Dr. Michelle Pavloff shares how listening first helped shape mental health research and supports for Saskatchewan farmers and ranchers.

Dr. Shela Hirani receives the 2025-26 SHRF Impact Award for advancing culturally responsive breastfeeding support for immigrant and refugee mothers in Saskatchewan.

Dr. JoLee Sasakamoose receives the 2025-26 SHRF Achievement Award for Indigenous-led research grounded in community governance, wellness, and lasting systems change.

For children diagnosed with rare and rapidly progressing brain diseases, timing can determine everything. Dr. Tyler Wenzel’s research is focused on expanding treatment options by developing safer, faster ways to deliver therapeutic cells directly to the brain. Through innovative human-based models and close collaboration with clinicians, patients, and families, his work aims to improve outcomes and reduce the long-term burden of care for children and their families.

Dr. Akram Mahani’s SHRF-funded research explores how neighbourhood design can support youth mental health by centring youth voices, community engagement, and creative expression. By combining research, art, and policy, her team is uncovering how spaces that foster safety, belonging, and connection can help prevent mental health challenges before they begin.

Dr. Kelsey Cochrane's research on donor breastmilk for HIV-exposed babies in Saskatchewan, supported by Indigenous partnerships.

Unlocking the potential of school meals: Dr. Engler-Stringer’s work on school food programs for healthier students.

By Sarah Kasleder for SHRF A remarkable initiative is underway in the heart of Regina, Saskatchewan, within the vibrant community surrounding the mâmawêyatitân centre. Dr. Brian Lewis's Growing Young Movers (GYM) youth development program is not just an after-school program—it's a transformative space where Indigenous youth are celebrated as knowledge holders, agents of change, and storytellers of their own lives. Since its inception in 2013, GYM has positioned Indigenous you

Dr. Stacey Lovo leads remote rehabilitation for Indigenous children in Saskatchewan, using robotics and community-driven research

Dr. Amrinderbir Singh, Dr. Keith Da Silva, and Trish Goulet are using SHRF funding to reduce barriers to dental care access in Saskatchewan.

By Ashleigh Mattern for SHRF Former mayor of La Loche, Robert St. Pierre has had firsthand experiences with the challenges his community faces when it comes to accessing dental care. He worked at the elementary school when his children were young, and he approached the School Board about providing dental care coverage for employees. La Loche, image credit: Tourism Saskatchewan “I knew teeth were important and I knew they had crooked teeth … and I knew they needed orthodontic

By Ashleigh Mattern for SHRF Some of the most powerful moments researcher Michael Dubnewick has witnessed at the Growing Young Movers program are also some of the smallest moments. He remembers watching one of the teenage workers show one of the young after school program attendees how to bounce a basketball, patiently bringing the ball back every time it rolled away. “In that little moment, I get to see him as a role model, as a teacher,” said Dubnewick, who is an assistant

By Greg Basky for SHRF Saskatoon audiologist Charlotte Douglas says it isn’t the children whose hearing problems she identified early and acted on who stick with her. She always knew those kids would go on to hit the same developmental benchmarks as their hearing peers. “It’s when problems aren’t picked up at birth, and you have a kid who walks into the office for the first time after they’ve started school, and is basically not using language competently,” says Douglas. “Tha

Dr. Stéphanie Madill, University of Saskatchewan Can you describe your area of research and how it is helping address a health-related issue in Saskatchewan? Our research focusses on helping people who are trans and gender diverse in Saskatchewan to access healthcare. This is happening through piloting two peer healthcare navigators who provide information, assistance with documentation changes (e.g., legal name and gender marker) and recommend healthcare providers who are kn

By Greg Basky for SHRF A team of scientists, clinicians, and students at the University of Saskatchewan has come up with a novel way to move the research evidence on COVID-19 out of academic journals and onto the pages of a more accessible medium. The group, assembled and led by Daniel Chen, a professor in USask’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, created a comic book series entitled Healthy Hindsight. Set in the future after the pandemic subsides, it tells the story of a

Lindsey Boechler, Saskatchewan Polytechnic Can you describe your area of research and how it is helping address a health-related issue in Saskatchewan? We have built a team in partnership with Dene High School in La Loche to explore ways of integrating virtual reality technology within the mental health and wellness supports available to Indigenous youth residing in rural and remote communities. The aim of this project is to explore community needs, develop community-centred

Dr. Michael Dubnewick, University of Regina Can you describe your area of research and how it is helping address a health-related issue in Saskatchewan? Our research works with the Indigenous youth who co-facilitate the Growing Young Movers (GYM) after-school wellness program at the mâmawêyatitân centre in Regina. We are interested in listening to the youth we work alongside to better understand how they compose and live their lives as wellness leaders. Our research will help

Dr. Shela Hirani, University of Regina Can you describe your area of research and how it is helping address a health-related issue in Saskatchewan? My program of research “Breastfeeding Advocacy Research: Program, Policies, and Practices” (BARPPP) aims to strengthen breastfeeding related programs, policies and practices that can improve health of the breastfeeding mothers and young children. My research program relates to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal of im

An increasing number of studies are examining the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of adult Canadians, but little is being done to assess its impact on children and youth, even though children and youth are reporting greater anxiety levels, and the impact on their mental health is manifesting in different behaviours. A new study was awarded $50,000, co-funded by Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC) and Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) - as part of MHRC's

New online resource helps child services workers support the mental health and well-being of vulnerable children and adolescents By Greg Basky for SHRF and University of Regina When COVID-19 first struck, child therapy worker Alex Paiva and her colleagues at Child and Family Services of Western Manitoba felt like the rug had been pulled out from under them. Committed to providing evidence-based support for children and youth who have experienced abuse or trauma, the team didn