Dr. Jennifer Campos - The KITE Research Institute

Dr. Jennifer Campos is a Canada Research Chair (II), Senior Scientist, and Associate Director – Academics at the KITE (Knowledge Innovation, Talent, Everywhere) Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute - University Health Network. She is also an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto and the Associate Scientific Director of AGE-WELL Network Centres of Excellence.

Dr. Campos has been an enthusiastic and dedicated champion of science promotion to the public for more than 20 years. She has earned the respect of her peers and become a role model in her field while building a reputation as a leading Canadian science authority and advocate. Her contributions to science promotion have spanned audiences and focus on four intersecting domains:

• Youth outreach through dedicated programming and direct access to researchers and research facilities
• Advocacy efforts for under-represented groups in STEM
• Science advocacy through local and national public media outlets (e.g., Nature of Things, Daily Planet)
• Public education strategies that translate leading research into easy to adopt approaches that improve quality of life

Throughout her career, Dr. Campos has made it a priority to engage youth organizations and welcome school classes into research laboratories. In creating the KITE Young Innovators program alone, her science promotion activities have engaged more than 35,000 youth and their educators since 2012, and she has championed the inclusion of underrepresented groups in STEM by devising local and national youth-targeted events.

She is the Organizer of the KITE Women in Science exchange program, the Chair of the University Health Network IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility) youth outreach committee, and a frequent speaker at events promoting women in science within Canada and internationally. She has been recognized for her science education contributions through awards such as the Contribution to Student and Professional Education: Leader Award (Toronto Rehab Institute) and the KITE Senior Scientist Mentorship and Leadership Award.

For her career-long contributions to the promotion of science and her commitment to expanding equity, diversity and inclusivity within STEM fields, Dr. Jennifer Campos is the recipient of the 2021 NSERC Awards for Science Promotion (Individual).

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