Post Doctoral Fellow (PDF) Health Equity and Technology

Department: Faculty of Community Services
Position supervisor: Dr. Karen Soldatic
Contract length: 18 months from Start Date
Hours of work per week: 36.25 (FTE)
Position type: Post Doctoral Fellow (MAC Term)
Rate of pay: $60,000 /Yr

At the intersection of mind and action, Toronto Metropolitan University is on a transformative path to become Canada’s leading comprehensive innovation university. Integral to this path is the placement of equity, diversity and inclusion as fundamental to our institutional culture. Our current academic plan outlines each as core values and we work to embed them in all that we do.

Toronto Metropolitan University welcomes those who have demonstrated a commitment to upholding the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion and will assist us to expand our capacity for diversity in the broadest sense. In addition, to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment in Canada, we encourage applications from members of groups that have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples, Indigenous peoples of North America, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, and those who identify as women and/or 2SLGBTQ+. Please note that all qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, applications from Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

As an employer, we are working towards a people first culture and are proud to have been selected as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers and a Greater Toronto’s Top Employer for 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. To learn more about our work environment, colleagues, leaders, students and innovative educational environment, visit www.torontomu.ca , check out @TorontoMet (external link)  , @TorontoMetHR (external link)  and @ECItorontomet (external link)  on Twitter, and visit our LinkedIn company page (external link)  .

The Canada Excellence Research Chair in Health Equity and Community Wellbeing (CERC) program is a transformative research initiative that employs an engaged community partnership approach to expand our understanding, practice and delivery of health outcomes for all members of our communities. Collaborating closely with a network of healthcare institutions, service providers and civil society organisations, the CERC in Health Equity and Community Wellbeing aims for a paradigm shift – one that challenges a siloed, expert-driven approach to health and well-being and moves, instead, towards a community-engaged, preventative model of wellbeing. Uniquely applying a critical disability lens, the research program aims to not only reduce health disparities that are inextricable from their social contexts but to embed community knowledge into health-care institutions, systems and models of delivery.

Learn more about the CERC here: https://www.torontomu.ca/cerc-health-equity/

The PDFs will be recruited to support research activities relating to the identified theme and will devote 80% of their time to the performance of specific project(s)–related activities related to the specific aims of the CERC and its collective knowledge project. 20% of their time will be self-directed research. 

The CERC in Health Equity and Community Wellbeing at Toronto Metropolitan University invites applications of interest for an 18-month Post Doctoral Fellow position that will explicitly examine the relationship between everyday technology, digital media, and health equity.  The relevant candidate will be interested in the rapid adoption of ICTs, AI, algorithms, ADM in public health measures and its impact on communities who experience digital exclusion. 

Digital health is characterised by a prevailing narrative of rapid and significant change. The widespread integration of digital and data-driven technologies in public health and health service delivery is considered part of a "digital transformation." What makes digital health particularly novel is its suggested ability to leverage digital technologies to automate processes, predict outcomes, and rationalise decision-making in health service delivery. There is little discussion about the implication of existing discriminations, biases, and exclusion in relation to the “digital transformation” of health delivery and equitable health outcomes for diverse communities.  

The relevant candidate will have interest in pursuing inclusive and community-engaged research as part of the next stage of their research development. 

This post-doc position will be a key role in the CERC program, actively contributing to the CERC research program. In the 80% of the candidate’s time that is devoted to the CERC research agenda, they will also be offered opportunities for leadership development in the training and supervision of research staff, students, and assistants.

This position is open to people who have completed their PhD within the last five years with a demonstrated capacity to work respectfully with diverse communities. The CERC Technology and Health Equity Post Doctoral position offers an opportunity to pursue new research, develop leadership potential, and collaborate as part of a research team on academic and non-traditional research outputs, headed by Professor Karen Soldatic, Canada Excellence Research Chair, at Toronto Metropolitan University.

We welcome applicants with lived experience of embodied difference and diversity and/or community-based research programs that employ Indigenous, transnational, diaspora, post-colonial and/or Black Studies.

The Post-doctoral Fellow will: 

• Have completed doctoral studies within the past five (5) years in any discipline that advances scholarship in a related discipline..
• Develop and implement innovative, inclusive, and accessible research methodologies that contribute to a rigorous understanding of the relationship between digital health technologies and health equity.
• Demonstrate expertise in working collaboratively with diverse embodied communities in a research context.
• Contribute to the training and mentorship of research assistants and students involved in CERC projects, ensuring productivity and skill development.
• Actively participate in CERC meetings, knowledge-sharing sessions, and other relevant forums to foster a dynamic and collaborative research environment.
• Maintain a visible presence within the Health Equity and Community Wellbeing CERC and the broader academic community at Toronto Metropolitan University.
• Engage with students in the School of Disability Studies, the Faculty of Community Services, and broadly with Toronto Metropolitan University by fostering collaborative relationships, and opportunities for service.  
• Write interim and final reports on fellowship achievements and contribute to reports on CERC outcomes.

This opportunity is for a 18-month term beginning as early as May 1st, 2024. Application deadline is March 15th, 2024.

• The candidate will have completed a PhD (i.e. final draft submitted) or expect to do so by September 2024, and is expected to establish a regular presence that facilitates full participation in CERC research program. 
• Candidates must have a demonstrated commitment to upholding the values of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion as it pertains to all activities related to the Fellowship.

Please send your resume and cover letter to:

CERC Chair,  Dr. Karen Soldatic at [email protected] . Please add the subject line ‘Application - Post Doctoral Fellow - Health Equity and Technology. 

• We encourage all First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples or Indigenous peoples of North America, to self-identify in their applications. If you are an Indigenous applicant and require support during the recruitment process, please reach out to James McKay, Indigenous HR Lead at [email protected] .
• Toronto Metropolitan University is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), and aims to ensure that independence, dignity, integration and equality of opportunity are embedded in all aspects of the university culture.
• We will provide an accessible experience for applicants, students, employees, and members of the Toronto Metropolitan University community. We are committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, starting with the recruitment process. If you have restrictions that need to be accommodated to fully participate in any phase of the recruitment process,please reach out to Human Resources: 
• All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.