Bio
Professor Bukola Salami is a Registered Nurse, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Black and Racialized People’s Health and a Full Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary. She previously held the rank of Full Professor in the Faculty of Nursing and was Director of the Intersections of Gender Signature Area in the Office of the Vice President Research, both at the University of Alberta.
Professor Salami’s research program focuses on the well-being of Black, immigrant, and racialized people. She has been involved in over 90 funded studies totalling over $230 million. She recently received a $2.5 million SSHRC Partnership Grant titled Transforming the Lives of Black Children and Youth in Canada.
She founded and leads the African Child and Youth Migration Network, a network of around 50 scholars in four continents. In 2020, she founded the Black Youth Mentorship and Leadership Program, the first university-based fully interdisciplinary mentorship program for Black youths in Western Canada. This program seeks to socially and economically empower Black high school youths to meaningfully contribute to Canadian society. Her work on Black youth mental health informed the creation of the first mental health clinic for Black Canadians in Western Canada (which was founded by Africa Centre and the Alberta Black Therapist Network). She has presented her work to policy makers (including the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health). She has trained over 100 undergraduate and graduate students, including many (~10) who are now Assistant or Associate Professors.
Professor Salami is Vice President of the Canadian Nurses Association and board member of Black Opportunity Fund. She is a former Board member of Africa Centre (the largest Black organization in Western Canada), the Alberta College of Social Workers, Black Health Alliance, Edmonton Local Immigrant Partnership, National Association of Nigerian Nurses of North America, International Nursing Interest Group of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, and Project Esperance (a housing unit for women in Toronto). In addition to being an Editor for the Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, she is an Associate Editor of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) and on the Editorial Board of Nursing Inquiry, Nursing Philosophy, and Qualitative Health Research. She is a board/council member of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, an advisory board member of the CIHR Institute for Human Development, Child and Youth Health, and on the Scientific Advisory Committee on Global Health to the Government of Canada.
Dr. Salami has received several awards for research excellence and community engagement: 100 Accomplished Black Women in Canada; Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing Emerging Nurse Researcher of the Year Award; College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CARNA) Award for Nursing Excellence; Rosalind Smith Professional Award from the National Black Coalition of Canada – Edmonton Chapter; Alberta Avenue Edmonton Top 40 under 40; Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame; Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing; Killam Accelerator Award (a $225,000 value for research); Top 25 Canadian Immigrants; Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal; Health Research Foundation Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Award; and Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.
Research Interests
Immigrant Health; Black Peoples Health; Intersectionality; Black Youth Mentorship
Publications
Tran, B. (2024). Mentorship program in Calgary empowers Black youth to pursue leadership
opportunities. Livewire Calgary. September 16, 2024. https://livewirecalgary.com/2024/08/12/mentorship-program-in-calgary-empowers-black-
youth-to-pursue-leadership-opportunities/
Salami, B., Maduforo, A., & Kandemiri, M. Mentorship is key to improving social and
economic outcomes for Black youth. The Conversation. March 18, 2024.
https://theconversation.com/mentorship-is-key-to-improving-social-and-economic-
outcomes-for-black-youth-222796
Kandemiri, M., Bello, O., Chin-see, R., Addo, A., Mohamed, S., Olukotun, M., Salami, B.;
(submitted December 2023) Descriptive thematic analysis of Black youth mentorship
programs in North America: a scoping review. Race Ethnicity and Education.
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