Postdoctoral Fellowship — Language & Health Research Program
Overview and Objectives
The Language & Health Research Program at the Institut du Savoir Montfort (ISM) invites applications for a two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship focused on improving health and access to health services for linguistic minority communities, with a particular emphasis on Francophone minority communities in Ontario as well as in Canada. This fellowship aims to:
- Accelerate world-class, policy-relevant research on language, equity, and health systems;
- Build capacity in mixed-methods, economic evaluation, and data-driven approaches (including AI and precision health) for linguistic minority communities;
- Foster interdisciplinary and inter-institutional collaborations across hospitals, primary care, universities, service planning entities, and community partners.
Research Program
The Language & Health Research Program at the Institut du Savoir Montfort (ISM) is a national network of researchers advancing the health of linguistic minorities and understanding of the influence of language as a social determinant of health. The program is led by Dr Sathya Karunananthan and Dr Sharon Johnston and this highly collaborative and productive group have a strong track record of impactful work and mixed methods research including using large administrative databases.
The program hosts a bi-weekly discussion forum dedicated to advancing health equity research, with a particular focus on language as a social determinant of health. The forum is attended by researchers and health leaders, working in this area and meets virtually for one hour, twice a month, to discuss recent developments in language and health research, share knowledge dissemination opportunities, and present ongoing projects. Presentations and discussions are held in both French and English to reflect the group's bilingual nature.
Research Themes (illustrative)
- Access, quality, and outcomes of care for Francophone and other linguistic minority communities;
- Language-concordant care and patient–provider communication in primary, specialty, and mental health services;
- Development or evaluation of digital and AI-enabled tools for patient education and navigation in bilingual or multilingual settings;
- Economic evaluation of linguistic discordance in care and interventions to address linguistic discordance;
- Implementation and scale-up of interventions that reduce disparities in screening, chronic-disease management, or mental health for linguistic minority communities;
- Use of provincial administrative data, Electronic Medical Record (EMR) hospital data, and patient-reported outcomes to inform precision health for linguistic minority communities.
Eligibility
- PhD (or MD/PhD) awarded within the last 5 years by the fellowship start date (or equivalent research experience with justified career interruptions).
- Demonstrated expertise in at least one relevant domain (e.g., health services research, epidemiology, implementation science, population health, AI/data science, health communication, mixed-methods).
- Bilingual (French and English) with the ability to communicate with team members in both languages.
- Evidence of scholarly productivity (peer-reviewed publications, datasets, software, or impactful KT outputs).
- Eligible to work in Canada and to be based in Ottawa for the majority of the fellowship.
Supervision and Environment
Fellows will be embedded at ISM with access to ISM's research cores (methods, data, and KT) and to clinical/research partners at Hôpital Montfort and regional collaborators (e.g., primary care networks, mental-health teams, and university departments). Primary supervision will be provided by Dr. Sharon Johnston and/or Dr. Sathya Karunananthan.
Value and Duration
- $70,000 CAD per year for two years (contingent on satisfactory progress and continued eligibility).
- Professional development funds may be available (conference travel, training) subject to ISM policy and supervisor approval.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA)
ISM is committed to EDIA principles. We welcome applications from members of equity-deserving groups. Research proposals that explicitly address equity, language access, and culturally safe engagement will be viewed favorably.
Application Package
- Cover letter (maximum 2 pages) describing fit with the Language & Health program, proposed research aims, and career goals;
- Curriculum vitae;
- 2-page research proposal outlining objectives, methods, data/samples, EDIA considerations, anticipated outputs, and training plan;
- Names and contact information for two referees (letters requested for shortlisted candidates);
- One sample of scholarly work (e.g., published paper, preprint, keynote presentation, or substantive KT product).
Selection Criteria
- Candidate excellence (training, productivity, leadership potential);
- Scientific merit and feasibility of the proposed research within 2-year time frame;
- Alignment with ISM priorities in language and health, improving patient outcomes, and potential for policy/practice impact;
- Contributions to bilingual knowledge translation.
How to Apply
Submit a single PDF containing all application materials (in the order listed) to: ism-recherche@montfort.on.ca (subject line: "Postdoctoral Fellowship — Language & Health 2026"). Applications may be written in English or French.
Timeline
- Application deadline: March 2, 2026
- Interviews: March 2026
- Decision notification: April, 2026
- Start date: April/May, 2026
Terms and Conditions
Awards are governed by ISM policies and the host-site agreement. Fellows are expected to be full-time in residence at ISM with one day per week on site as a minimum, maintain good standing, adhere to research ethics and data-governance policies, and acknowledge ISM support in publications and presentations.