Nadine Wathen to be inducted into the College of the Royal Society of Canada

Nadine WathenNadine Wathen, FIMS Associate Professor and founder of the Health Information Science program at Western, has been inducted into the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. The announcement was made by the College on September 22.

Members of the multi-disciplinary College represent the emerging generation of scholarly, scientific and artistic leadership in Canada, and collectively address issues of interest for the advancement of understanding and betterment of society.

“It’s an honour to be inducted into the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. As an interdisciplinary researcher whose work cuts across a number of areas, having a place like the RSC recognize the importance of this type of collaborative approach is very exciting,” said Wathen of her accomplishment.

Professor Wathen’s research examines the health sector response to violence against women and children, interventions to reduce health inequities, and the science of knowledge translation, with a key focus on enhancing the use of research in policy and practice.

“Complex issues like violence against women and children really need to be approached from multiple perspectives, with different theories, methods and communication strategies required to generate and share knowledge.  It’s really an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to dealing with society’s so-called ‘wicked problems’.”

To better prepare emerging professionals and scholars in the practice and science of knowledge translation, Wathen founded the popular Health Information Science program in 2011, which offers both master’s level and PhD degree options.  It primarily draws on expertise from the Faculties of Information & Media Studies (FIMS) and Health Sciences (FHS).

Wathen, whose home faculty is FIMS, voiced her gratitude to her colleagues upon learning of her induction.

“FIMS has been incredibly supportive of me and my work.  From providing space for me to conduct my research, to actively supporting the development and implementation of Western’s Joint Graduate Program in Health Information Science, I couldn’t ask for a better academic home,” she said.  “There’s a real commitment to interdisciplinarity here that could be a model for the whole University, and beyond.”

For more information about The Royal Society of Canada, visit their website.
https://rsc-src.ca/en