Planetary Health Research Assistant, RAY

Research at York (RAY)
Project Title: Planetary Health Impacts of Climate Change

Nature of the research project: Working with members of the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research (DIGHR), the student will conduct research to support the activities at the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research Institute program for Toronto (CCGHR-IT). In this RAY project, an undergraduate student will support DIGHR Director, Professor James Orbinski in conducting a scoping study on the human and planetary health impacts of climate change. Additionally, the student will be responsible for scheduling meetings, preparing and circulating agendas, taking minutes for meetings and preparation and circulation of background documents, including PowerPoint and Prezi Presentations (the intern can learn how to use these software packages). Additionally, the student will attend all meetings, and support visitors to York University. The student will maintain a cloud-based reference system for all documents and minutes. The student will work with the DIGHR Administrative officer to administer and maintain relevant list serves, and to book and support relevant events. The student will also be responsible for collecting relevant receipts and book keeping around the CCGHR-IT project.

Specific research activities the student(s) be engaged in:

• Performing a literature search or bibliographical compilation
• Developing compelling research proposals
• Understanding data collection, visualization, and analysis techniques

Type of research experience the student(s) will receive:

• Understanding the difference between primary and secondary sources
• Honing techniques in archival research, data mining, and meta-analyses
• Enhancing communication skills – oral and written – including conference presentations and manuscripts

Type of training and support that will be provided to the student(s) in carrying out these research activities:

• Methodological training on systematic review
• Subject matter training on planetary health and the impacts of climate change
• Regular status meetings with DIGHR Director, Professor James Orbinski

Supervisor: Dr. James Orbinski