Meet U of A's Newest Bridging Divides Researchers
The Bridging Divides team is excited to welcome nine new researchers at the University of Alberta.
The Call for Proposals for Emerging Research Grants, which opened for applications in late March 2026, is part of the University of Alberta team's effort to expand the Bridging Divides project by creating more opportunities for innovative migration research projects.
Of the successful applicants, four will be joining the Immigrant Health and Wellbeing theme, two will join Citizenship and Participation, and the other two will be split between the Place and Infrastructure, and Employment and Lifelong Learning themes. Additionally, four existing Bridging Divides researchers will be continuing with project extensions.
Learn more about the researchers and their funded projects below.
Co-Designing and Usability Testing of Interactive Text-Based Digital Tools to Support Immigrant Parents in Youth Sexual and Mental Health Navigation
Neelam Punjani, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Nursing
Neelam Punjani will draw from a background of research in digital health innovation to improve immigrant parents’ access to culturally relevant sexual and mental health information. The project will utilize community-based participatory research and integrated knowledge translation approaches to strengthen parent–youth communication, improve access to trusted information, and reduce barriers to service navigation.
AI-Mediated Play for Migrant Child Inclusion: Multimodal Language Support for Social Interaction, Communication, and Well-Being
Mahdi Tavakoli, Director of Mechatronics Engineering, Professor and Senior University of Alberta Engineering Research Chair in Healthcare Robotics, Faculty of Engineering
Mahdi Tavakoli’s project aims to address barriers faced by newcomer children in peer interaction, play, and participation in child- and family-facing services. The project will explore whether multimodal, LLM-based tools can support communication and inclusive play among newcomer children and peers taking into account for children with disabilities, neurodiversity, limited speech, or motor challenges.
Co-Creating a Holistic Well-Being Support App with Rural Immigrant Youths in Alberta
Shintaro Kono, Associate Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation
Shinatro Kono will examine the lack of immigrant support resources in rural areas, with a focus on the challenges faced by immigrant youth. Through a community-based participatory research design, the study will involve the co-creation of an app-based intervention to address the well-being of immigrant youths in a holistic manner, including the aspects of leisure, sexual and reproductive health, physical and mental health, and culture.
Co-Designing Digital Tools for Asian Migrant Parents
Samantha Louie-Poon Assistant Professor, Faculty of Nursing
Samantha Louie-Poon (she/they) will be exploring how digital environments impact Asian migrant parents’ mental health (mis)information and navigation. The community-based participatory research project will investigate which digital communication tools are utilized by Asian migrant parents when accessing children’s mental health information and the factors affecting the selection, perceived trustworthiness, and navigation of these digital tools.
Aging-in-Place for Older Migrants: An Analysis of Policy Gaps and Opportunities in Two Canadian Urban Centers
Jordana Salma, Associate Professor, Faculty of Nursing
Jordana Salma joined the Bridging Divides team in 2025 as an affiliated researcher. Salma will be moving into a Principal Investigator role for her project focusing on barriers faced by immigrant older adults in Canadian cities. The project will use case studies to analyze policies related to age-friendly cities and initiatives
AI-Enabled Infrastructure Planning for Newcomer Integration and Resilient Community Development in Canada
Yitong Li, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Yitong Li, will examine how housing, transportation, and essential services shape newcomer settlement and integration in the context of rapid demographic change and climate risks. The project will identify infrastructure gaps, predict settlement patterns, and evaluate targeted interventions to improve service accessibility, support newcomer integration, and strengthen community resilience.
The Poetry of Sport and the Sport of Poetry: Reclaiming Enjoyment and Belonging in an Age of iGaming
Fiona Nicoll, Professor, Department of Political Science
Fiona Nicol will be exploring the impact of iGaming (online sports gambling) on immigrants and racialized minorities across genders, and considering creative ways for knowledge mobilization, including a poetry-based website/app to counter "addiction by design".
Machine Translation and Municipal Translation Policies: Limitations and Opportunities
Sathya Rao, Professor, Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies
Sathya Rao will examine the increasing use of machine translation by major Canadian urban centers to address the need for multilingual translation of public-facing documents. The study will evaluate how machine translation is used, assess its use based on machine translation literacy standards, and evaluate the quality of the automatic translations.
Exploring the Social: How Important Are Non-Economic Factors for Newcomer Women’s Economic Integration?
Rhonda Breitkreuz, Professor and Chair, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences
Rhonda Breitkreuz will explore immigrant underemployment and how non-economic factors impact newcomer economic integration. Specifically, the study will aim to inform policy by looking at newcomer women’s employment outcomes and the role of social capital and social integration.
Existing Bridging Divides researchers Eleni Stroulia, Elizabeth Onyango and Feng Qui will advance their research with Bridging Divides through project extensions or expansions into new research phases