PhD candidates and recent graduates on the market
Introducing Outstanding PhD Candidates and Graduates from the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work
The Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (FIFSW) at the University of Toronto is pleased to share exceptional PhD candidates and recent graduates currently on the job market.
Graduates of FIFSW’s Doctor of Philosophy program are united by a shared commitment to advancing social justice, equity, and community well-being. Their work is deeply informed by rigorous academic training, interdisciplinary collaboration, and meaningful engagement with community-based, governmental, and grassroots organizations. Through mentorship from internationally recognized faculty and access to the broader University of Toronto scholarly community, these candidates have developed cutting-edge research that addresses urgent social, economic, and health challenges.
As future leaders in social work research, education, and practice, these scholars bring a wealth of knowledge, creativity, and dedication to their work. They have published in top-tier journals, demonstrated excellence in teaching, and shown a strong commitment to bridging research, teaching and practice.
We invite you to learn more about these outstanding individuals and the transformative contributions they are poised to make in academic, policy, and practice settings across Canada and beyond.
PhD Job Candidates — at a glance
Click on the names below to learn more about each PhD candidate or recent graduate on the job market.
Suliat Fehintola Akinwande, MPH
Research Interests:
- Adolescent girls’ and young mothers’ health and well-being
- Health equity and social determinants of health
- Resource insecurity (food, water, housing, sanitation, menstrual health)
- HIV prevention, testing, and care engagement
- Sexual and reproductive health
- Health services utilization
- Violence prevention and gender-based violence
- Quantitative health research
- Qualitative research
- Mixed-methods
Shannon Brown, Ph.D
Research Interests:
- Technology-facilitated sexual violence and gender-based violence
- Online child sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse material
- Human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children and youth
- Non-consensual sexting and sextortion
- Immersive and emerging technologies (social VR, smart devices) and digital harm
- Feminist science and technology studies; qualitative and phenomenological methods
- Trauma-informed, survivor-centred practice and research
Kaitrin Doll, PhD Candidate, MSW, RSW
Research Interests:
- sport as a site for social justice
- sexual and gender diverse populations
- equity-deserving populations and resistance,
- policy as a tool for system change
Marci Gray, PhD Candidate, MSW, RSW
Research Interests:
- trauma informed mental health
- psychological safety at work
- anti-Black racism impacts
- mental health stigma
Viveka Ichikawa, PhD, MSW, RSW
Research Interests:
- Mixed-race identity
- Critical Clinical Social Work
- Critical international social work
- Social Work with migrants, refugees and diaspora
- Anti-racist social work practice and pedagogy
- Trauma-informed social work practice, research, and pedagogy
- Cross-cultural couple counselling
Vilmara Lucas, PhD Candidate
Research Interests:
- Critical and Afrocentric Clinical Social Work
- Social work education, pedagogy and creative teaching methods
- Black and Immigrant Mental Health
- Immigration and labour market
- Racism as a Social Determinant of Health
- Social work with migrants, refugees and diasporic communities
- Arts-based qualitative methods
Nelson Pang, PhD candidate
Research Interests:
- Adolescent and young adult mental health, well-being, and risk-taking behaviors
- Online sports gambling, addictions, substance use, and harm reduction
- Health of men and boys
- Health services research and equitable access to care
- Social Epidemiology and upstream approaches to care
- Social Work Education and Professional Practice
- Program Evaluation
Rachael Pascoe, PhD MSW, RSW
Research Interests:
- Adolescent sexual offending interventions
- Child and youth maltreatment and trauma
- Sexual violence prevention
- 2SLGBTQ+ youth mental health needs and interventions
- Intervention research for historically underserved youth
- Substance use treatment and nicotine cessation
Linxiao Zhang, MA, MSc, BSW
Research Interests:
- Child and adolescent development
- Gender and family
- Environmental sustainability