Championing Black Excellence at IBH: Paving the way for future health care leaders

Meet IBH’s Nurturing Black Excellence Program class of ’24 

At the Institute for Better Health (IBH), we are dedicated to mentoring the next generation of health scientists and researchers to shape the future of health care and help build equitable, healthy communities. On May 1, 2024, we launched the first cohort of the Nurturing Black Excellence (NuBEx) Program, designed to nurture, elevate, reward and amplify research and innovation excellence in Black-identifying health researchers.

“Systemic barriers for Black professionals are rooted in historical injustices that perpetuate systems of oppression and exclusion,” says Dr. Ibukun Abejirinde, an IBH Scientist who curated the program. “These experiences can discourage young Black professionals and impact career advancement. The NuBEx program is aligned with our commitment at IBH to dismantle Anti-Black Racism and become an institution that drives positive change.” 

The program began with a pilot for Black-identifying graduate students (masters, doctoral, medical) conducting short-term placements at IBH under the supervision of an IBH Scientist or Research Chair. The experience is structured in layers, including hands-on research projects with a Principal Investigator, regular engagement with a Senior Executive Leader, thematic conversations and group activities, and peer mentorship. “The level of ownership and collective commitment of all IBH staff to contribute to the program has been remarkable,” says Dr. Abejirinde. “They have invested their time, resources and networks.” As a result, over the past three months, the scholars have benefitted from up to 50 additional hours of exposure and learning from about 20 people within IBH and THP, including three executive leaders, an experience they would not have had without the Nurturing Black Excellence Program.

Three graduate trainees are currently in the program, and we are excited for them to have transformational experiences that will springboard them to success in their future careers.

We spoke with two of this year’s trainees. Read on to learn about their experiences.

Meet Asli Nur! Asli is currently pursuing her Masters in Public Health at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health where she is part of the inaugural Black Health Cohort.

What drew you to IBH?

I wanted the experience of working in a hospital, and then when I saw the description for the Nurturing Black Excellence Program at IBH, I said to myself ‘this is the one I want.’ I didn’t apply anywhere else! I was super excited to be accepted into the program and my excitement has continued.

I also like that my placement is focused on race-based data collection. I had already done similar work, looking at the impact of COVID-19, specifically on Black communities in Canada and globally, so, I was interested in this aspect of the work at IBH. 

Describe what you’ve been working on.

I’ve been working under the supervision of Dr. Nakia Lee-Foon, [Health Equity Research Lead] as well as Dr. Ibukun Abejirinde and Dr. Rob Reid [Hazel McCallion Research Chair in Learning Health Systems]. I’m specifically working on race-based data collection –  looking at potential harms and benefits of collecting this type of data, which will hopefully guide and inform the way THP gather demographic data within the hospital setting. 

I had a chance to present my findings at the Population Health Advisory Board meeting led by Shalu Bains [Chief Information and Analytics Officer, THP]. It was great to be part of that group and hear different perspectives across THP and other partner organizations. 

I’ve also had the opportunity to attend different events onsite at IBH, which have allowed me to network and meet people in-person.  

What are some highlights or takeaways from your time at IBH?

This experience has been exceptional! A common thread throughout the NuBEx Program is centering the individual. A lot of the times when you’re a student and doing a practicum, you’re trying to fit yourself into a role or position, which doesn’t consider your unique and diverse skillsets. The program is structured in such a way that the experiences are built with the student at the centre and not the other way around, whereby the individual must find their identity around a project or team. 

I’ve seen my own growth here, as well – for instance, I’ve gained a new confidence in introducing and speaking about myself and what I like or what I want to do. The program has also provided a lot of clarity around what I’m interested in professionally. I’ve always said that I’m a ‘Jack of all trades,’ and one thing I’ve learned from a lot of the people and mentors I’ve met through the program is that this is okay – I don’t have to limit or fit myself into a box, hyper-focused on only one thing. I can use my skills, do many things and find ways these things connect. 

Meet Ijeoma Itanyi! Ijeoma is a Ph.D. candidate in Epidemiology, specializing in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto.

What drew you to IBH? 

I was attracted to IBH because I had heard a lot about the great work being done by the amazing people who work here through my Ph.D. supervisor, Dr. Laura Rosella [interim Chief Scientist and Stephen Family Research Chair in Community Health] and her team. I wanted the opportunity to work with health systems actors in a supportive environment, so I was excited when I learnt about this placement opportunity to provide research support for the Artificial Intelligence for Diabetes Prediction and Prevention (AI4DPP) community engagement strategy.  

I was also thrilled when I learnt about the optional opportunity to participate in the Nurturing Black Excellence Program during my orientation at IBH! The goal of the program is to prepare graduate trainees for career success anchored in the realities of Black professionals by providing them with specific exposure and learning opportunities. Although the program was an optional aspect of my placement, I jumped at this fantastic opportunity! The Program description was very detailed, and the conversational learning themes were diverse enough to meet the needs of trainees at different stages of their careers. Each theme specifically addresses at least one barrier faced by Black professionals in their career journey. I was also impressed by the Learning Health System approach of the program, designed to be adaptive and continuously improve based on feedback from trainees. The 13 program themes felt like a buffet, and I wanted to have a bit of each on my plate, but that would not have been possible within my 16 weeks here – so I had to prioritize six learning themes. The themes I selected include strengths-based leadership survey & coaching; maximizing your time at IBH; becoming the CEO of your career; building a (safe) network of sponsors and allies; deliberate Networking; and career positioning and landing the right role. 

Describe what you’ve been working on. 

During my time here, I have supported Dr. Ibukun Abejirinde with the development of the community engagement strategy for the CIFAR-funded AI4DPP project aimed at diabetes prevention and control in Peel region using artificial intelligence. While I have participated in multiple activities for the project, I will highlight three here. 

Community engagement strategy co-design: We had a network meeting on May 28, 2024, including people with lived experience of diabetes [patients and caregivers], healthcare providers, representatives of community organizations and Peel Public Health, and the AI4DPP project team. I co-facilitated the community engagement co-design session with Dr. Abejirinde during which attendees expressed their perspectives on meaningful community engagement, provided feedback on our draft community engagement framework for AI4DPP, and ranked their top six priorities for community engagement for AI in health.  

Manuscript writing: I am drafting a manuscript that describes the development of our community engagement strategy for the AI4DPP project.  

Grant writing: I supported the development of a grant proposal aimed at fostering collaboration and strengthening community partnerships for diabetes prevention and control in Peel Region.  In addition, I received support from several people within IBH to submit a grant application to the Digital Research Alliance of Canada, which would allow me advance access to digital research infrastructure for racialized researchers at THP. 

Through the NuBEx program, I have participated in six conversational learning themes and met with nine program facilitators and IBH senior executives. 

What are some highlights or takeaways from your time at IBH? 

There are many highlights for me but the two that are top on my mind are the incredible networks I have built at IBH through the program and a better understanding of how the Learning Health System approach is used in the real world. 

Thank you Asli and Ijeoma!