Q&A with Asma Adam: MAP Centre for Urban Solutions, Global Health, & more 🏢

Hi everyone! My name’s Asma Adam (she/her) and I just finished my fourth year studying Global Health with a specialization in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at York University. I’m also the (now former) co-president of the Global Health Students’ Association.

Before I chose my program of study, I was set on pursuing a life science degree and convinced I would become a doctor. When it came time to choose my program however, I started reflecting on what it was that really interested me. I was always interested in health, social justice, human rights, and policy. I realized I enjoyed the more macro side of health rather than the more specific biological and physiological processes. When I read the description of the Global Health program, a program which explores the broader socio economic and political determinants that shape our health and health around the globe, I felt drawn to it immediately. There are so many more career paths in health than just becoming a doctor or nurse and I wanted to pursue a degree that would allow me to explore that. 

I started learning about all kinds of topics: social determinants of health, human rights, governance, global health policy, infectious and chronic disease, global mental health, community planning, and program/policy evaluation just to name a few! I was taught by world-renowned faculty who had years of experience in organizations like the WHO and were conducting relevant research that informed health responses within Canada and abroad. They are also some of the most supportive, encouraging, and kind professors I’ve had. I’ve had the pleasure of talking with guest lecturers from prominent figures like the president of Doctors Without Borders (Joanne Liu), Director of Health at the Gates Foundation (Alaa Murabit), and our fellow faculty and Order of Ontario recipient James Orbinski just to give you an idea. My classes weren’t focused on simply writing essays and doing exams but also involved doing projects where I got to think outside the box and hone my critical thinking skills. For example, I got to participate in cool projects like the GNLE (globally networked learning environment) as part of my Global Health Policy class where we worked in a group with students from the Fulda University of Applied Sciences in Germany to focus on a Global Health related topic and produce a podcast. Anyways, can you tell I love this program? The Global Health program is truly a hidden gem at York. 

As part of my specialization, I just completed my practicum at Access Alliance for my last semester. It’s made me realize my love for community health and project management and so I’m focused on pursuing that area for my career. Right now I’m debating between going straight into my masters this fall or entering the job market and getting some experience.

Outside of studying I love reading (rom-coms and fantasy are my favs right now) and playing with my cat!

I wanted to talk specifically about my experience as a summer research student at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions last summer. MAP is a research center that focuses their research on tackling complex community health issues in order to create a “healthier future for all”.  MAP is part of St.Michael’s hospital so I also had to go through the process of registering as a Keenan Summer Research Student (KRSS) as well. I was assigned to work on a qualitative study investigating “The Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Families with Children Born During the Pandemic”. As a research student on this project, I helped conduct literature reviews and assist in data collection in real time by sitting in focus groups, taking notes, and cleaning transcription and other data.

Someone I know had sent me a link to apply to the program back in 2021 so I first applied for the 2021 summer cohort. Applications were due in early January and interviews were held in late March. On the MAP website, they have a list of projects and research teams that are looking to bring on a MAP student. In your application, you list the top 3 projects you are interested in and if your application is successful you will be reached out to interview with the researchers leading at least one of those projects. I also had to include a personal statement and answer some short answer questions. That year,  I didn’t make it past the interview stage the first time around, as the project I was interviewing for required a lot of quantitative and statistical skills (specifically knowledge using R) which I didn’t have at the time. So word of advice, when listing your top projects, look at the type of methods the project will utilize (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods) and be strategic about which ones you choose. Think about what skills you have to offer and if it’s compatible with what they're looking for, rather than only considering if the topic is interesting to you or not. Of course, you want to choose something that interests you but also realize that at the end of the day, no matter what project you end up with, you will leave with valuable skills being gained. So think about what projects you have a higher chance of being chosen for. 

Last year, I was more strategic about what I chose. I know I didn’t have coding experience or a strong statistical background, but I did have extensive experience writing literature reviews, critical analysis reports, essays, holding meetings and taking down notes / meeting minutes, etc. So I chose my number one as a qualitative project which I knew I had a lot to offer for (and it was a topic I was really interested in which was great!) and projects that said they would use mixed methods for the rest. Luckily I got interviews for two of the projects I chose, and I accepted the offer to work on the qualitative project examining the effect of the pandemic on families that had children born during the pandemic.

My most notable experience was getting to see the actual research process in real time. I spent so much time in my classes reading through studies, but to actually get a closer look into the logistics of how a study is done was really interesting. I was lucky to have an amazing supervisor (Dr. Andrea Simpson) who was so kind and encouraging and really made me feel confident in my position which was great. She would ask me things I was interested in and would then connect me to people or resources that she thought I would benefit from which was so amazing (I actually was able to utilize one of those connections in helping me to write my grad school application which was nice). I was able to learn about the process of grant writing and getting approval to actually conduct research experience which was cool. As it was a qualitative study, the primary method of data collection was using focus groups and it was really interesting to sit in these zoom calls and listen to the stories of all different kinds of people. It was a reminder that there are faces and people whose lives are actually being impacted behind all this data. I feel like as students who have to do assignments and read through a bunch of studies, we are often removed from the human aspect of the research and the reason why it’s being conducted and being on this specific project really served to ground me and remind me of that. It also enlightened me on the importance of qualitative data and how it’s just as important as quantitative data.

The MAP program was also really amazing because we would have access to weekly workshops on all kinds of topics related to research so you really get a taste of all areas of research even if your project isn’t focused on a specific topic. For example, I got to participate in a workshop about conducting systematic reviews which I didn’t have the opportunity to learn about before. Workshops also focused on other important things like how to advocate for yourself and ask to be included as an author on a research project which I had no idea on how I would go about that before participating.

Yes definitely. So I mentioned earlier that I had the opportunity to do a practicum placement at Access Alliance (a great organization to look into if interested in health promotion and community health). Because I had experience sitting in focus groups, cleaning transcripts, and got to witness the process of qualitative data analysis using NVivo during my time at MAP, my supervisor was really comfortable with me leading a qualitative evaluation in which I led focus groups, cleaned the data, and performed analysis all on my own. While it was definitely scary being trusted to do so much at first, I felt reassured by the knowledge I had gained during my time as a research student at MAP. I definitely wouldn’t have been entrusted to lead such a project if I didn’t have this experience beforehand.

To learn more about the MAP program specifically you can go visit their website here. If you would like to chat with me personally about anything at all please feel free to message me at LinkedIN!

Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask people to tell you more about their positions (basically network, network, network!). I feel like a lot of students, including myself previously, only think of connections in terms of trying to get a job but it can also be about learning from people and the skills they have to offer. I was only able to sit through the data analysis process by personally messaging the qualitative specialist onboard the MAP project I was assigned to and learned how to use a new software as a result. 

Also, on the topic of learning new skills, make use of the resources available to you through your school! As a York student, I have free access to LinkedIn learning which normally costs $47.61 a month. If you go to a different school, look into what resources you have access to and make use of them while you still can. You can use these platforms to teach yourself skills (like how to use a specific statistical software or skills necessary to be a project coordinator for example) that you might not be able to get within your degree or placements, which can give you a competitive advantage later on.