Students & Scholars

Hilary Blackett

Research Affiliate

Hilary Blackett is a graduate student pursuing her MPH in Community Health and Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. In 2008, Hilary graduated with honours from the Bachelor of Arts and Science program at the University of Guelph, focusing on Nutrition and Cognitive Neuropyschology. Hilary is a Public Health Agency of Canada intern at ICHR and will working on a variety of projects including community health reports, as well as a research methodology course with youth in Inuvik.

Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox, PhD

Research Associate

A political anthropologist, Stephanie has spent the last decade working for Dene, Métis, and Inuvialuit people in the Northwest Territories on self government negotiations, and related processes. During 2005, Stephanie received a PhD from Cambridge University, England, where her research focused on the relationship between Canadian Aboriginal policy, self government negotiations and the social suffering experienced by indigenous peoples. She currently lives in Yellowknife where she works as a political advisor and consultant to indigenous governments.

Email: stephanie.fox@ichr.ca

Andrew Bresnahan

Research Affiliate

Andrew Bresnahan is a graduate student in medical anthropology at the University of Toronto, Canada. Rooted in a commitment to health equity, his research interests include social epidemiology, northern medicine, participatory research design, and inter-cultural perspectives on human rights and development. Born in Labrador, he will be working from the health clinic in Aklavik through winter of 2009/2010.

Email: andrew.bresnahan@ichr.ca

Karolina Machalek

Research Affiliate

Toronto-native Karolina is pursuing an MPH at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. Her work with the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research focused on the development of a perinatal surveillance system for the NWT. Through the summer and fall of 2008, she coordinated a series of multi-stakeholder discussions with the Fort Smith Health and Social Services Authority Midwifery Program around the optimal database design for such a system.

Lois Edge

Circumpolar Health Research Student Award Recipient 2009

Lois Edge is a PhD Candidate in Educational Policy Studies with a specialization in Indigenous Peoples Education at the University of Alberta where she received a Master of Arts degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology in 2001. Her doctoral research considers the relationship of participation in traditional cultural activities, such as beadwork, to Indigenous identity, lifelong learning and well-being. Her work in the fields of Indigenous education and Aboriginal health includes participation in several Indigenous knowledge research initiatives involving collaboration with Aboriginal community members, Indigenous knowledge holders and multiple stakeholders. Lois is Academic Coordinator with the Centre for World Indigenous Knowledge and Research at Athabasca University. She is a Gwich’in/Cree Métis from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories.

Susan Hopkins

Circumpolar Health Research Student Award Recipient 2009

Susan Hopkins is a doctoral candidate in the University of Phoenix’s educational leadership program (Ed.D) with a focus on curriculum and instruction. She is half way through the program and just beginning her dissertation which will explore educational resilience in the Tłįchǫ population through the eyes of young adults who have overcome adversity and graduated from high school. The purpose of her research is to gain a deeper understanding of ways that schools can support Tłįchǫ students as they work towards high school graduation. Susan has worked in the Tłįchǫ region for the last 6 years starting at Elizabeth Mackenzie Elementary School and now as the program support teacher for Chief Jimmy Bruneau Regional School. She has a bachelor degree in political science, a degree in elementary education, and a masters in educational technology. Susan is from Nova Scotia originally but over the last 20 years has called Vancouver, Milan, Italy, Big Trout Lake, Ontario and now Behchoko home. Her daughter, Susan loves her job and her studies but the biggest joy in her life is her daughter Siena, a spirited redhead, who will be two years old in January.

Erin Freeland-Ballantyne

Northern Health and Wellness Research Award Recipient 2008

Erin Freeland-Ballantyne is a PhD student in geography and environment at Oxford University. Her research focus is on the interactions between youth and elders with respect to understanding environmental and community health. Born and raised in the NWT, she is the NWT’s first recipient of the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. Erin is working on researcher training, video production, and youth activities in the community of Fort Good Hope.

Alana Kronstal

Northern Health and Wellness Research Award Recipient 2007

Alana Kronstal was born and raised in Somba K’e (Yellowknife), on the shores of Great Slave Lake. Trained as a health educator, Alana has been involved in a number of community-based health promotion initiatives in both the Northwest Territories and Yukon, primarily in the area of substance use and harm reduction. Currently, Alana is completing a Masters degree in the Studies in Policy and Practice in Health and Social Services at the University of Victoria. Her IPY research will look at the impacts of rapid industrial development on population health in the Mackenzie-Delta region of the NWT. In her spare time, Alana enjoys exploring the natural world by canoe or cross-country skis.

Julia Christensen

Doctoral Student Affiliate

Julia Christensen was born and raised in Somba K’e (Yellowknife), Northwest Territories. She is currently a PhD Candidate in Geography at McGill University in Montreal. Her thesis research focuses on homelessness and housing insecurity in the Northwest Territories. She is also a co-investigator in the International Polar Year Project: The Impacts of Oil and Gas on Arctic Peoples Using a Multiple Securities Perspective. Julia is a Trudeau Scholar and a recipient of a SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship. Julia sits as the student representative on the Social Economy of the North (SERRNoCa) steering committee, and is co-director of the International Polar Year Time Capsule Project as well as the Northern Students/Northern Research initiative. She is an affiliated graduate student with the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research.