DataNB
The latest from the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training

Student training initiatives like Pathways to Professions (P2P) provide valuable inroads for students looking to stay and work in New Brunswick, and these programs couldn’t exist without the generous support of our partners and funding agencies across Canada.

NB-IRDT is proud to be the recipient of a 2022 Mitacs Accelerate grant, which is providing funding from both Mitacs and the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation to support four UNB students as they undertake a new P2P research stream in summer 2022: Sociodemographic and environmental predictors of mental health outcomes, substance use, and self-care behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Brunswick. Since this project entails a longer and more advanced research term than the typical P2P student stream, we have given it the more colloquial title of “P2P Plus.”

The students assigned to this project are P2P alumni – returnees from last year’s program who will be spending 16 weeks working full-time under the direction of NB-IRDT Research Scientist Dr. Chris Folkins and Chandy Somayaji, who are co-leading this project.

Meet the 2022 P2P Plus Team

Dr. Chris Folkins – Principal Investigator

Chris is one of the health research leads at NB-IRDT and is the Principal Investigator on the P2P Plus project. Last year, Chris used his expertise as a Registered Pharmacist to lead the VitalSignsNB team in their cost-benefit analysis on physician- versus pharmacist-administered vaccinations. He will continue to lead the new VitalSignsNB team for the 2022 P2P program as well.

Chandy Somayaji

Chandy is a Senior Data Analyst at NB-IRDT and co-developer of the P2P Plus research project. Chandy will be training and leading the students in the Research Data Centre this summer.

Clark Brewster

Clark is in his third year of a Bachelor of Science degree at UNB, with a major in Biochemistry. Last summer, Clark worked as a Data Analyst for the VitalSignsNB research stream.

Kelsi Evans

Kelsi is in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Arts at UNB, with a major in Psychology specializing in Neuroscience and minoring in Biology. Last summer, Kelsi worked as a Communications Coordinator for the PopNB research stream.

Rebecca Foster

Rebecca is in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Science degree at UNB, with a major in Chemistry. Last summer, Rebecca worked as a Data Analyst for the VitalSignsNB research stream.

Emily Thomson

Emily is in her third year of a Bachelor of Science degree at UNB, pursuing a double major in Biology and Psychology. Last summer, Emily worked as a Data Analyst for the VitalSignsNB research stream.

Welcome back, students! We look forward to working with you again.