For the first time in its history, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) has inducted a group of early-career researchers as Emerging Leaders.
Among the inaugural five inductees is Western professor Saleema Allana, from the Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing. She is the only nurse academic and South Asian woman to be selected.
Four Western researchers were recently recognized by the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. (L to R ) Professors Saleema Allana, David Dozois, Janis Oram and Isaac Luginaah. (Image source: Rob Potter/Western Communications)
The honour marks a historic moment for CAHS membership, which has traditionally been reserved for fellows, typically senior academics and researchers. By creating the Emerging Leaders in Health Sciences program, the CAHS aims to identify and mentor promising researchers who are within the first eight years of their last completed degree. The goal is to prepare them to become Canada's future health science leaders.
For Allana, the recognition is both humbling and motivating. "I'm overjoyed at hearing this announcement. Only five people were chosen across the country, so for me, it speaks to the quality and rigour of my work," she said. "It means a lot personally, and professionally it opens doors to work alongside senior fellows of the academy, learn from them and contribute my expertise in health equity."
Allana's research program focuses on improving health outcomes among equity-deserving groups, with a particular emphasis on immigrant populations. Trained as a cardiovascular nurse, she develops culturally tailored digital health tools to support the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease in immigrant communities. She also leads work on translating equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization (EDID) policies from paper to practice within Canadian health-care systems.
"Almost all health-care organizations in Canada have an EDID policy on paper. However, those policies are rarely translated into practice. That's where I aim to strive for change," Allana said.
Her path to this research was shaped by lived experience. Having begun her academic career in Pakistan, Allana witnessed firsthand how health inequities affect vulnerable populations.
"As an immigrant and a woman of colour, I've observed inequities up close," she said. "That motivates me to find solutions that make health care more equitable."
For Allana, being inducted as an Emerging Leader is also a stepping stone toward her long-term goals. "I aspire one day to be a CAHS fellow. This recognition gives me the chance to contribute now, to learn, and to grow into that role in the future."
Three Western professors named CAHS Fellows
Earlier this month, the CAHS announced 47 new Fellows elected for 2025. Among them, Western professors David Dozois, Janis Oram and Isaac Luginaah.
The CAHS awards fellowships to individuals who display noteworthy excellence in their work to advance health science in Canada. Fellows are nominated by their peers and chosen through a rigorous selection process based on their academic performance, international recognition, creativity and dedication to serve.
Induction into the CAHS as a Fellow is considered one of the highest honours within Canada's academic community.
David J. A. Dozois, Faculty of Social Science
David Dozois is a professor of psychology and psychiatry, and director of the clinical psychology graduate program. Throughout his distinguished career, Dozois has made significant contributions to understanding, treating and preventing depression and anxiety in Canada and beyond.
His work on vulnerability to depression has advanced the understanding of how negative self-beliefs are structured, and how they shape the development and persistence of depression. Dozois' groundbreaking research has directly informed cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions, advancing scientific foundations and clinical application.
Janis Oram, School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Faculty of Health Sciences
A registered speech-language pathologist, professor and associate dean, Janis Oram leverages her clinical, research and leadership expertise to support children with communication challenges, their families and the clinicians who serve them.
She is an international expert in translating scientific evidence into clinical practice. Her interdisciplinary research spans neuroimaging studies that build new knowledge about language disorders to applied work that enhances community-based speech-language services.
A key figure in advocacy and practice change, Oram's global impacts include innovative clinical resources co-designed with autistic people, improved speech-language practices for children with hearing loss and international standards for identifying child language disorders.
Isaac Luginaah, Faculty of Social Science
Distinguished University Professor Isaac Luginaah is a global leader in environment and health research. His interdisciplinary approach examines how complex environmental challenges, like climate change, are reshaping health outcomes around the world.
Luginaah's pioneering work in North America and Africa has made strong contributions to understanding environmental hazards and health inequities. In North America, his research focuses on environmental exposure and Indigenous health. In Africa, he examines health inequalities, HIV/AIDS, climate change and food (in)security among vulnerable populations. Luginaah's collaborative research has significantly influenced policy and contributed to global health equity.
