The LIFE Research Institute is continuing to grow! We now have more than 200 active members and 318 subscribers to our newsletter. We are so grateful for all the support and encouragement that we have received from our members and community partners in the past year. In 2025–2026, we organized seven talks and other events. 

• September 18, 2025: In collaboration with the Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health, we organized a half-day event focused on advancing education and action around social isolation and loneliness in older adults. 
• October 26, 2025: We hosted Rylee Oram, who presented tools and strategies for navigating the challenges related to Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and building strength across the lifespan.
• November 20, 2025: For the first time, we held an event in the community titled Hearing Loss: Awareness, Support and Care. The event was delivered by two graduate students of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Fereshteh Ahmadi and George Danful.
• January 26 to 30, 2026: We held our 5-Day Healthy Living Challenge. The theme this year was overcoming social isolation. Each day, one of our team members proposed a challenge to promote social connection. We also took this opportunity to present some of our team members.
• February 25, 2026: In partnership with the uOttawa Human Rights Research and Education Centre and Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, we hosted Professor Mary Helen McSweeney-Feld, a Fullbright Scholar from Virginia Commonwealth University, who delivered a presentation titled Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada: Provincial and Indigenous Trends and Human Rights Perspectives.
• February 26, 2026: In collaboration with the Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, we organized a half-day event called AI and Digital Literacy: Impact on Contemporary Society.
• March 27, 2026: In partnership with Kobe University, the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), the Research Institute for Science and Technology (RISTEX) at JST and RISTEX’s Solution Driven Co-Creative R&D Program for the SDGs (Preventing Social Isolation and Loneliness and Creating Diversified Social Networks), we organized a half-day conference about mental health and wellness in older adults living in Canada and Japan. We learned how climate change, nutrition, housing and community affect us at every stage of life.
• May 5, 2026: We held our annual general meeting, on the theme of Living Forward: Housing for Life’s Changing Needs. 

Through these events, we connected and developed partnerships with many new community organizations, like the Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health, Canada’s Centre for Digital Media Literacy, Connected Canadians, Men’s Sheds Canada, Chartwell, Perley Health and Rendez-vous des aînés francophones d’Ottawa.

We also posted seven new video shorts on our YouTube channel, with experts sharing knowledge on various topics like homelessness, aging and reproductive rights. We are also collaborating on numerous new research projects. 

Learn more about the LIFE Research Institute.

The Centre for Research on Health and Nursing is a partnership between uOttawa and the Canadian Nurses Association, which aims to foster collaborations between researchers and clinicians to address major issues in health care.

The centre has three research hubs, including Palliative Care and Nursing Ethics (PCNE), Francophonie et santé, and Postcolonial. Through these hubs, scholars with similar interests collaborate through research production and dissemination, activities and student mentorship. The centre also continues to hold monthly events for students and trainees through its community of practice and BIPOC groups.

This year, the centre celebrated the graduation of its scholar at risk, Zahra Hakimi, who completed an undergraduate degree in nursing in tandem with her role at the centre, and co-hosted research rounds with the School of Nursing featured centre members Sadjo Paquita and Sophie Lightfoot.

With a newly-formed relationship with the JBI (formerly known as Joanna Briggs Institute), an international institute specializing in synthesis research, the centre provided support for a project offering methodological guidance for mixed-methods systematic reviews. Through the centre’s support, Kelly Sellwood, a doctoral student at the University of Ottawa, received training in review methodologies and an opportunity to formally participate in the design, execution and dissemination of the study.

PCNE continues to be the most active research hub. Notable highlights from this year include the design of an undergraduate nursing palliative care course and lecture by Dr. Karima Joy.

The centre underwent several changes in leadership, welcoming a new lead for the Francophonie et santé research hub, Mwali Murray, and an interim co-director, Amanda Vandyk.

Learn more about the Centre for Research on Health and Nursing.

The center continued expanding and strengthened its role as a North American leader thanks to its scholarly output, meaningful progress and strategic collaborations.

For example, the centre launched its Black Women’s Health Initiative, directed by Josephine Etowa, a full-time professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences, while moving quickly on projects related to governance of research data on Black peoples’ health. The centre deepened its collaboration with the Sickle Cell Disease Association of Canada, as well as with several senators and MPs, contributing to the vote in favour of Bill S-201, establishing a national sickle cell disease framework. The bill was tabled in the Senate and has now been introduced in the House of Commons by MP Michael Coteau.

In 2025, the Interdisciplinary Centre for Black Health became North America’s foremost hub on the health of Black communities in terms of number of publications, with over 150 scholarly works on the topic.

In terms of raising its profile, the centre is organizing the third edition of the National Black Mental Health Conference, taking place May 27 to 29 at the University. The president of the American Psychological Association will be the keynote speaker. The centre also made an impact with the annual sickle cell breakfast in the Senate of Canada June 19, 2025, organized with the office of Senator Marie-Françoise Mégie and the Sickle Cell Disease Association of Canada. 

One of the centre’s key achievements with national and political impact is undoubtedly the Ottawa Declaration on Black Health in Canada, a reference document resulting from in-depth consultations with over 10,000 individuals and organizations across all provinces and territories in Canada. It was presented November 25, 2025, as part of a roundtable that was both a shared reckoning and a national call to action. The declaration is a faithful reflection of the voices, expertise and aspirations of Black communities in the country. It sets out 10 key observations that draw attention to the persistent systemic inequities in health care. It then puts forward 24 tangible commitments to guide governments, institutions and civil society to improve accountability and achieve lasting systemic change. The five themed panels exposed inequalities deeply rooted in structural, historical and institutional dynamics. They also highlighted the strength, resilience and leadership of Black communities, which continue to promote justice, develop innovative models of care and contribute to equitable and inclusive systemic change. 

The BlackFit project, with $600,000 in Public Health Agency of Canada funding, was the centre’s flagship achievement in 2025. It helped raise the awareness of 18,000 Black people in Ottawa and Gatineau, and brought together 418 participants at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, who were divided into two cohorts and monitored intensively over 13 weeks. The results are convincing, with an average weight loss of 17.8 pounds, demonstrating the effectiveness of a community-based, culturally appropriate approach to prevention.

Finally, the centre remains committed to training with the launch of its first summer school, taking place May 19 to 22, 2026, at the University of Ottawa.

Learn more about the Interdisciplinary Centre for Black Health.

The Music and Health Research Institute continues to grow and expand its impact through research, collaboration, training and community engagement. In 2025–2026, the institute organized major research initiatives, conferences and student-focused events that strengthened interdisciplinary collaboration across music, health sciences, education, neuroscience, psychology, social sciences and medicine.

Following its inauguration, the Music and Mental Health Research Clinic, a collaboration with the Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research (IMHR), became fully operational. This groundbreaking clinic explores how music interventions can support mental health treatment.

In July 2025, a $2.5 million SSHRC Partnership Grant was awarded to a team led by Dr. Gilles Comeau to study the impact of a community-based music and movement program on the well-being of older adults, including those living with dementia or mental illness. This seven-year project brings together researchers and community partners to better understand the role of music and movement in healthy aging.

Also in July 2025, two SSHRC Insight Development Grants were awarded to MHRI leaders to support innovations in adaptive music practices and education. Anna Zumbansen received funding to explore the design of hybrid choirs that improve accessibility for people with limited mobility, while Erin Parkes received funding to develop pedagogical frameworks aimed at making music education more accessible to people with diverse physical and cognitive needs.

From April 27 to 30, 2026, the MHRI held its fourth annual conference, titled Musical Conversations Across the Interdisciplinary Landscape. The conference featured 54 oral presentations, posters, roundtables and workshops, and brought together more than 100 researchers, students, practitioners and individuals with lived experience from a wide range of disciplines connected to music and health.

During the year, the MHRI also organized 12 events dedicated to student training, collaboration and support. These included Student Research in Focus Colloquia, where students shared their projects and received feedback from MHRI members, as well as Research Toolbox Webinars led by experts from diverse fields.

Learn more about the Music and Health Research Institute.