Student Opportunities

Position Summary

This role supports action-oriented aging, rehabilitation, and community health research. Current studies include the AAIMS project, a national multi-site initiative to develop a planning toolkit that helps community groups attract equity-deserving populations and adapt, implement, or sustain evidence-informed fall prevention exercise programs as well as a national study examining how partnerships between researchers and research users affect health research.

The research assistant will support ongoing multidisciplinary research projects and will be exposed to multiple research methodologies and methods. This could include systematic reviews and secondary data analysis, questionnaires, and qualitative interviews. The role involves assisting with data management, literature review, document organization, and dissemination activities. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, organized, and comfortable working both independently and collaboratively in a research environment.

Key Responsibilities

Job responsibilities and duties may include, but are not limited to:

• Engaging with community research partners and participants
• Assisting trained interviewers in conducting qualitative/key informant interviews with older adults and health care providers
• Assisting with qualitative and quantitative data organization, entry, and analysis
• Contributing to literature reviews and reference management
• Screening and appraising the quality of academic and grey literature
• Extracting and synthesizing data from academic and grey literature
• Helping organize and summarize research findings for reports, presentations, and manuscripts
• Maintaining accurate and confidential project documentation
• Participating in virtual or in-person research meetings
• Supporting coordination of study activities with community partners and study sites
• Assisting with dissemination tasks (e.g., lay summaries, PowerPoint slides, infographics)

Qualifications

• Enrolled in or completed a Bachelor’s or Master’s program in a health, social science, or related field (e.g., kinesiology, community health, rehabilitation sciences, or similar)
• Strong organizational and time management skills
• Experience with Microsoft Office, SharePoint, and/or REDCap considered an asset
• Familiarity with qualitative data coding or survey tools (Dedoose, Excel, etc.) an asset
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Interest in aging, fall prevention, or implementation science preferred

To Apply or Learn More

Interested candidates should submit a brief cover letter outlining their interest and relevant experience, along with a resume or CV, to Dr. Kathryn Sibley at Kathryn.sibley@umanitoba.ca.

*posted November 2025

Professor Kathryn Sibley, Canada Research Chair in Integrated Knowledge Translation in Rehabilitation Sciences, is looking for enthusiastic and motivated research trainees to join her dynamic and growing team at the University of Manitoba.

Dr. Sibley’s research focuses on integrating health research and health care in a new scholarly field called knowledge translation. Getting research results into everyday practices and policies is challenging. Dr. Sibley works with the end-users of aging and rehabilitation research to design and conduct research that identifies and closes gaps between research and real-world practice. Dr. Sibley’s research is transforming the nature of how rehabilitation and health research are conducted, by integrating knowledge translation and partnerships throughout the research process.

Dr. Sibley is seeking trainees at the masters and doctoral level to work on projects focused on (i) advancing integrated knowledge translation methods and outcomes and (ii) implementation of fall prevention exercise in community settings for older adults. Trainees work in partnership with health system and community exercise organizations. Financial support from Dr. Sibley’s existing grants is available, however, students will be expected to apply for competitive external scholarships (e.g. CIHR).

Qualifications
Candidates with foundational training in kinesiology, health sciences, rehabilitation or related fields will be most suited for these research opportunities. Students should be reliable, able to work independently (with guidance), and possess good interpersonal, organization and verbal/written communication skills. Previous research experience with human participants is an asset.

Work Environment
Dr. Sibley accepts graduate students through the Department of Community Health Sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Applied Health Sciences doctoral program, University of Manitoba. This training opportunity will be based in the Knowledge Translation Platform of the George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation, on the Bannatyne Campus of the University of Manitoba.

Application Instructions
Interested applicants should email a cover letter, academic transcript, Curriculum Vitae or resume, and statement of research interests to Dr. Sibley at Kathryn.Sibley@umanitoba.ca. Applications will be reviewed until a suitable candidate is identified. All applicants are thanked for their interest. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

The application deadline for Master of Public Health in Community Health Sciences Graduate program (MSc) for Fall 2026 admission is January 10, 2026. The deadline for Community Health Sciences Graduate program (PhD) for Fall 2025 admission is January 10, 2026, 2025.