Ridah Afshal

Ridah Afshal is a recent graduate of the University of Toronto Mississauga, where she completed her undergraduate degree in biology for health sciences and psychology. Through the Research Opportunity Program (ROP), she worked with Professor Ganapathy-Coleman on a project exploring the everyday lives of South Asians in Canada. In this role, she was responsible for recruiting older participants and assisting in the execution of data collection using the photovoice method, which enabled participants to share their lived experiences through photography. Ridah has also contributed to the UTM CCDMP R-BLISS project, which examines caregiver and educator well-being and its influence on child development. Her research interests center on the experiences of South Asian immigrants, with a focus on both optimistic and challenging narratives within South Asian populations to develop a holistic understanding of cultural influences on the population. Ridah brings to the team strong skills in community engagement, a sensitivity to culture in participant interactions, and experience in fostering trust with hard-to-reach communities.