Dr. Bukola Salami is a Registered Nurse and Full Professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Black and Racialized Peoples’ Health in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, with a cross-appointment in the Faculty of Nursing. Her research program examines the policies and practices that shape the health and well-being of migrants, Black communities, and other racialized populations.
Dr. Salami has led or collaborated on more than 100 funded studies totaling over $250 million, and has published approximately 180 scholarly papers. She is the Founder and Director of the African Child and Youth Migration Network, an international network of 42 scholars across four continents, and co-led the establishment of the Institute for Intersectional Studies at the University of Alberta.
In 2020, she founded the Black Youth Mentorship and Leadership Program, which has supported and mentored over 350 Black undergraduate and high school students. Her research on Black youth mental health directly informed the creation of Western Canada’s first mental health clinic for Black Canadians.
A recognized leader in health equity, Dr. Salami has presented her work to policy-makers, including the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, and has contributed to several policy changes advancing the well-being of Black and racialized communities.
Nationally, she serves as Vice President of the Canadian Nurses Association, Co-Chair of the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Advisory Committee on Science, and Member of the Governing Council of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). She also serves on advisory boards for the CIHR Institute for Human Development, Child and Youth Health, the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Mental Health of Black Canadians Working Group, and the Government of Canada’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Global Health.
Through her research, mentorship, and leadership, Dr. Salami continues to shape national and global conversations on health equity and the structural determinants of health for Black and racialized peoples.