Our graduates are living and working all over the world in organizations including universities, colleges, hospitals, other healthcare settings, K-12 schools, NGOs, research institutes, and more. Here are a few of them.
Dr. Munira Abdulwasi completed her PhD under the supervision of Dr. Yuka Nakamura. Her research explored the experiences of Somali immigrants and refugees living with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and their families in Toronto. Munira is currently working at the University Health Network as a Scientific Associate.
Calum Doherty completed his Master's in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science in 2025. Supervised by Prof. Parissa Safai, his research explored the significance of social location in the culture of risk in sport. His work bridges critical sociology and his athletic experience to examine issues that threaten safe and healthy sport.
Elizabeth Eichler completed her Master's in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science in 2018. Co-supervised by Prof. Parissa Safai and Dr. Rebecca Bassett-Gunter, her research explored Dance Movement Therapy as a quality physical activity for people with Parkinson's Disease. Currently, Elizabeth is working as a psychotherapist, finding her passion in helping those struggling.
Lensa Hassan completed her Master's as supervised by Dr. Amanda De Lisio. Her thesis was situated at the nexus of Black feminist geographies, law, and harm-reduction. She explored how drug use by Black women and gender-diverse people (BWGDP) exists as an opening to experience their bodies in pleasurable and life-affirming ways, and how BWDGP create spaces beyond organized state and gendered violence.
Photo credit: Jason S. Cipparone
Now a doctoral student at the University of Western Ontario, Isra Iqbal completed her Master's student under the supervision of Dr. Lyndsay Hayhurst. Her research interests included examining Sport for Development (SFD) initiatives and public policy interventions to target social inequities within sport. In addition, Isra hopes to explore the dimensions and perspectives of sport and physical activity in women and children on a local and international scale.
Dr. Alix Krahn (she/her) is feminist sport scholar whose research examines the sport-work-gender nexus in sport coaching. Under the supervision of Prof. Parissa Safai, her doctoral study used feminist political economy to examine sport coaching as work within the context of university sport, with an emphasis on the gendered and gendering nature of sport coaching work and the fraught sport coaching professional project in Canada. She also completed her postdoctoral visitorship with Profs. Safai and Yuka Nakamura, which examined the relationship between social citizenship and post-secondary education. Alix is currently a co-investigator on SSHRC Insight Grant that is examining EDI sport policies and challenges faced by under-represented coaches and officials is the lead assistant coach with the Toronto Varsity Blues Women’s Volleyball program.
Under the supervision of Yuka Nakamura, Joyce Magat’s research focused on the social construction of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in sport. She is currently enrolled at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in pursuit of a Doctor of Chiropractic degree. Her hope is to integrate her passion for helping others and for health and well-being into her future professional practice.
Dr. Emily McCullogh (she/her) completed her doctorate in April 2020. Under the supervision of Prof. Parissa Safai, her doctoral work examined the experiences of care and caring in youth competitive sport through a socio-philosophical lens. As a qualitative researcher, she has also explored on injury prevention, health, and the built environment.
Dr. Mitchell McSweeney (he/him) is an Assistant Professor in Sport Management at the University of Minnesota. His research agenda focuses on social entrepreneurship, innovation, sport for development, forced migration, and livelihoods. Mitch completed his PhD at York University under the advisory of Dr. Lyndsay Hayhurst and Prof. Parissa Safai. In 2022, he received the Journal of Sport for Development Early Career Scholar Award.
Dr. Cheryl Pritlove received her PhD in 2016 (supervised by Prof. Parissa Safai) and is currently a Research Scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. Dr. Pritlove is a critical qualitative methodologist, feminist political economist, and health services researcher, with expertise in patient and community engagement, patient-centered care research, EDI, critical social theories, and knowledge translation. Her research has informed provincial policy decisions and has received international attention and media coverage.
Wajeeha Rasul (she/her) completed her Master’s in 2025 under the supervision of Prof. Parissa Safai. Now a doctoral student at the University of Western Ontario, Wajeeha's Master's research focused on examining the ways and whys racialized and/or women high-performance sport coaches employed impression management in to navigate the challenges they face in their sport workplace.
Tayler Sinclair completed her Master's in the Development Studies program at York University under the supervision of Dr. Lyndsay Hayhurst. Her internship in the humanitarian and development space informed her perspectives on such issues as gender equality, refugee resettlement, and trauma- and violence-informed approaches. Through her own research on Caribbean immigrant women in Ontario, Tayler explored the intersections of health, well-being, social support and time poverty.
John Vlahos completed his Master’s under the supervision of Prof. Parissa Safai in 2011. His thesis focused on perceptions of risk, competition and identity among endurance race participants competing in the Tough Mudder series. Following this, he acquired a Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Administration and Technology from the International Academy of Sport Science and Technology (AISTS). He is currently working with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).
Dr. Lauren Wolman (she/her) completed her Masters and PhD (under the co-supervision of Drs. Jessica Fraser-Thomas and Yuka Nakamura) in the field of Cultural Sports Psychology. Lauren is a Course Director at York University and is owner of Up + Under Consulting, specializing in research, project management, grant writing and education in the areas of sport, wellness, and community development. Prior to this, Lauren served as Manager of Research and Strategic Initiatives in EDI at Centennial College, where she has led transformational projects including disaggregated demographic data governance, survivor-centred policy reform, and institution-wide communications strategies that advanced equity and belonging. In her spare time, Lauren is on the Board of Directors for Rugby Canada and is Chair of Governance and the Ethics and Integrity Committees.
Bliss Wong completed her Master of Science under the supervision of Dr. Yuka Nakamura. Her research focused on the role of sport in the construction of transnational adoptees' identity and belonging. Building on her interest in diasporic and transnational communities development, Bliss is now pursuing a PhD at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto in the Adult Education and Community Development program with a collaborative specialization in Transnational and Diasporic Studies. Her doctoral research examines cultural learning, identity, and belonging within diasporic community organizations, with a particular focus on youth participation and engagement within these spaces.