Biography

Dr. Julia Smith is a transdisciplinary social scientist whose research contributes to public health policy and global health governance fields. She has worked with health and community development programs in Canada, Kenya, South Africa, Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom, and frequently works in consultation with government and civil society at both the local and global level. She is Associate Scientific Director of the Pacific Institute on Pandemics and Society and a member of the BRIDGE Research Consortium. Julia is the author of Conscripted to Care:  Women on the Frontlines of the COVID-19 Response and Civil Society and the Global Response to HIV/AIDS. Outside of her research, she enjoys volunteering with WTC and Mosaic, as well as hiking and swimming. 

Research Interests

Dr. Julia Smith’s research centres around the social, political and commercial determinants of health, often applying an intersectional feminist and critical political economy lens to better understand the relationships between health and other inequities. Trained as a qualitative researcher, she leads mixed methods teams to conduct community-engaged research and work with decision-makers for integrated knowledge translation. Her current research projects center around equity-based pandemic preparedness and response, strengthening the healthcare workforce and equitable access to care. In the past, Julia has led research on gender and COVID-19, tobacco control, the global response to HIV/AIDS and global health governance.

Publications and activities

View Dr. Smith's publications