20 years in the making

SPHERU is founded

Founding Director, Dr. Ron Labonte, joins SPHERU

SPHERU’s research framework and priority research strategy is established

A paper is published in Chronic Disease Canada to highlight this.

SPHERU is incorporated as an independent research organization

The first of its kind to be present in two independent universities.

SPHERU lands its first CIHR STIHR grant

This funding supports the Strategy for Training in Health Research, Community and Population Health Training Program, an innovative post-graduate training initiative with an interdisciplinary approach to population health research. 46 students receive training through the CPHR Program between 2003 and 2008.

SPHERU partners with CUISR to conduct and launch Saskatoon Quality of Life studies

These innovative studies are conducted every 3 years from then on, 2003 to 2015.

A groundbreaking partnership forms between SPHERU, CUISR and StarPhoenix

The partnership results in the publishing of ‘Taking the Pulse’, a quality of life, state of economy, environment, societal relations survey in Saskatchewan. This is a one-of-a-kind partnership involving academics and a daily Newspaper.

2004

Dr. George Maslany named Interim Director of SPHERU

SPHERU transitioned from incorporated unit to a Bi-University research unit governed by an MOU

SPHERU transitioned from incorporated unit to a Bi-University research unit governed by an MOU

Dr. Bonnie Jeffery assumes the role as SPHERU Director

SPHERU lands its first ‘Team Grant’ sponsored by Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation

Dr.’s Bonnie Jeffery and Nazeem Muhajarine are co-leads.

Nazeem Muhajarine wins Knowledge Translation Award for Local/Regional Impact, Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Two of SPHERUs CPHR trainees win national awards

Trainees are awarded with the Population and Public Health Student award from the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA).

SPHERU sponsors a capstone national conference

This conference marks the culmination of the Community and Population Health Research strategic training program. Forty-six Masters and PhD trainees graduated from the CPHR program. 

SPHERU publishes its first ‘collective article’ written by all the members of the unit

*Recommendations for action on the social determinants of health – A Canadian perspective. The Lancet, 372, 1690-1693 

SPHERU publishes a guide for Community Based Participatory Evaluation

This workbook shares lessons learned and is an important aspect of SPHERU’s overall knowledge exchange strategy.

The SPHERU Team Grant is renewed by SHRF

Nazeem Muhajarine wins Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation’s Achievement Award given to an outstanding health researcher (SHRF’s highest award)

SPHERU publishes a landmark study, Redistributing Health: New Directions in Population Health Research in Canada

McIntosh T, Jeffery B, Muhajarine N, editors.

2010 SPHERU develops an evaluation framework and conducts the evaluation for the Aboriginal Health Transition Fund and the Aboriginal Health Human Resources Initiative in the Saskatchewan Region

This work is funded by the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch of Health Canada.

SPHERU publishes Knowledge Translation Case Book modeled after the highly successful CIHR KT case books

Bacsu J, Macqueen Smith F, editors. Innovations in Knowledge Translation: The SPHERU KT Casebook. University of Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit; 2011.

SPHERU cosponsors with Indigenous Peoples Health Research Centre the Community Based Health Research Summer Institute

The SPHERU Team Grant is renewed by SHRF

Dr Nazeem Muhajarine assumes Director role and Dr Tom McIntosh assumes Associate Director role

SPHERU launches The History of Health in Saskatchewan TimeLine

Funding received from the SHRF Team Grant and additional funding from the Faculty of Arts and the University of Regina President’s Fund

To mark 10th anniversary since founding, SPHERU and CUISR partner once again to publish collected papers in an edited book on community based research

Jeffery B, Findlay IM, Martz D, Clarke L, editors. Journeys in Community-Based Research. Regina: University of Regina Press, 2014.

SPHERU researcher Dr. Shanti Johnson named one of 11 fulbright scholars

SPHERU Director, Dr Nazeem Muhajarine, is honoured with the University of Massachusetts Amherst award for Significant Contributions to the field of public health and health sciences

SPHERU Team Grant renewed by SHRF

Mozambique-Canada Maternal Health Project is funded by Global Affairs Canada

(Muhajarine, PI; Sylvia Abonyi, co-researcher)

Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities, Canada hosted at U of Regina

SPHERU invited to host Community Connection showcase event, Successful Aging for All in the Prairies. Five SPHERU research showcased.

SPHERU sponsors the Policy Maker-Community Summit

This summit is hosted to address the social isolation of Older Adults

SPHERU makes the case for taking a historical approach to public and population health research

Hackett P., Bascu J., McIntosh T., Jeffery B. and Muhajarine N., “Innovation in population health intervention research: a historical perspective” In Bioarchaeology of Marginalized People, M. Mant and A. Jaagumagi Holland editors, Academic Press 2019