Jamaican-Canadian professor named Canada Research Chair

TORONTO:

Dr OmiSoore Dryden, a full professor at the School of Nursing in the Faculty of Health at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has been awarded a prestigious research professorship – Canada Research Chair Tier 1 in Black Health Studies, by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

The announcement was made on October 22 by the federal government.

“ Anti-black racism affects the lives of black people due to ongoing systemic bias, stereotypes and deficit thinking. This creates barriers to education, employment and housing in black communities. It also negatively affects their health and well-being. For black queer and trans people in Canada, racism, homophobia and transphobia intersect to exacerbate healthcare avoidance. As Canada Research Chair in Black Health Studies: Anti-racism in Health Education and Practice, Dr OmiSoore Dryden seeks to understand current practices and challenges in healthcare systems that serve diverse Black and Black 2SLGBTQIA+ populations and communities in Canada and around the world,” reads a description of the professor’s work.

The research professorship started on July 1.

Dr Dryden said much like being the James R. Johnston (JRJ) Chair in Black Canadian Studies at Dalhousie, a position she held from May 2019 to December 2024, it means that her focus will be on convening a conversation at the national and international level on the health and well-being of black peoples.

“For those of us who came out of a liberal arts background or a community activism background, we had a really strong understanding of what anti-black racism means – it’s racism that is anti-black – how that is different than engaging in anti-racist work. Those are two different terms. We had a really strong understanding of doing our work intersectionally, being led by black women, black queer women, black trans folks, from the work of Black Lives Matter, Black Action Defence Committee, Sister Vision Press, all of the places that led this, and being inclusive as we moved through that process.”

For Dr Dryden it is not simply about producing more research but also making sure that in what’s being produced that there is a strong data governance, data sovereignty component, especially for black people.

In 2000, the federal government created a permanent programme to establish 2,285 research professorships – Canada Research Chairs – in eligible degree-granting institutions across the country.

“Chair holders aim to achieve research excellence in engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences. They improve our depth of knowledge and quality of life, strengthen Canada’s international competitiveness, and help train the next generation of highly skilled people through student supervision, teaching, and the coordination of other researchers’ work.”

Dr Dryden is also the interim director of the Black Studies Research Institute and co-lead of the Black Health Education Collaborative. She is the author of the award-winning book, Got Blood To Give: Anti-Black Homophobia in Blood Donation.

Neil Armstrong