The O’Brien Institute welcomes Dr. Katrina Milaney

After an extensive search, the O'Brien Institute welcomes Dr. Katrina Milaney, PhD, as Associate Scientific Director – Population Health.

The search and selection committee, made up of Leslie Campbell, Dr. Jason Cabaj and Dr. David Nicholas narrowed down the field of applicants to four finalists of which Dr. Milaney was selected to serve a four-year term with the O'Brien Institute as Associate Scientific Director – Population Health.

In her new role, Dr. Milaney will be responsible for championing the advancement of public health through research excellence. Duties within this position include leading the Healthier Populations goal in the Institute’s Strategic Plan, including establishing an Equity Hub and supporting the collaboration of members in their upstream initiatives focussed on prevention.

Dr. Milaney is a research fellow within the School of Public Policy and is the founder and lead of the Institute’s Social and Structural Vulnerabilities program. To the ASD role, she brings a wealth of experience and partnerships with academics, government, industry, and community, including the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, the Centre of Excellence for At Risk Youth, and the CanCOVID network.

Dr. Milaney has been awarded peer-reviewed funding in excess of $25 million as principal and co-investigator. Prioritizing lived experience experts in her impact-focused work, her efforts have helped secure more than $3 million for community groups. She has authored over 33 government and policy reports on issues such as homelessness, at-risk youth, Indigenous health, and the overdose crisis and been recognized with many accolades, including two societal impact awards.