University of Alberta’s Professor to focus on Indigenous perspectives to health research and policy

Cree researcher Jessica Kolopenuk understands the importance of bringing Indigenous knowledge and governance to health and research policy. As of this month, she will be in an ideal position to support that goal.

“It’s not only about including our knowledges and perspectives in research and policy,” she says.

“It’s about having control over the knowledge production that impacts us — knowledge that is about us, our territories, and our communities and relatives.”

As of Jan. 1, Kolopenuk has taken on the role of Alberta Health Services Chair in Indigenous Health within the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. The purpose of the newly created position, funded by Alberta Health Services, is to promote research and scholarship in Indigenous health and to develop research partnerships, including partnerships with Indigenous communities.

In the role, Kolopenuk, who has a PhD in political science from the University of Victoria, will produce critical research that will inform policy at all levels of government, while supporting and encouraging Indigenous students who are interested in health science technology and health policy.

“The goal is to train the next generation of Indigenous genome scientists but with an unconventional and critically minded curriculum,” she says.

Kolopenuk also wants to build the capacities of predominantly non-Indigenous health institutions “to support research projects that are highly interdisciplinary and relational that Indigenous communities and students wish to engage in and lead.

“We know that the problems facing us today — our society, our environment, our relationships — are not going to be solved by siloed, disciplinary perspectives,” says Kolopenuk.