BRN symposium spotlights collaboration across research, community and practice

The Black Research Network (BRN) Research Symposium 2026 focused on what it means to transform research into impact. 

Sponsored by Victoria University at the University of Toronto, the symposium brought together researchers, innovators and practitioners to reflect on how community engagement, lived experience and interdisciplinary approaches inform meaningful research and teaching outcomes. 

“Research follows many paths – through community engagement, industry partnerships, and interdisciplinary collaboration,” said R. Cassandra Lord, BRN director. 

“Together, these exchanges between practice and scholarship enrich our curricula, inform our work, and strengthen how we prepare the next generation of researchers and practitioners.” 

Rethinking women’s health  

How should women’s health – and its investment – be understood through the lens of equity and intersectionality? Beverley Essue, an associate professor and Canada Research Chair at the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, addressed this in her keynote.  

“When we think about women’s health, it’s easy to speak as if women are a single group with a common set of experiences,” said Essue, a two-time recipient of the BRN IGNITE Grant. “But the reality [is that] women’s health is produced through profoundly unequal social and institutional arrangements” 

She described these disparities as “inequality by design,” driven by failures in science, data, care delivery and investment frameworks. Essue highlighted underrepresentation of women in research; weak intersectional data; persistent exclusion from leadership and the vast but often invisible burden of unpaid care work that falls on mostly women.  

She argued that addressing these gaps requires not only more investment, but different investment: health systems that are designed to recognize women’s lived realities, protect against inequity and value the full range of women’s contributions.  

The BRN has provided $92,750 through its BRN IGNITE Grant to support public health research, a key focus within the network. 

Graduate research making a difference 

Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program is widely perceived as male-dominated – an assumption that shapes recruitment, housing and even policy language, often leaving women invisible, says Julie-Ann McCausland, a PhD candidate at the Women and Gender Studies Institute. 

Gender affects the migration experience through barriers to reporting unsafe conditions, caregiving responsibilities, and limited access to health care and reproductive supports. 

McCausland is documenting the lived experiences of Black women migrant workers to help fill the data gap. She hopes her research will support migrant justice advocacy, inform policies, and improve recognition of Black women in labour protections. 

“By making their labour visible, my research moves beyond observation toward structural change, ensuring those who sustain our food systems are also seen within them,” McCausland says. 

Canadian research has largely overlooked Black girls’ experiences in the classroom. Olivia Bernard, a PhD candidate in geography and planning and researcher in the department of human geography at U of T Scarborough, aims to change that by documenting their experiences in the Toronto education system and where existing equity mandates fall short. 

Focusing on a high school in the Jane and Finch area, participant interviews revealed patterns such as harsh discipline, including detentions and suspensions, and dismissal of bullying incidents. Parent intervention was also key to supporting student success and mental health. 

“We need data, but we also need to look at how the system is constructed – from supports, school environments, to geographical divisions within the city – to have those critical conversations,” said Bernard, who received a 2024 Black Graduate Scholar Award to support this work. 

Bridging research and practice 

Lauren McLeod Cramer moderated a discussion with Mark V. Campbell and Darren Hamilton on how archiving, documenting and producing music helps communities preserve their histories. 

Campbell, an associate professor in arts, culture and media at the University of Toronto Scarborough, spent more than 17 years in radio and as a DJ before joining U of T in 2019, nearly a decade after completing his PhD. His work with communities and the music industry informs his curriculum and builds trust in hip-hop projects. 

At UTSC, he launched the Afrosonic Innovation Lab to explore Black music cultures and validate hip hop as a research field. He donated part of his record collection to create the T.dot Vinyl Collection at the U of T Library and is developing Scarborough Sessions, a mixtape series of remixed, non-mainstream music. 

“One doesn’t have to rely on an institutional archive to keep a space alive, but institutions should be held accountable not only for protecting our work, but for moving beyond their comfort zones,” Campbell said. “This means making it accessible not only to researchers, but to artists and the public who value that past.” 

Hamilton, an assistant professor in music education, uses his experience as a secondary school music teacher to expand access to gospel music. His Gospel Music Education and Performance Engagement Program, launched this year, partnered with two high schools to deliver monthly workshops, culminating in student performances with the Faculty of Music Gospel Choir’s annual Black History Month concert. 

High school teachers also learned gospel pedagogy through a professional development workshop facilitated by Hamilton, followed by a masterclass in his gospel choir class to practice their new gospel pedagogy skills.

“The purpose was to empower teachers to review the material with their students and become confident in gospel teaching practices,” Hamilton said. 

While the event closed the academic term, the BRN continues to support projects like those highlighted at the symposium throughout the year, including its newly announced BRN IGNITE Grant cohort, Faculty Fellowship program, and research tools through programming like the Academic Practice Lab, which will return in the fall.