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Department of Health and Society

Suzanne Sicchia

Suzanne Sicchia
Associate Professor, Teaching Stream
Acting Vice-Dean Teaching, Learning & Undergraduate Programs
Telephone number
416-208-2700
Building HL 248

Biography

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/srsicchia 
Twitter: @DrSicchia

Suzanne Sicchia is an Associate Professor Teaching Stream in the ICHS and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.  She holds a PhD in medical science, an MHSc in health promotion and MSc in social theory and health from the former Department of Public Health Sciences, at the University of Toronto.  Before joining the ICHS, Dr. Sicchia worked as a Research Associate in the ‘Global Health’ and ‘Violence and Health’ units of the former Centre for Research in Women’s Health, WHO/PAHO Collaborative Centre in Women’s Health. Project partners included the NIH Office for Research in Women’s Health, Fogarty International, the Institute for Aboriginal Peoples Health, CIHR, and the Institute for Gender & Health, CIHR.  More recently she has served as an external reviewer on global health governance related grants for the CIHR, SSHRC, and IDRC.  She founded and continues to lead the UTSC International Health Film Series & Expo and is the founder of the UTSC Critical Pedagogies faculty and student reading groups.  Her interests include critical pedagogies in public health education, equity in global health governance, and critical social theory and women’s health.

Education

  • PhD, Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
  • MSc, Social Theory & Health, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto
  • MHSc, Health Promotion, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto 

Affiliations

  • Graduate, non-budgetary appointment, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Core faculty in the Doctor of Public Health Program, Graduate Specialization in Women's Health, and Collaborative Specialization in Global Health, University of Toronto 
  • Canadian Public Health Association 

 

Teaching Interests

  • Critical Community & Public Health
  • Foundations in Health Studies
  • Global Health Governance
  • Globalization & Health
  • Health Research Methodologies
  • Social Theory & Health
  • Violence & Health, Women's Health

Postdoctoral Supervision:

  • Dr. Suleyman Demi. Indigenous food cultures and the health of the African Diaspora in Toronto (July 2020-22).

Student Supervision:

  • Justin Rhoden. (2021). Africentric Health Indicators Project with/for TAIBU Community Health Centre.  
  • Zubeir Ahmed. (2020). Community Knowledge Learning Hub and Modern-Day Griot Project Work Study.  
  • Ariel Banner & Hodman Abukar. (2020). Development of the UTSC Scarborough Social Prescriptions Resource developed in collaboration with UTSC students.
  • Diane Hill, QE Scholar (2019). Stories of Resilience: Turtle Island to Aotearoa. Lessons learned from a research placement with Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence. 
  • Banusha Mahendren. (2018). Tamil women’s experiences of gender-based violence in post-conflict settings in Kandy, Sri Lanka. 
  • Maya Golis. (2018) A qualitative exploration of the IDS coop placement experience. 
  • Rivka Zelikson. (2017). The rainbow recast: queering Karen non-profits on the Thai-Burmese border.  Awarded Best IDS Thesis 2017 
  • Jennifer Naidoo. (2014). Reforming the Ontario school’s sexual health education curriculum: an exploration of the (sexual) politics of curriculum reform.

 

Research Interests

  • Critical Pedagogy for Public Health
  • Community Health & Primary Care
  • Comparative Global Health Policy
  • Social Determinants of Health
  • Social Medicine
  • Social Theory & Health
  • Violence & Health

Current Projects:

  • Canadian Principal Investigator: Building Back Better from Below (B4): Harnessing Innovations in Community Response and Intersectoral Collaboration for Health and Food Justice Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic. (2022-2025). Funded by the Social Science & Humanities Research Council as part of the Trans-Atlantic Platform for Social Sciences & Humanities, Recovery, Renewal & Resistance in a Post-Pandemic World.
  • Co-Applicant: Amandla Olwazi: The Power of Knowledge Project. (2021-2023). Lead Agency, TAIBU Community Health Centre. Funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada's "Promoting Health Equity: Mental Health of Black Canadians, Implementation Stream-Knowledge Mobilization Network". 
  • Research Co-Applicant: TAIBU Community Health Centre's Africentric Health Indicators Initiative. (2019-ongoing).
  • Project Partner: Modern Day Griot Project Partner. (2020-2022). In collaboration with Shellene Drakes-Tull (Founder & Community Lead), UTSC Department of Arts, Culture & Media, the UTSC Office of Student Experience & Wellbeing, Durham District School Board, and UTSC Students. 
  • Project Lead: Creative COVID Response Digital Collection. (2020-2022). In collaboration with the UTSC Library.  https://collections.digital.utsc.utoronto.ca/islandora/object/pandemic-response%3Acollection
  • Project Lead: The UTSC Scarborough Social Prescriptions Online Student Resource. (2020-2022). In collaboration with the UTSC Library. https://digital.utsc.utoronto.ca/portfolio/scarborough-social-prescriptions-student-resource
  • Co-Investigator: The Community Knowledge Learning Hub initiative. (2019-2022). In collaboration with Professors Bettina Von Lieres & Leslie Chan, UTSC Department of Global Developments Studies, TAIBU Community Health Centre, Regent Park Centre for Community Learning & Development, and Volunteer Toronto. 
  • Founder and Lead: Annual International Health Film Series & Expo. (2016-Ongoing)
  • Founder and Lead: UTSC Critical Book Club. (2017-ongoing)
  • Research Lead: Critical review of Mifegymiso related research, policy, and practice. For the Bay Centre for Birth Control, Women’s College Hospital. (2018-2019)