Grant: CIHR Gold Leaf Prize for Outstanding Achievements - Early Career Investigator

Dr. Afifi has been awarded 27 grants totaling $13.2 million and 6 research contracts totaling $9.4 million as Principal Investigator (PI) or co-PI since 2010. She has published 108 peer-reviewed articles, 6 editorials, 9 book chapters, and 3 policy reports. Her first-authored peer-reviewed publications have been published in several top journals including JAMA Psychiatry, CMAJ, and Pediatrics. Many of these publications have been in collaboration with national and international experts from several universities and institutions (e.g., Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Department of National Defence (DND), Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO)). Dr. Afifi’s research has been recognized by numerous awards. Notably, in 2017 she was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada as a member of the College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists. Her research has advanced knowledge in child maltreatment and mental health with widespread dissemination of findings in various forums. She has participated in over 100 media interviews for print, radio, and television resulting in over 2,000 known worldwide news stories. Her interviews focus on knowledge translation designed media messaging. In addition, her research has been used to inform policy and provide knowledge to decision-makers in Canada. For example, her research was used in the Minister of Health Rona Ambrose’s announcement on Family Violence and Child Abuse Prevention Initiative at the Canadian Centre for Child Protection round table discussion in 2014. Her research was also used by PHAC for defining the scope of the problem of family violence in Canada. As well, 11 of her research articles were cited in the 2016 Chief Public Health Officer’s report on the State of Public Health in Canada. Dr. Afifi’s research has been used in mainstream media to advocate for children’s rights and violence prevention on outlets such as CNN, TIME magazine, and The Globe and Mail.