Kristin Connor

They died because they were women.
December 6, 1989.
National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. www.cbc.ca/montreal/fea...

This is a fantastic 🧵and needed perspective on AI in (higher)ed.

Must read.

Hope the admin at my institution, who have just put out their terrible just-accept-AI-cause-it-will-make-lives-easier framework for community feedback see this and take a beat.

Every country needs a national strategy for women's health. In our new episode, Dr. @liisagalea.bsky.social talks with
Jennifer Gillivan about bias in research, and why it’s time to mobilize to equalize.
🎧 Listen here: ow.ly/tsrw50Xy8q9

Another reason why we need to teach about female biology, women’s/children’s health & sexual/ reproductive rights & justice…
AND fund research in these areas!

This IS unforgivable.
🇨🇦 used to be a leader in this space.
Our current fed gov’t has now shown in a few ways women don’t matter.

an illustration of a woman with a thought bubble that says imagine ALT: an illustration of a woman with a thought bubble that says imagine

That we may lose a 🔑 opportunity to teach the next generation about these topics, & inspire them to work in areas that support & ADVANCE health for ALL, is very disappointing 😔, though an unsurprising sign of the times.

The values & mission of an org are judged by what it actually prioritises.
6/6

It’s the only science course at my uni (AFAIK) on women’s & repro/dev bio, teaching about pregnancy, early dev, & early life health,
including why women, children, & preg people are excluded from clinical trials
& why we have so little info on their disease pathology & treatments/interventions
5/n

a lion standing on top of a rock with the words " the circle of life " below him ALT: a lion standing on top of a rock with the words " the circle of life " below him

It was one of the first #DOHaD courses in 🇨🇦—been teaching it for 10 yrs
4/n

a man holding a sword with the words let 's chop it up on the bottom ALT: a man holding a sword with the words let 's chop it up on the bottom

These comments made me sad, since the course is on the chopping block by my uni thanks to budget cuts, despite our uni saying it values/prioritises sex/gender & EDI in teaching & research.
3/n

a woman sitting in front of a door with the word agreed on her shirt ALT: a woman sitting in front of a door with the word agreed on her shirt

I had my last 4th yr pre- & perinatal determinants of health (#DOHaD) lecture for the semester today.

Students remarked it should be required for all health sci students in our prog (esp biomed sci students who currently don’t have to take it)

2/n

a woman sitting in a chair with the words stick with me behind her ALT: a woman sitting in a chair with the words stick with me behind her

🧵 A reflection on the need to protect people *through* research & teaching, which means increasing —not reducing— efforts to educate others on, & study, women’s & children’s biology/health, & that of equity-denied populations….

1/n

Exactly this.
I always use this factor.
And encourage any student who has a time accommodation to use it (some don’t and need to be reminded!).

👏🏻 Amazing and critically important research from Jim Green, Adrian Chan & Rob Langlois @carleton.ca to help the tiniest 👶🏻 receive the best and most accurate care!

#SmallisMighty!

I will believe in the end of identity politics when steel and lumber (28,000 jobs and 105,000 jobs respectively) stop getting bailouts, while higher education (310,000 jobs) collapses in front of our eyes because it's full of ivory tower elites

I’m here now! It’s like a huge magical piece art here with everything covered! So beautiful!

This is why OpenAI is selling so aggressively to education at all levels—they want to create entire generations of users incapable of reading, writing and thinking without ChatGPT to hold their hands

And teachers and professors should call this out for what it actually is

Made it to Saskatoon (it looks like an ice palace!)
🫱🏼‍🫲🏾 for the joint #CIHR Institute of Human Development Child & Youth Health and Institute of Indigenous Peoples Health Board meetings

& discussing converging areas of priority 🎯 for our communities!

Grateful to learn from these discussions

Agreed

Canadian govt could commission Canadian PIs/their research teams (heck, even their own federal scientists!) who would do a better systematic review and whatever needed analyses across grey m and primary academic literature to get at the evidence and make reccs - for way less!

Canadian Bioinformatics Hub Conference 2026. May 27-29, 2026, MaRS Discovery District, Toronto, Canada. Nominate Outstanding Contributors to Canada's Bioinformatics Community! Help us recognize the researchers and community builders shaping the future of bioinformatics in Canada! CBHC 2026 is accepting nominations for awards celebrating innovation, leadership, inclusivity, and trainee excellence across the BCBDS community. Eligible nominees include trainees, early-career, and mid-career professionals. Self-nominations welcome!

The Canadian Bioinformatics Hub is accepting applications for their recognition awards. Three awards are available: CBH Research & Innovation Award, Francis Ouellette Community Award, and CBH Impact Trainee Award. Apply by Dec 8, 2025: www.iscb.org/cbhc2026/cal...

A WHO graphic showing close-up hands making the “finger heart” gesture. A woman smiles softly in the blurred background. Text on the right reads: “EVERY ACTION COUNTS. 90% GIRLS VACCINATED. 70% WOMEN SCREENED. 90% TREATED BY 2030.”

#CervicalCancer could be the first cancer EVER in the world to be eliminated, if:

9️⃣0️⃣% of girls are vaccinated
7️⃣0️⃣% of women are screened
9️⃣0️⃣% of women with cervical cancer receive treatment

Learn more: bit.ly/47GIbzd #EndCervicalCancer

Too early, Sam. Too early. 😆

Government of 🇨🇦 playbook on science funding & innovation in a nutshell.

Nice paper Vern! Congrats to you and the team!!

This paper emphasizes hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that appears in #childhood may differ at the molecular level from adult-onset — including gene variants, signalling pathways and #cardiac growth/remodelling

YouTube video by Janine Rogan Episode 49: Breaking Down Glass Walls with Amy Diehl

I had an amazing conversation with Janine Rogan, host of the Pink Tax podcast and author of THE PINK TAX. We discuss glass walls vs glass ceilings, why insufficient support is one of the most harmful biases women face & how to combat salary inequality.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPT9...

The effects of government-led cash transfer programmes on behavioural and health determinants of mortality: a difference-in-differences study Poverty is strongly associated with numerous adverse health outcomes. Government-led cash transfer programmes are crucial to poverty reduction strateg…

On one hand, it's incredible we can prove cash transfers/benefit payments improve 11 maternal health indicators in low and middle income countries

On the other hand, we already know this because we routinely use benefits in high income countries

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Lucas’ research focus is on the role of the maternal gut as a key mediator of signals to support pregnancy health & fetal development. He’s unpacking how the gut (mal)adapts to situations of malnutrition & infection—increasingly common co-conditions in some areas of the world—to shape outcomes

It’s another Meet the Member Monday!

This week I’m pleased to introduce 2 of our PhD students (both proud 🇧🇷!!) Erikles & Lucas!

Erikles is a veterinarian with a background in experimental biology. He’s leading our transgenic animal studies🐭 to understand causes & prevention of neural tube defects

Interesting approach! I like this and may apply it!

Tomorrow is #WorldPrematurityDay to bring awareness & action for all those #BornTooSoon & the challenges they & their families face, even long after birth.

Healthy starts & lifelong health is at the 💜 of our research
& aligns with this year’s theme healthy beginnings, hopeful futures

Learn more 👇🏻