I volunteered with St. John’s Ambulance, the Bruyere long-term care home, and many student clubs where I co-founded the University of Ottawa’s Bioethics Association. 

I was excited to find a Masters Program to further capacitate my understanding of how to become a translational researcher – bridging between the academic and public sectors. This is why I applied to the Translational Research Program, which was the only program of its kind I could find that adopted an interactive projects-based approach to learning about translation – an intrinsically dynamic field that needed novel pedagogical tools. 

Before the program, I had three main questions. First, I questioned what the most effective approach was to choosing a research problem to work on, as there was no shortage of health challenges. The TRP drills many frameworks and steps into us on how to approach selecting a problem and making sure it is actually centering a human need that is desirable and impactful. This knowledge is incredibly useful. 

Second, I was unsure how researchers could further their results beyond just understanding the problem through research. The TRP developed the Toronto Translational Thinking Framework (TTF) which incorporates elements from design thinking and the business sector and research to help with exactly that – how to translate and move those results into interventions. 

Thirdly, I wanted to learn about all the different ways researchers could have a role in translation. The foundations course exposed us to the Translational Research Continuum where we learned about all the different ways to translate – from basic sciences to population-level and policy work to achieve true benefit to society. What I enjoyed was the wide variety of methods, where each of us was interested in a different angle of translation and could dive into our interests through the modular and elective courses. 

I have been working since the beginning of my Masters in the environmental health sector. Moving forward, I will be taking the translational tools with me to continue my advocacy and work to make research more meaningful again for healthier and safer communities. 

My advice for future translational researchers: I would recommend reflecting on your learnings often and connecting them to real-world problems. There are many intersecting challenges impacting people’s health, and with your learning, see how you can help contribute to solving problems – it’s never too early to start. To help with this reflection, I would highly recommend, if you have the capacity, to work alongside your academic learning. I was able to make more in-depth connections of how the theory relates to the real world by having my feet on the ground and seeing the challenges impacting the health of people.  Find who can take your work further through networking. People are looking for solutions and if you have spent time researching the literature, talking to people or developing a prototype – show it to those who can benefit from your insights.