Modernizing Doctoral & Post-Doctoral Training

Check out these exciting new Longwoods papers by IHPME’s very own:

Training for Impact
The Career Outcomes of Health Services and Policy Research Doctoral
Graduates
Training for Health System Improvement
Making Contributions and Defining Success
Developing Competencies for Health System Impact
Exploring Mentorship as a Strategy to Build Capacity and Optimize the
Embedded Scientist Workforce

October 23rd 2020

MINUTES:
Present: Lydia, Dane, Chloe, Anna, Qi, Husayn, Lilian, Ruby, Maaike, Dave, Alex, Alyssa,
Arlinda, Rebecca, Elzar, Tara, Chris, Flora, Emmanuelle, Brian, Mairead, Jessica, Victoria
Regrets: Dina, Nada, Mikayla, Kayla, Danielle, Aravind, Katherine, Monica, Isra, Jillian,
Crystal, Zakariya, Amika
General announcements:

  1. Discussion with our program director: Dr. Audrey Laporte (interim director until Dec
    2019)
    o Very supportive of overall student wellness
    o Invitation to IHPME faculty meetings
    § Will give us an opportunity to inform and engage staff for any GSU
    initiatives

o Has invited Arlinda and Lydia to the faculty meetings to ensure that we have a
clear connect with the faculty (every other month)
o If there are any specific things that come up within each of your sub-committees,
please let Arlinda or Lydia know so we can pass this along to the faculty
o Had a successful meeting today – told them about our mentorship activities, etc.

  1. $500 conference funds extended to include data collection activities as well (submit
    receipts for reimbursements as usual). Will be shared more broadly soon.
    • Anything that has to do with your thesis project, you can submit for
  2. IHPME GSU 2019-2020 Accomplishments
    . Please fill out any accomplishments (events hosted, mentors recruited etc.) here:
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1scpbJd5JcBsb1WEII-KqKa6vr6NFyK9-
    C5gjrKlaMqY/edit?usp=drive_web&ouid=100148773532213751027
  3. Part-time work:

• Short term contract with ACE (Accessing centre for expertise) (ASAP) –
please share with colleagues

• https://ihpme.utoronto.ca/events/student-information-session-ace-accessing-
centre-for-expertise/

o Knowledge of Cantonese or mandarin
o 4-week contract to work on a project – ideally 2-3 days/week
o Would be working very closely with Rebecca Hancock Howard
o Literature review, conceptual framework, and developing the slide
deck for meeting
o Will send around posting
o MORE Info:
§ ACE contract (3-4 weeks working with Dr. Rebecca
Hancock-Howard)
§ Ideally we would have someone 2-3 days per week over the
next 3-4 weeks. Some of the work could be flexible, but I’d

like to work closely with the person so they’d need to be
willing/able to meet in person at IHPME 1-2 times per week
during regular working hours.
§ The duties do not fall within a standard project style. We’d
need someone to help develop a conceptual framework, help
draft a report based on a targeted (informal) literature review,
and help prepare materials (slide deck) for an upcoming
roundtable consultation.
§ Email Rebecca.Hancock@utoronto.ca for more information or
if interested.

GSU Exec Check-in:
• President: Arlinda Ruco
o Thanks so much to the people who volunteered at IHPME’s open house! You are
great!
o Thank you for Lydia, Dane, and Mikayla who went to Moonshot and had a booth
• Vice-President: Lydia Sequeira
o No updates
• Secretary: Flora Vieira Zamora
o No updates
• Communications Lead: Dina Bayoumy
o Please send by Friday for posting the next Monday
o Also please let her know which avenue she needs to use to send out the info
• Treasurer: Brian Lo
o Head Grant Application
§ Finished and will submit and have a better indication of our funding
o Expense Reimbursement:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0X7SEl54VcoRUOlsaiv8gzXuN_j
J6JmTGEPRoocoUt5Q73Q/viewform
• Social Activities Coordinator: Jessica Ramlakhan
o Dalla Lana food drive (more info below)
o Pub Night – Nov 6
o Skating night
• Health and Wellness Lead: Elzar Sipin
o Has contacted Whitney and Audrey regarding some dates, hasn’t heard back
o Has some ideas but wants to make sure the senior leadership is on board
o Has a contact for a speaker RE: burnout – will reach out
o If anyone has any ideas, please contact Elzar at elzar.sipin@mail.utoronto.ca

Mentorship
Separate budget
• HSR Mentorship/Peer Support Lead: Alexandra Cernat
o Had orientation
o Went really well – great turn out – 30 people
o Halloween Event – Nov 6 – pizza, candy, etc.

• MHI Peer Support Lead: Mairead Mulroy
o Graduate in Dec 2019
o Elections for GSU done and in the midst of voting – will have a new GSU
member soon!
o Decided to host an event rather than doing the gift-cards
o Great start to mentorship
o 30/36 of the upper-year students are mentors and new students = 28
o Are hoping to get more involved with greater IHPME students
• Alumni Committee Co-Representatives: Dane Mauer-Vakil & Mikayla Munnery
o Completed recruitement
o 11 alumni and student dyads
o Will send out match emails this week
o Going well!
Academic Rounds
• Scholarly Activities Coordinator (Lunch and Learn): Chloe Mighton
o AI and healthcare – hoping to have first one for end of November
o Has reached out to Dr. Jennifer Gibson
o Still in process and will try to alternate with the other academic round leaders
• Health Policy Rounds: Aravind Rajendran
o Unable to get a speaker for November but have a speaker for December. Need to
confirm with him.

• Student Rounds Coordinator: Jillian Macklin
o Put out a call for students who want to present

Curriculum & Programs
• Curriculum Committee Representative: Husayn Marani
o Nothing much to report
o Has heard mixed reviews re: 5011 four-day course – want to get more formal
feedback
o Proposed idea of an AI collaborative program
§ Emphases vs collaborative program
§ There has been interest in both
• HSR Emphases Representative: Maaike DeVries
o Discussion re: HTA and cost-effectiveness courses
§ Looking at bringing more opportunities for this
o Health informatics had issues with course enrollment and trying to figure out how
to do this
o Outcomes and evaluation – more discussion on what this constitutes
• Clin Epi Representative: David Forner
o No updates
• MHSc Representative: Ruby Bola and Tara Mckay (Y1), Kayla Chow (Y2)
o Food drive (supports Daily Bread) & Hygiene drive (supports Covenant House)
§ Will run from Nov 1 – Nov 29
§ Boxes on the 4th floor (IHPME office), 6th floor, possibly 5th and 7th floors

§ Will be advertising this Friday
§ Flyer will be out soon
§ Jam drive – jam from Niagara region to raise funds
§ Daily Bread: Non-perishable food items
§ Covenant House: is a youth homeless shelter that accepts unopened
hygiene products, so that would be a great organization to donate dental
supplies, feminine hygiene products, and soap/shampoo/conditioner etc.
o Senior fellows round table – want one that’s more MHSc (career) focused vs
research focused

• MHI Representatives: Mairead Mulroy & Katherine Kresta
o Will see new reps soon
• eMHI Representative: Monica Chao
• SLI Rep: Isra Hussein
• QIPS Rep: VACANT
IHPME Research Day
• Research Day Co-Chairs: Qi Guan & Lilian Lin
o Settled on a theme!
o Had a great first meeting
o Progress going well!

Other Councils
• Environment Committee Representative: Anna Cooper Reed
o Design and development workshop – Jan
o Case competition – Feb
§ Have 6 grants – have enough to fund the case competition
§ In November will start communications for the case competition
§ Will be open to greater U of T community
§ Formed teams can apply – still figuring out if single members can apply –
Anna will update
§ If interested in being a member – talk to Anna – meetings every 2 wks, but
not all members need to attend, give opportunity to allow people to learn
about sustainability efforts
§ Core exec team – will take care of the main events

• DLSPH Councils:
o School Council: Crystal Milligan, Christopher Noel, Nada Dali, Elzar Sipin,
Victoria Haldane, VACANT (professional Masters)
§ No new updates
§ Meeting – Nov 25, 2019
o Education Committee: Danielle Toccalino, Zakariya Thraya, VACANT
§ Meeting – Nov 4, 2019
§ Tips: very formal, so introduce yourself to the chair
o Executive Committee: Maaike De Vries, Amika Shah
§ Meeting invite sent out

• UofT GSU Representatives: Alyssa Kelly, Emmanuelle Arpin, Tara Mckay
o First meeting at end of Sept

o Very interesting
o Sophie McGibbons – Units 3 and 4 – also resigned – but now will be the new
finance commissioner
§ Role: addresses academic and funding issues
§ If there are any complaints from students and then talk to the greater
people at U of T
§ Finance commissioner has resigned – will be leaving as of Nov 1
§ Election at next meeting on Nov 29
§ For finance commissioner 3 and 4 and other positions
§ Lots of debate about the head grant
§ Board voted to hire a mental health onsite councillor – for the GSU
§ Meeting tomorrow to discuss how needs assessment and then will
move on with hiring process

Other items?
• More support for upper year students
o Meet and greet
o Helping connect upper years
o Helping with next steps, networking, etc.
o Help with comps – possible student rounds for December?
• Improving Moonshot for new graduate students
o Found that it’s challenging to network with faculty, students and alumni – even
more so for new students who may not know too many others yet – how can we
bridge this?
§ Possible sticker system (on name tag) – one for new students, returning
students, faculty, etc.
§ Possibly set a meeting point with other IHPME students before event and
go together?

o Lydia to follow -up with Taylor and Rebecca

Student Meet and Greet with Sir Professor Chris Ham


Sir Chris Ham is an experienced leader and has served on the boards of a number of organizations in both executive an non-executive roles. His career has encompassed the charitable sector, central government and universities and was the former Chief Executive Officer of The King’s Fund.

All students are invited for an informal student meet and greet with Sir Professor Chris Ham to hear more about his career path, learn about the King’s Fund or ask any other related questions about his public lecture.

Date: Wednesday, November 13th from 12-1pm
Location: HS 412 (Health Sciences Building, 155 College Street, 4th floor)

Please RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/student-meet-and-greet-with-sir-professor-chris-ham-tickets-80672673137

Hope to see you there!

Those interested in catching his public lecture on “Improving Population Health: What is the Role of Health Systems” can check out this link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/improving-population-health-what-is-the-role-of-health-systems-tickets-80354094259