2022-2023 funded Research
Inlight supports novel student mental health and wellness research at the University of Toronto through a number of annual funding programs. Funded projects demonstrate alignment with Inlight’s guiding principles, with a particular emphasis on student engagement, interdisciplinary research excellence, and knowledge mobilization.
We are pleased to introduce the research projects and teams awarded funding through the 2022-2023 programs to new support research and innovation in postsecondary student mental health research.
Inlight Research
Grants
Inlight Knowledge Synthesis Grants
Inlight Strategic Research Grants
Research Grants
About the Program
The 2022 Inlight Research Grant program provided funding to support the connection of the University of Toronto’s diverse communities of students, researchers, staff and partners seeking to co-create and advance postsecondary student mental health and wellness through high-quality, impactful research and scalable research innovations.
Dalla lana school of public health
Mapping Services to Support the Mental Health Needs of Diverse 2SLGBTQ+ Students Across the University of Toronto
Primary Investigator: Professor Daniel Grace
About the Project
In this project, we seek to address the gaps in data regarding the unique mental health needs of diverse Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (2SLGBTQ+) students at the University of Toronto. Working with and alongside students, we seek to understand to what extent the university has been able to meet the mental health care needs of 2SLGBTQ+ students and to understand how other aspects of students’ identities, such as gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status impact care. In addition to generating new data, this project will work with students directly to co-create accessible mental health resources for 2SLGBTQ+ students and will raise recommendations for how to increase and improve mental health services at the university.
Research Team
Dr. Daniel Grace, Associate Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Ariel Gould, PhD Student, Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Dr. Dana Seitler, Professor, Department of English, & Director, Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies
Dr. Suzanne Sicchia, Associate Professor, Department of Health & Society, UTSC
Sarah Smith, Research Associate, Centre for Sexual and Gender Minority Health Research
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)
Anti-Black Racism and Mental Health in Higher Education: Perspectives of Current and Prospective Post-secondary Students in a Canadian Context
Primary Investigator: Professor Linda Iwenofu
About the Project
Exposure to anti-Black racism (ABR) in institutional and community contexts is associated with negative mental health and educational outcomes (e.g., depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, poor academic self-concept, premature dropout) for youth and emerging adults seeking higher education. In a collaboration between UofT and a youth-serving community organization, the purpose of this project is to explore current and prospective Black postsecondary students’ perceptions and experiences of racial discrimination within university contexts, identify ways in which these experiences impact their mental health, and explore their experiences of on-campus mental health supports for coping with ABR. This will aid with the identification of culturally responsive opportunities for improvement of campus mental health supports and advance knowledge on effective ways to prepare and support Black students aiming to attend university.
Research Team
Linda Iwenofu, Assistant Professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)
Esther Geva, Professor, Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, OISE
Shawna Grossman, PhD Student, School and Clinical Child Psychology, OISE
Harmoni Watson, Masters Student, School and Clinical Child Psychology, OISE
Esther Enyolu, Executive Director, Women’s Multicultural Resource and Counseling Center of Durham
University of Toronto Scarborough
Capturing the Diversity of Student Experience to Enhance the Validity of Measures of Mental Health Symptoms
Primary Investigator: Professor Anthony Ruocco
About the Project
Measurement-based care (MBC) is an empirically promising practice in mental health treatment that continually assesses the clients’ symptoms, behaviours, and functioning via questionnaires to help clinicians make treatment decisions. However, traditional student mental health questions are framed without consideration of the cultural and environmental contexts in which students are immersed. Thus, this project will develop and validate context-specific mental health questionnaires by asking students to report if they capture their experiences and identities more accurately than traditional assessments, while analysing which is superior in predicting key student-related outcomes. Ultimately, we hope to provide insight into students’ intersectionality with mental health experiences.
Research Team
Dr. Anthony C. Ruocco, Professor, Graduate Chair and Director of Clinical Training, Department of Psychological Clinical Science
Michael Carnovale, PhD Student, Psychology
Dr. Amanda Uliaszek, Associate Professor, Psychology and Psychological Clinical Science
Sheila John, Assistant Dean, Wellness, Recreation and Sport, University of Toronto Scarborough
Orly Lipsitz, Master’s Student, Clinical Psychology
Denise Silva, Student & President, Mental Unity Group
Zainab Issa, Student & President, Psychological Health Society
Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Exercise for Mental Health
Primary Investigator: Professor Catherine Sabiston
About the Project
Exercise is an alternative therapy for acute care of mental health symptoms among students. Individualized and supervised exercise programs are supported and deemed acceptable by on-campus professionals and help-seeking students, and we have developed a referral pathway. We have found significant improvements in mental health symptoms following six-week exercise programs. However, the long-term effects are unknown and less resource-intensive exercise programs may be beneficial. This study aims to address these important gaps for on-campus lifestyle management of student mental health by testing equivalence of group to individual exercise programs, examining exercise effects on mental health over time, and completing a process evaluation.
Research Team
Dr. Catherine Sabiston, Professor & Canada Research Chair in Physical Activity and Mental Health, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Dr. Sandra Yuen, Professional Practice & Quality Assurance at Health & Wellness, Student Life Programs and Services, University of Toronto
Dr. Madison Vani, Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Toronto
Knowledge Synthesis Grants
About the Program
Faculty of Arts and Science
Learning Resilience, envisioning well-being: Syncing mental health discourses and synthesizing knowledge
Primary Investigator: Professor Antje Budde
About the Project
This project explores potentials of arttech for well-being with a focus on student mental health at U of T. The Digital Dramaturgy Labsquared (DDL2) will test two prototypes of performance-based interactive and participatory interfaces/interspaces designed to help students engage in a playful and game-based self-learning process and better understanding of their status of mental health and well-being through active psycho-physical engagement. Through student interaction with these interfaces/interspaces, group feedback and mixed quantitative-qualitative interviews/surveys we hope to determine to what extent U of T students of diverse backgrounds finds these game-based and holistic interactions useful in understanding and maintaining good mental health in the challenging environment of a competitive university but also find a space for mindfulness, community and self-care.
Research Team
Dr. Antje Budde, Professor and artistic research director, Digital Dramaturgy Lab_squared (DDL2), Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies
Rahul Bhat, U of T Student Life, Resilience Program
Kate Bowers, U of T Student Life, Resilience Program
Renusha Athugala, Assistant Professor, RMIT University
Sebastian Samur, Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies
Dr. Mark Chignell, Professor, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE), FASE
Candy Otsíkh:èta Blair, Indigenous two-spirit community collaborator, Sketch
Dalla Lana School of Public Health
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the variation of mental health outcomes among post-secondary students during the COVID-19 pandemic
Primary Investigator: Professor France Gagnon & Altea Kthupi
About the Project
Our research examines changes in mental health symptoms of post-secondary students amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a time marked by inconclusive findings. Despite numerous studies analyzing the pandemic’s effects on students’ mental health, discernible trends remain elusive. Some research points to exacerbated depression, anxiety, and other mental health symptoms, while others suggest improvement or stabilization. A literature review and meta-analyses are essential to synthesize evidence, identify patterns, and inform research, as findings highlight the need to understand context-dependent pandemic reactions, mental health shifts, and factors affecting student resilience and susceptibility. Our systematic review and meta-analysis findings could shape future postsecondary policies concerning resource allocation during various pandemic phases and identifying at-risk student populations.
Research Team
Dr. France Gagnon, Associate Dean of Research, Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Altea Kthupi, Doctoral Student, Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Dr. Shaza Fadel, Assistant Professor and Director of Operations at the Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Dr. Chloe Hamza, Associate Professor, OISE
Bill Liu, Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Antonio Lorenzo, Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Strategic Research Grants
About the Program
The Strategic Research Grants program builds on the existing infrastructure of the Inlight Research Grant Program to provide directed funding support to priority research topics. In March 2023 and in response to priorities identified during the Inlight strategic planning process and reiterated by the Student Advisory Committee, Inlight launched a Strategic Research Grant call to advance understanding and impact of the intersectionality of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Indigeneity (EDIAI) on student mental health and wellbeing at the University of Toronto.
University of Toronto Scarborough
The intersection of Mental Wellness and Disability Services in the Postsecondary Setting
Primary Investigator: Professor Amanda Uliaszek
About the Project
In postsecondary settings, the demand for mental health, wellness and learning support far exceeds the ability of students in need to gain access to these services. Like many service providers on postsecondary campuses, disability services have been confronted with increasing levels of severity, complexity, and frequency of mental health distress, without associated increases in resources, or adapted service models to address this growing issue. The current project will examine key academic and health outcomes for students registered with UofT’s tri-campus AccessAbility Services. This service model was developed to primarily address learning and physical disabilities, and as such, less is known regarding the impact of AccessAbility on student mental health, or the unique needs of students with a primary mental health disability. This study will allow for a better understanding of the unique needs of students, identify specific gaps in service delivery models and highlight possible areas for intervention.
Research Team
Dr. Amanda Uliaszek, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology (UTSC) & Graduate Department of Psychological Clinical Science
Maya Ahia, Graduate Student, Graduate Department of Psychological Clinical Science
Tina Doyle Director, AccessAbility Services UTSC
Elizabeth Martin, Director, AccessAbility Services UTM
Michael Nicholson, Director, AccessAbility Services UTSG
Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
A Critical Race Analysis of Institutional Factors that Impact Mental Health, Retention and Academic Success Among Racialized Graduate Students – A Mixed Methods Study
Primary Investigator: Professor Janelle Joseph
About the Project
While preliminary research exists that examines the mental health experiences of racialized undergraduate students in the Canadian context, there is little information about the mental health experiences of racialized graduate students. The University of Toronto has flourishing diversity; however, many racialized graduate students continue to face significant challenges and barriers to their mental health which impacts their academic success. The current study employs a critical race theory (CRT) analysis to expose the institutional factors that shape the intersectional barriers faced by racialized graduate students in health–related research, course-based, and professional streams. By centring racialized graduate students’ experiences, this project will identify institutional barriers to EDIAI and develop evidence–based interventions and policies to improve their mental health outcomes and academic success.
Research Team
Dr. Janelle Joseph, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Dr. Monica Aggarwal, Assistant Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Mrs. Zeana Hamdonah, PhD student, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Dr. Kaleigh Pennock, Postdoctoral Scholar & Lab Coordinator, IDEAS Research Lab
To learn more about our current and upcoming funding programs, please visit our Opportunities page.