The Centre for Research on Health and Nursing (CRHN) is a partnership between the University of Ottawa and the Canadian Nurses Association, which aims to foster collaborations between researchers and clinicians to address important issues in healthcare. The CRHN has three research hubs, including Palliative Care and Nursing Ethics (PCNE), Francophonie et santé, and Postcolonial. Through these hubs, scholars with like interests collaborate for research production and dissemination, activities, and student mentorship in the respective areas. The CRHN also continues to hold monthly events for students and trainees through their Community of Practice and BIPOC groups.

This year, the CRHN celebrated the graduation of their Scholar at Risk, Zahra Hakimi, who completed an undergraduate degree in Nursing in tandem with her role at the centre. Several research rounds were co-hosteds with the School of Nursing, and featured CRHN members Dr. Sadjo Paquita and Dr. Sophie Lightfoot.

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

The PCNE continued to be the most active research hub. Notable highlights from this year include the 2026 Annual Lecture co-hosted with the Canadian Palliative Care Nursing Association “Every nurse, every setting: The case for a palliative care education in undergraduate nursing” and lecture by Dr. Karima Joy “Embodied knowledge: A reflexive account of negotiating and integrating insider-research-practitioner identities during a bereavement study”.

The center underwent several changes in leadership, welcoming a new lead for the Francophonie et santé research hub, Professor Mwali Murray (School of Nursing), and interim Co-Director, Professor Amanda Vandyk (School of Nursing).

The Music and Health Research Institute recently held its fourth in-person annual conference, spanning four days in April 2026. Every year, this conference brings together over a hundred participants from a range of fields, hailing from across Canada and around the world. The result is a rich synergy of reflections on musicians’ health and the benefits of music for the health of different populations. 

The institute currently consists of 160 members and more than 100 students from universities within Canada and beyond, along with around 60 institutional partners (such as hospitals, community groups, arts organizations and music educators’ associations). Its goal is to make music accessible to everyone. This work is guided by its core principles of interdisciplinarity, action-oriented research, collaboration, equity, diversity and inclusion. Throughout the year, the institute organized online lecture series and a number of events to help share research findings with a variety of audiences and educate the next generation of professionals working in the spaces where music meets health.

In 2025, the Interdisciplinary Centre for Black Health became North America’s foremost hub on the health of Black communities, having produced over 150 scholarly publications. And it continues to grow through impactful developments and strategic collaborations. One of the centre’s most important achievements in national politics is the Ottawa Declaration on Black Health in Canada. Born out of a roundtable in November 2025, it’s based on in-depth consultations with over 10,000 individuals and organizationsacross all provinces and territories in Canada. The declaration is truly a national call to action.Itsets out 10 key observations that draw attention tothe persistent systemic inequitiesinhealth care. It then puts forward 24 tangible commitments toguidegovernments, institutions and civilsociety on howto improve accountability and achieve lasting transformation in systems. The centre is also solidifying its leadership role, particularly through its ongoing efforts to transform knowledge, policy and practices surrounding sickle cell anemia as well as Black women’s health. Professor Josephine Etowa’s (School of Nursing) research is driving work on this last pillar.

The University of Ottawa Brain and Mind Research Institute (uOBMRI) continues to strengthen its role within the Faculty of Health Sciences, where approximately 15 research members contribute to its interdisciplinary mission. During this reporting period, the institute awarded two trainee scholarships valued at $10k each, who were supervised by researchers at the faculty. These awards included the Trainee Researcher in Multiple Sclerosis (TRIMS) Award and the Mark and Gail Marcogliese Graduate Scholarship. Faculty members and trainees also engaged in uOBMRI-led knowledge mobilization events, including Brain Health Research Day, the Stem Cell and Brain Regeneration Mini Symposium, the Blood‑Brain Barrier Mini Symposium, the 25th anniversary celebration of the Eric Poulin Centre for Neuromuscular Disease, and the MS Work-in-Progress meetings. In addition, a Faculty member served as a co‑applicant on a successful Parkinson Research Consortium Multidisciplinary Team Grant of $100k, further strengthening collaborative research capacity. Together, these initiatives advanced training and research excellence in brain and mind health across the faculty.