IWH associate wins Vanier scholarship

Nancy Carnide, a research associate at the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), is among the first group of doctoral students in Canada and abroad to be awarded a prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.

Federal Minister of State for Science and Technology Gary Goodyear announced the first 166 recipients of the new scholarship – worth $50,000 a year for up to three years – on April 30. “It was certainly a surprise,” said Carnide about being among the first to receive this sought-after award. “This will allow me to really focus on my research.”

Carnide, a PhD student at the University of Toronto, is studying the use of pain medication for work-related musculoskeletal disorders. She is exploring how and when these medications are used, their impact on work disability, and the potential role of mental health. Carnide’s research into depressive symptoms among injured workers appeared in the Spring 2009 issue of At Work.

“The recipients of these scholarships are the world’s leading doctoral students and the next generation of researchers, professors and industry leaders who will make considerable economic and social contributions in Canada and abroad,” Goodyear said.

Source: At Work, Issue 57, Summer 2009: Institute for Work & Health, Toronto