Saleema Allana, RN, PhD

London, ON | @AllanaSaleema

Assistant Professor
Western University
London, ON | @AllanaSaleema

CWHHA member since 2022

Biography

I am a nurse academic and researcher for more than a decade now. I started my academic career at the Aga Khan University, Pakistan. I served there for 7 years, whereby my last designation was that of an Assistant Professor. I then completed my PhD at the University of Alberta, Canada. Since September 2021, I have been working as an Assistant Professor- Global Health (tenure-track position) at the Western University, Ontario. During the first six months of joining this position, I have secured three competitive research grants, namely: 1) Western Strategic Support CIHR Success Grant (CAD 24,788), 2) Western Strategic Support SSHRC Success Grant (CAD 24,788), 3) Faculty Development Research Fund (CAD 6,000). Utilizing these grants, I have started some foundational work for my program of research, and some of my research projects are already underway. I have submitted and will be submitting a few more external grants including tri-council grants for this year to explore cardiovascular health of women further. I am a Canadian RN, registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario.  

My program of research is at the intersection of women’s cardiovascular health, intersectionality, and health equity. My research focuses on cardiovascular health from an intersectional perspective i.e. cardiovascular care among vulnerable and marginalized women who have intersecting social identities. This research program leverages my years of clinical and research experience in cardiovascular nursing with my inherent interest in intersectionality and health of marginalized populations. My program of research is underpinned by a health equity and disparity lens, uncovering the health disparities and inequities faced by the women who are: immigrants, ethnic minorities, from LMICs, rural patients etc. To achieve my vision of improving the cardiovascular health of these vulnerable women, I plan to develop and evaluate novel, ground-breaking, culturally and contextually relevant disease management programs and telehealth interventions for these groups of cardiac patients. To begin with, my program of research seeks to explore their health behaviors, access to health services, and health system’s preparedness to provide efficient services to these patients. This baseline data will lead to the development of the most relevant disease management interventions for these women. 

My research experience includes rigorous, collaborative and interdisciplinary research, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative research methods. I have conceptualized and led research projects as a primary investigator, and contributed as a co-investigator, right from the proposal writing to data collection, analysis, and manuscript writing. I have a strong publication record for my career stage, with 35 papers in credible, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journals. Also, I have developed expertise around intersectional approaches to research, which is extremely helpful for my program of research. I have already started developing a network of global researchers interested in the field of global cardiovascular health research and intersectionality, and I am in the process of developing more collaborations for this purpose.  

During the first six months of my current position at the Western University, I have secured three competitive grants as a primary investigator. During my PhD as well, I secured funding for research projects as a co-investigator and collaborator. Please see my CV for further details on my grants and current research projects. I am collaborating with some leading researchers of international reputation in women’s cardiovascular health and intersectionality-based research, producing high impact research of clinical relevance (please see my CV for a list of my collaborators). My collaborators who are well-funded, well-published, and well-cited, are not only mentoring me in my program of research, but with their support, I also hope to secure big international, national, and provincial level funding. I have also completed the Transdisciplinary Understanding and Training on Research, Primary Health Care (TUTOR PHC) program 2020-2021, a pan-Canadian research training program.