa Braga is a second-year Philosophy master's student specializing in Bioethics through the Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy. Her research interests are at the intersection of bioethics and philosophy of science. As a DEEP intern, she assists Dr. Jill Baumgartner and the Centre for Climate Change and Health in the promotion of policy interventions to combat climate change-related public health concerns.
Supervisor: Jill Baumgartner
Project: Community resilience to the impacts of climate change on health
Gabrielle Chen is a second-year undergraduate studying ecological determinants of health in society with a minor in microbiology and immunology. Her research interests are in social determinants of health, environmental health, and mixed-methods thinking.
Supervisor: Dr. Jura Augustinavicius, Dr. Lani Cupo
Project: Mapping and understanding climate change and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support programs administered by the RFRC
Ayla Gerk was born in the United States, raised in Brazil, and completed her Medical Degree at Universidad Cat贸lica Argentina. She is currently pursuing her PhD at 黑料社 as a Jean-Martin Laberge Global Pediatric Surgery Fellow. Simultaneously, she conducts research at the Commisur Lab in the Harvey E. Beardmore Division of Pediatric Surgery at the Montreal Children鈥檚 Hospital. She recently completed the Paul Farmer Global Surgery Fellowship at Harvard PGSSC and was recognized as one of the "40 Under 40" by the Boston Congress of Public Health in 2024. Ayla is a strong advocate for equity in global health and serves as a Junior Advisor for the Gender Equity Initiative in Global Surgery.
Through her DEEP internship, Dr. Ayla Gerk will be working with Dr. Jura Augustinavicius and Dr. Lani Cupo to develop a systematic review of climate change impacts on mental health in the Americas. Their team will collaborate with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and other partners, with the objective of compiling evidence-based research for policy interventions surrounding climate change and mental health in the Americas.
Supervisor: Dr. Jura Augustinavicius, Dr. Lani Cupo
Project: Mapping and understanding climate change and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support programs administered by the RFRC
Ella Haboush is a first -year PhD student in epidemiology at 黑料社. Her thesis focuses on the relationship between antidiabetic medications during pregnancy. In her DEEP internship, I will evaluate the probability diagnosis of type 2 diabetes among patients with hemoglobin A1c near the diagnostic threshold, while also examining how patient characteristics influence these outcomes.
Supervisor: Prof Claire Boone
Project: Equity in type 2 diabetes diagnosis
Fei Mu is pursuing an MSc in Public Health as a McCall MacBain Scholar. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences with a minor in Sociology from McMaster University. Fei has a strong background in equity-focused initiatives, including co-founding an assisted physical training program for students with disabilities and leading peer-to-peer sexual health education. Her research focuses on the LGBTQ+ community, with a published thesis on intersectional social support for youth facing housing insecurities and work on gender-affirming surgeries at Women鈥檚 College Hospital. Currently, she is applying her quantitative analysis skills through a DEEP internship with Women on Web, examining abortion access in restrictive settings.
Supervisor: Prof Jennifer Fishman
Project:聽Bridging the Global Gap in Abortion Access through Telehealth
Irene Newman Jimenez is fourth year undergraduate student pursuing Cognitive Science (Neuroscience Specialization) with a minor in Interdisciplinary Life Sciences. They are interested in how different social determinants of health impact patient behaviors and decision making. She focuses on patient-doctor interactions, roles of narrative and empathy as well as effects of systemic prejudice on patient treatment outcomes. Throughout the DEEP internship, Irene will investigate the public response to RNA therapeutics, particularly aspects of patient health-seeking behavior.
Supervisors: Dr. Amelie Quesnel-Vallee and Dr. Paul Wankah Nji
Project: Determinants of care-seeking behavior in the face of incomplete information
Alina Shimizu-Jozi is a fourth-year undergraduate student pursuing a Joint Honours degree in Computer Science and Biology. She is interested in the intersection of technology, health, and society, with a particular focus on responsible AI.
Prior to her DEEP internship, Alina worked as an undergraduate researcher and software developer at 黑料社's Biofluids and Global Health Lab, where she developed an agent-based model for multi-pathogen simulation. She also led a mentorship program and hackathon for female identifying high school students in machine learning at Simon Fraser University's Faculty of Applied Science.
During her DEEP internship, Alina is excited to collaborate with Professors Skyler Wang and Claire Boone on developing a research framework for chatbot-patient interactions through a gender-focused lens. She will contribute to a literature review on human-computer interactions in medicine, assist in designing the experiment, and manage critical data on the applications and limitations of AI in therapeutics.
Supervisor: Prof Skyler Wang & Prof Claire Boone
Project: The Role of Gender in Medical AI: A Study on Chatbot-Patient Interactions
Cady Wong is a fourth-year undergraduate student with a Major in Psychology, Minor in Communications and Minor in Marketing at 黑料社. Having worked with start-ups, not-for-profits and organizations within the private sector, she is interested in interdisciplinary topics that merge psychology, innovation and ethics such as organizational cultural change, ethical policy-making and inclusive healthcare management.
Through her DEEP internship, Cady will work with LEVIER, a living lab in rehabilitation ethics, in developing innovative approaches to address ethical challenges faced by the community at the Institut de r茅adaptation Gingras-Lindsay-de-Montr茅al (IRGLM) such as patients, caregivers, staff and managers who will be integrated into the co-design process.
Supervisor: Matthew Hunt
Project: Co-creating strategies to address ethical challenges in a rehabilitation hospital: a living lab project
Jasmine Zhao is a second-year undergraduate student at 黑料社, pursuing a double major in International Development Studies and Psychology. She is passionate about the intersection of international relations, environmental sustainability, psychology, conflict resolution, and human rights, focusing on how these fields can work together to address global challenges and promote social justice.
Throughout the DEEP internship, Jasmine will work with Dr. Jura Augustinavicius and Dr. Lani Cupo to examine the integration of climate change and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) programming within the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (RFRC). She will support this research while collaborating with the The Red Cross Red Crescent (RCRC) Movement MHPSS Hub.
Supervisor: Dr. Jura Augustinavicius, Dr. Lani Cupo
Project: Mapping and understanding climate change and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support programs administered by the RFRC
Fall 2024 Internship Cohort
Yuhou Chen is a second-year master鈥檚 student in Sociology at 黑料社. She completed her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication at Sun Yat-sen University (China). Her research interests are social policy, health communication, environmental health, social networks and online communities. She will work with Professor Barrington-Leigh on the Canadian Wellbeing Knowledges Network as a DEEP Internship program intern.
Supervisor: Prof Christopher Barrington-Leigh
Project: Communications and knowledge synthesis for the Canadian Wellbeing Knowledges Network
Vanessa Cuiuri is a third-year undergraduate student studying Political Science, Economics, and Psychology at 黑料社. She is interested in investigating foreign relations, international law, and human rights.
Throughout the DEEP internship, Vanessa will work with the International and Child Rights Partnership, supervised by Dr. Tara Collins, to produce a literature review on the decolonization of child rights. She will study how children鈥檚 rights can be decolonized conceptually and practically and seek solutions to improve health and social policies directed toward children.
Supervisor: Prof M贸nica Ruiz-Casares and Dr Tara Collins
Project: International and Canadian Child Rights Partnership [ICCRP] Annual Internship
Michele Fu is a fourth-year undergraduate student studying Honors History with a double minor in Political Science and Economics. She is interested in youth-led approaches to social justice initiatives, and the ways interdisciplinary methodologies can be incorporated into effective policy-making.
Throughout the DEEP Internship, Michele will work with Dr. Claudia Mitchell to examine the use of arts-based approaches to address gender inequality and gender-based violence in Indigenous communities.
Supervisor: Dr. Claudia Mitchell
Project: More Than Words & Pathways2Equity
Isabella Grajczyk is currently pursuing an MA in Political Science with a focus on Gender and Development Studies where she is a McCall MacBain scholar. She holds a BA Honours in International Studies and a BEd in English & French from the University of Regina. Isabella has a strong background in gender equality, having worked as a Programs & Partnerships Fellow in Zanzibar, Tanzania, and as a Junior Professional Consultant for the United Nations Development Programme Rwanda. As the Executive Director and Founder of Sask Girls United, she is dedicated to empowering young girls and offers free programming in her home province. Currently, she is working under the supervision of Monica Ruiz C谩sares on a literature review with the International and Canadian Child Rights Partnership (ICCRP).
Supervisor: Prof M贸nica Ruiz-Casares
Project: International and Canadian Child Rights Partnership [ICCRP] Annual Internship
Julia Lunot is a second-year Sociology PhD student at 黑料社. She received her Honours Bachelor鈥檚 Degree in Sociology with a minor in English from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. Julia is currently studying agri-food systems and the environmental impacts on food insecurity and food policy in Canada. Her research interests also include social movements, stratification, ethnic, cultural, and racial studies, and decolonial and ethnographic methodology. She has previously worked with Dr. Amanda Watson on the forthcoming project 鈥淧arent Feelings,鈥� which explores parenting in BC鈥檚 Lower Mainland in light of emergent social movements and events.
Through her DEEP internship, Julia will be working with Dr. Jura Augustinavicius and Dr. Lani Cupo to develop a systematic review of climate change impacts on mental health in the Americas. Their team will collaborate with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and other partners, such as the University of Chile, with the objective of compiling evidence-based research for policy interventions surrounding climate change and mental health in the Americas.
Supervisor: Prof Jura Augustinavicius
Project: Systematic review of climate change impacts on mental health and interventions in the Americas
Devena Mahabir is a second year Master's student pursuing a degree in Family Medicine with a concentration in Global Health. Her research interests lie at the intersection of health equity, policy implementation, and the social determinants of health, particularly in underserved and rural communities. Through her work, Devena aims to investigate and address barriers to healthcare access and policy efficacy, with a focus on improving health outcomes for marginalized populations. Through the DEEP Internship, Devena will contribute to analyzing the Canadian implementation of the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She aims to support evidence-based recommendations that enhance disability rights and improve policy outcomes across Canada.
Supervisor: Prof Keiko Shikako
Project: Beyond Convention: Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in Canada
Emma Orshanski is a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a double major degree in Political Science and Philosophy. Her research interests include Canadian Constitutionalism, Canadian Human Rights policies, and the influence intergovernmental organizations hold over Canadian legislation.
Throughout the DEEP Internship, Emma will work with Dr. Keiko Shikako to conduct a systematic content analysis of laws, policies, and programs adopted by the federal and all provincial and territorial governments as well as court decisions in the following three sectors: education, healthcare, and accessibility since the ratification of the CRPD by Canada. She aims to identify priority areas for disability rights and policies in Canada, draw attention to the potential impact of Canadian policies implemented since the ratification of the CRPD, and identify data gaps.
Supervisor: Prof Keiko Shikako
Project: Beyond Convention: Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in Canada
Kaya Van Roost is a fourth-year PhD candidate in epidemiology at 黑料社. Her thesis focuses on the relationship between child marriage, teen pregnancy, and abortion in the US and Canada. In her DEEP internship, she will evaluate the impact of a Supreme Court decision which decriminalized abortion in South Korea on the demand for telemedicine abortion and patient characteristics in the country.
Supervisor: Prof Jennifer Fishman
Project: Bridging the global gap in abortion access through telehealth