FIMS News
Contact Information
FIMS Communications
Becky Blue
Email
519-661-2111x88493
FIMS & Nursing Building
Rm 2060C
Prabu Nadaraja: Studying the social media foodscapes of immigrants in Canada
By Shenghui Qiao
Prabu's hometown: Jaffna (யாழ்ப்பாணம் in Tamil), Sri Lanka
Health Information Science doctoral student Prabu Nadaraja examines what Tamil immigrants share on social media about food, what they learn from one another, and how these exchanges shape their sense of belonging, identity and health.
---
What we eat is shaped by more than just hunger. This idea lies at the heart of Prabu Nadaraja’s (பிரபு நடராசா) doctoral research, which explores how food representations on social media influence the immigrant community and their health.
As a first-year PhD student in the Health Information Science program at Western University studying under the supervision of Professor Anabel Quan-Haase, he is preparing his research proposal examining the social media foodscapes. His research interest is studying day-to-day interactions, trends and moments of celebrations around food on social media, and how these shape the collective learning, create belonging, and influence the perceptions of health and well-being among the immigrant community.
The idea first took shape during his master's studies at the University of Malaysia, where he investigated food choices among domestic adolescents. But its inspiration traces back even further, to his early working experience in a community health setting in his hometown in Sri Lanka.
For over a decade, he served in a health promotion role at SUVADI, a social enterprise in Northern Sri Lanka that he co-founded as a medical student at the University of Jaffna’s Faculty of Medicine. Prabu developed and executed community health initiatives, worked closely with various government departments and international funders to tackle widespread malnutrition in Northern Sri Lanka– an intergenerational crisis that has persisted during and in the aftermath of Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict.
Through years of experience, Prabu recognised that the real solution to public health challenges such as malnutrition lie within the socio-political system rather than simply in public health.
“Public health is not just the work of the health department itself, but instead, a lot of people in other sectors do so many things which enable public health; our role is getting everyone working together towards a common goal,” Prabu explained.
Completing a Master of Public Health in 2023 at the University of Malaya in Malaysia, under the supervision of Professor Victor Hoe Chee Wai Abdullah, ultimately led him to the doctoral program at Western University in Canada, where he is narrowing his focus to social media foodscapes and it’s impacts on the health of immigrants living in Ontario. Prabu aims to draw on transdisciplinary expertise in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS) and the Faculty of Health Studies to inform his work.
Fun Fact
Prabu is a vegetarian who loves learning about traditional dishes in different food cultures made from wild, foraged plants. It's one of his unique ways of connecting with nature and culture.
Alongside academia, he is also a volunteer food activist with Slow Food International. His volunteer work includes supporting immigrant communities in multiple capacities. Looking ahead, Prabu envisions himself bridging the gap between research, policy, and real-world practice. His immediate goal is to deepen his understanding of Canada’s public health system and to strengthen connections with immigrant organisations in London and Toronto, particularly those working with South Asian communities.
Reflecting on his journey, Prabu shares that his proudest accomplishment is having the opportunity since attending medical school to support his own community, which has been devastated by a three-decade-long armed conflict, and to be able to extend that support to Malaysia, Canada and other places. His dedication to global health equity and intercultural collaboration was recently recognised when he received a 2024 fellowship from Germany’s Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa).
Prabu aims to become a public health system planner for international agencies or the government, bridging research, policy, and community practice. By learning how technology influences the lives and well-being of immigrant communities, he believes he could help to build a healthier, more equitable future for all.
---
Profiles in the Meet Our Students section are written by students in the Master of Media in Journalism & Communication program, who are enrolled in MMJC 9604 - Professional Writing.
