Research Talks featuring Dr. Bill Leeming

Join us for the September edition of Research Talks featuring Dr. Bill Leeming presenting

Research for Building Ivory Towers versus Research for Building Communities: Could the Situation be Otherwise?
 

Brief Description of the talk: Bill Leeming does and has done a variety of kinds of research over the past forty-one years. And these include his involvement in an assortment of communities for a variety of social causes and community projects. Graduate studies in the 1990’s taught exposed him to a variety of social science approaches to research that Bill has incorporated into not only an academic career but also a renewed capacity to take on community initiatives. And he draws on both aspects in his teaching at OCAD University.

In this research talk, Bill compares the relationship between and relative value of his academic career and his community initiatives. Specifically, he compares similarities and differences between two current research projects:

1. A transdisciplinary research project funded through the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF): "Comprehensive Assessment and Response in Emergency Departments for Back Pain (CARE4BACKS)". Bill is working with a team that includes faculty from the University of British Columbia, Western University, and Université de Montréal. This reflects Bill’s ongoing academic research as a sociologist with a specialization in technology adoption in medicine.
    
2. Ongoing research on “Healthy Aging in Place” and horizontal Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs). Since turning 70, Bill has been actively working with organizations such as the NORC Innovation Centre (NIC-UHN), the Seaton Village Residents Association, the Harbord Village Residents Association, KYN the Woods, OV Oasis, and Kensington Health to organize and design a horizontal NORC that spans Seaton Village, Harbord Village, Bickford Park, Christie Pits, and the Woods, to serve the aspirational wants and anticipated needs of independent senior living, home retrofitting, health navigation, homecare and personal support assistance for older adults in their homes.

Speaker Bio: Dr.Bill Leeming is an Associate Professor, Cross-Appointed Faculty of Liberal Arts & Science and Faculty of Graduate Studies (Design for Health). Bill Leeming’s research of the last fifteen years has focused on innovation and technological adoption in medicine. Very recently he has embarked on new research topics related to “healthy aging in place” and “retrofitting climate resilient homes for sustainable communities.” The former refers to designing and organizing way of healthy aging in place, including facilitating older adults remaining in residences and communities of their choice as they age. The latter has included the retrofitting of resilient housing for sustainable communities explored in a collaborative project with the Toronto Home Energy Network.