Sepali Guruge

Sepali Guruge’s program of research focuses on the health of immigrants who constitute a significant proportion of urban communities in Canada.

Within this broader program of research, she has investigated a range of key health concerns including aging, elder abuse, mental health, HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular health, tuberculosis, and interpersonal violence, in the context of the health inequities resulting from: socio-economic marginalization, limited access to healthcare, education, employment, and language training, housing insecurity, unsafe neighbourhoods, racism and discrimination.

Her research program connects these key local urban health concerns to those occurring at global levels. To this end, she has worked on a number of related projects with colleagues in several other countries. Her work has been supported by a range of funding agencies, and her research findings have been disseminated in over 10 languages, making her work accessible beyond English-speaking audiences.

Her research has gained national and international recognition, and in 2014, she was selected to be part of the inaugural cohort of the College of the New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada.