Laura Sikstrom
@laurasikstrom.bsky.social
Scientist @CAMH and @KCNI and Medical Anthropologist @UToronto.
Ethnography, AI, health equity and mental health.
https://predictivecarecollab.com/
Ethnography, AI, health equity and mental health.
https://predictivecarecollab.com/
Pinned
Laura Sikstrom
@laurasikstrom.bsky.social
· Jan 30
CAMH is proud to announce that we have received a ✨RECORD ✨number of grants and a total of $10.8M in funding as part of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Project Grant Fall 2024 competition!
Congratulations to our 13 grant awardees! 🎉
Congratulations to our 13 grant awardees! 🎉
Thrilled that our project was funded by CIHR!
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
In the upcoming @camhnews.bsky.social SIMposium of Minds, two of our AMS Fellows are featured as panelists on AI-enabled mental health care.
Join Drs. @danielbuchman.bsky.social and @laurasikstrom.bsky.social to learn about their insights!
Register here:
buff.ly/9wkUrZL
Join Drs. @danielbuchman.bsky.social and @laurasikstrom.bsky.social to learn about their insights!
Register here:
buff.ly/9wkUrZL
October 29, 2025 at 5:04 PM
In the upcoming @camhnews.bsky.social SIMposium of Minds, two of our AMS Fellows are featured as panelists on AI-enabled mental health care.
Join Drs. @danielbuchman.bsky.social and @laurasikstrom.bsky.social to learn about their insights!
Register here:
buff.ly/9wkUrZL
Join Drs. @danielbuchman.bsky.social and @laurasikstrom.bsky.social to learn about their insights!
Register here:
buff.ly/9wkUrZL
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
‘Fairness’ in AI isn't a feature. It’s a responsibility.
Algorithmic bias in healthcare can have serious impacts. @laurasikstrom.bsky.social co-created a 'Fairness Dashboard' to help data scientists and developers design fair AI in mental health care.
More here:
buff.ly/oLYfiRq
Algorithmic bias in healthcare can have serious impacts. @laurasikstrom.bsky.social co-created a 'Fairness Dashboard' to help data scientists and developers design fair AI in mental health care.
More here:
buff.ly/oLYfiRq
October 30, 2025 at 2:02 PM
‘Fairness’ in AI isn't a feature. It’s a responsibility.
Algorithmic bias in healthcare can have serious impacts. @laurasikstrom.bsky.social co-created a 'Fairness Dashboard' to help data scientists and developers design fair AI in mental health care.
More here:
buff.ly/oLYfiRq
Algorithmic bias in healthcare can have serious impacts. @laurasikstrom.bsky.social co-created a 'Fairness Dashboard' to help data scientists and developers design fair AI in mental health care.
More here:
buff.ly/oLYfiRq
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
Congrats to CAMH’s Dr. Peter Zhukovsky & Dr. Shreejoy Tripathy, recipients of Brain Canada Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research grant!
They join 22 researchers nationwide advancing bold ideas in brain health.
Learn more & see the full list here:https://ow.ly/WE2M50X4Ble
They join 22 researchers nationwide advancing bold ideas in brain health.
Learn more & see the full list here:https://ow.ly/WE2M50X4Ble
October 1, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Congrats to CAMH’s Dr. Peter Zhukovsky & Dr. Shreejoy Tripathy, recipients of Brain Canada Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research grant!
They join 22 researchers nationwide advancing bold ideas in brain health.
Learn more & see the full list here:https://ow.ly/WE2M50X4Ble
They join 22 researchers nationwide advancing bold ideas in brain health.
Learn more & see the full list here:https://ow.ly/WE2M50X4Ble
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
Most viewed this week from JAMA: US children's health has worsened from 2007 to 2023 across various indicators, including mortality, chronic conditions, and mental health.
https://ja.ma/3TA6tmx
https://ja.ma/3TA6tmx
July 14, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Most viewed this week from JAMA: US children's health has worsened from 2007 to 2023 across various indicators, including mortality, chronic conditions, and mental health.
https://ja.ma/3TA6tmx
https://ja.ma/3TA6tmx
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
Climate necropolitics: thoughts from the middle of the heatwave.
jksteinberger.medium.com/climate-necr...
jksteinberger.medium.com/climate-necr...
Climate necropolitics
I have been thinking of politics and death recently. In fact it’s all I can think about. I think you should too.
jksteinberger.medium.com
July 8, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Climate necropolitics: thoughts from the middle of the heatwave.
jksteinberger.medium.com/climate-necr...
jksteinberger.medium.com/climate-necr...
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
I reported an offensive Caitlin Clark fake video on X to try and get it removed. Instead, I saw how deeply the platform is letting women down.
My story on one of the most disturbing issues affecting women in the age of AI, and X's failure to curb it:
www.sportingnews.com/us/wnba/indi...
My story on one of the most disturbing issues affecting women in the age of AI, and X's failure to curb it:
www.sportingnews.com/us/wnba/indi...
I reported a deepfake of Caitlin Clark on X. Instead of it getting removed, here's what happened | Sporting News
Trying to get a Caitlin Clark tweet taken down turned into a deep dive on the growing problem of deepfakes on X
www.sportingnews.com
July 2, 2025 at 2:14 PM
I reported an offensive Caitlin Clark fake video on X to try and get it removed. Instead, I saw how deeply the platform is letting women down.
My story on one of the most disturbing issues affecting women in the age of AI, and X's failure to curb it:
www.sportingnews.com/us/wnba/indi...
My story on one of the most disturbing issues affecting women in the age of AI, and X's failure to curb it:
www.sportingnews.com/us/wnba/indi...
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
“A complete cessation of US funding without replacement by other sources of funding would lead to dramatic increases in deaths from 2025-2040:
15.2 (9.3-20.8) million additional AIDS deaths,
2.2 (1.5-1.9) million additional TB deaths,
7.9 million additional child deaths from other causes”
15.2 (9.3-20.8) million additional AIDS deaths,
2.2 (1.5-1.9) million additional TB deaths,
7.9 million additional child deaths from other causes”
The Effects of Reductions in United States Foreign Assistance on Global Health
Background: The United States (US) has traditionally been the largest donor to health programs in low- and middle-income countries. In January 2025 almost all s
papers.ssrn.com
April 29, 2025 at 2:58 AM
“A complete cessation of US funding without replacement by other sources of funding would lead to dramatic increases in deaths from 2025-2040:
15.2 (9.3-20.8) million additional AIDS deaths,
2.2 (1.5-1.9) million additional TB deaths,
7.9 million additional child deaths from other causes”
15.2 (9.3-20.8) million additional AIDS deaths,
2.2 (1.5-1.9) million additional TB deaths,
7.9 million additional child deaths from other causes”
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
The U.S. is witnessing the return of psychiatric imprisonment. From ‘wellness farms’ to expanded involuntary commitment policies, the U.S. is embracing psychiatric incarceration under the guise of compassion, by Jordyn Jensen www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... via @theguardian.com #MentalHealth
The United States is witnessing the return of psychiatric imprisonment | Jordyn Jensen
From ‘wellness farms’ to expanded involuntary commitment policies, the US is embracing psychiatric incarceration under the guise of compassion
www.theguardian.com
April 27, 2025 at 12:39 PM
The U.S. is witnessing the return of psychiatric imprisonment. From ‘wellness farms’ to expanded involuntary commitment policies, the U.S. is embracing psychiatric incarceration under the guise of compassion, by Jordyn Jensen www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... via @theguardian.com #MentalHealth
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
What's that saying... the best defense is a good offense?
Or maybe the aphorism about levers and moving the world is more appropriate here:
The US Treasury Bond attack Carney engineered, forcing Trump to pause tariffs:
open.substack.com/pub/deanblun...
Or maybe the aphorism about levers and moving the world is more appropriate here:
The US Treasury Bond attack Carney engineered, forcing Trump to pause tariffs:
open.substack.com/pub/deanblun...
Carney’s Checkmate: How Canada's Quiet Bond Play Forced Trump to Drop Tariffs
Carney, Japan And The EU proved America's Idiot Emperor Has No Clothes
open.substack.com
April 11, 2025 at 1:54 AM
What's that saying... the best defense is a good offense?
Or maybe the aphorism about levers and moving the world is more appropriate here:
The US Treasury Bond attack Carney engineered, forcing Trump to pause tariffs:
open.substack.com/pub/deanblun...
Or maybe the aphorism about levers and moving the world is more appropriate here:
The US Treasury Bond attack Carney engineered, forcing Trump to pause tariffs:
open.substack.com/pub/deanblun...
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
#Academicsky
🇨🇦 postdoc
🇨🇦 postdoc
New #Postdoctoral Job! I'm recruiting for multi-country project on research #metadata & evaluation - UK, Germany, France, and Canada. Funded by SSHRC under Open Research Area 8 initiative. More info: www.yorku.ca/research/wp-...
#research #metascience #researchevaluation #universities #metrics
#research #metascience #researchevaluation #universities #metrics
www.yorku.ca
April 10, 2025 at 10:42 PM
#Academicsky
🇨🇦 postdoc
🇨🇦 postdoc
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
The vaccine against Shingles helps protect against dementia, results of a natural experiment, adding to prior evidence
"implications are profound"
New @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/s41...
"implications are profound"
New @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/s41...
A natural experiment on the effect of herpes zoster vaccination on dementia - Nature
Using a natural experiment that avoids common bias concerns, this study finds that the live-attenuated shingles vaccine reduced the probability of a new dementia diagnosis within a follow-up period of...
nature.com
April 2, 2025 at 3:29 PM
The vaccine against Shingles helps protect against dementia, results of a natural experiment, adding to prior evidence
"implications are profound"
New @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/s41...
"implications are profound"
New @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
One of many moments in Omar El Akkad’s new book, “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This,” that will stop you in your tracks.
March 29, 2025 at 8:31 PM
One of many moments in Omar El Akkad’s new book, “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This,” that will stop you in your tracks.
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
A pie graph worth keeping in mind as the NIH budget plummets jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... for 356 new FDA drugs approved
March 23, 2025 at 4:17 PM
A pie graph worth keeping in mind as the NIH budget plummets jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... for 356 new FDA drugs approved
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
every person involved in this needs to be in prison
“One young man sobbed when a guard pushed him to the floor. He said, ‘I’m not a gang member. I’m gay. I’m a barber.’ I believed him. *** He “began to whimper,” as his head was roughly shaved, “folding his hands in prayer as his hair fell.” He “asked for his mother & cried as he was slapped again.”
What the Venezuelans Deported to El Salvador Experienced
Exclusive photos of the arrival of Venezuelan detainees deported from the U.S.
time.com
March 23, 2025 at 12:40 AM
every person involved in this needs to be in prison
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
So proud to have been on the margins, supporting this amazing project team to greater interdisciplinarity & inclusiveness. They may not design a real cape for Batman to fly, but their new fabrics may help friends with MS or frail elders, to walk again. #Superheros! www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/202...
The ‘smartwear revolution’ begins: clothing with built-in sensors will improve balance, reduce injuries and support people with muscle weakness
An interdisciplinary research team at the U of A has received a $24-million federal grant to develop “smartwear” fabric for clothing that assists with joint injury recovery, posture, balance, arm move...
www.ualberta.ca
March 19, 2025 at 6:31 PM
So proud to have been on the margins, supporting this amazing project team to greater interdisciplinarity & inclusiveness. They may not design a real cape for Batman to fly, but their new fabrics may help friends with MS or frail elders, to walk again. #Superheros! www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/202...
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
While the U.S. grapples with an egg shortage caused by avian flu, eggs remain plentiful and affordable in Canada. There are reasons for that, including that egg farms there tend to be smaller.
This is why Canada has plenty of eggs — and the U.S. doesn't
While the U.S. grapples with an egg shortage caused by avian flu, eggs remain plentiful and affordable in Canada. There are reasons for that, including that egg farms there tend to be smaller.
www.npr.org
March 18, 2025 at 6:52 PM
While the U.S. grapples with an egg shortage caused by avian flu, eggs remain plentiful and affordable in Canada. There are reasons for that, including that egg farms there tend to be smaller.
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
🔔 #ICYMI 🔔
📰✨ Congratulations to Dr. Mandeep Singh, Clinician Investigator at UHN’s Krembil Brain Institute, for his recent interview with The Toronto Star discussing the new social media trend, ‘sleepmaaxing’.
🔗: linktr.ee/krembil
📰✨ Congratulations to Dr. Mandeep Singh, Clinician Investigator at UHN’s Krembil Brain Institute, for his recent interview with The Toronto Star discussing the new social media trend, ‘sleepmaaxing’.
🔗: linktr.ee/krembil
March 18, 2025 at 6:26 PM
🔔 #ICYMI 🔔
📰✨ Congratulations to Dr. Mandeep Singh, Clinician Investigator at UHN’s Krembil Brain Institute, for his recent interview with The Toronto Star discussing the new social media trend, ‘sleepmaaxing’.
🔗: linktr.ee/krembil
📰✨ Congratulations to Dr. Mandeep Singh, Clinician Investigator at UHN’s Krembil Brain Institute, for his recent interview with The Toronto Star discussing the new social media trend, ‘sleepmaaxing’.
🔗: linktr.ee/krembil
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.
Wired is dropping paywalls for FOIA-based reporting. Others should follow
As the administration does its best to hide public records from the public, Wired magazine is stepping up to help stem the secrecy
freedom.press
March 18, 2025 at 1:11 PM
They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
The cruelty & nonsensicle nature of this horrid policy decision? How is this not a bigger political issue?
The devastating impact of Trump’s slashing foreign aid, in 3 charts www.vox.com/future-perfe...
"...threatening millions of lives and livelihoods around the world."
The devastating impact of Trump’s slashing foreign aid, in 3 charts www.vox.com/future-perfe...
"...threatening millions of lives and livelihoods around the world."
The devastating impact of Trump’s slashing foreign aid, in 3 charts
From HIV to malnutrition, here’s what the loss of 83 percent of USAID programs looks like.
www.vox.com
March 17, 2025 at 8:12 PM
The cruelty & nonsensicle nature of this horrid policy decision? How is this not a bigger political issue?
The devastating impact of Trump’s slashing foreign aid, in 3 charts www.vox.com/future-perfe...
"...threatening millions of lives and livelihoods around the world."
The devastating impact of Trump’s slashing foreign aid, in 3 charts www.vox.com/future-perfe...
"...threatening millions of lives and livelihoods around the world."
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
Musk Said No One Has Died Since Aid Was Cut. That Isn’t True. As the world’s richest men slash American aid for the world’s poorest children, they insist that all is well, by @nickkristof.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/interactive/... via @nytopinion.nytimes.com #GlobalHealth
Opinion | Musk Said No One Has Died Since Aid Was Cut. That Isn’t True.
A journey through the front lines of global poverty shows that when the world’s richest men slash aid for the world’s poorest children, the result is sickness, starvation and death.
www.nytimes.com
March 15, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Musk Said No One Has Died Since Aid Was Cut. That Isn’t True. As the world’s richest men slash American aid for the world’s poorest children, they insist that all is well, by @nickkristof.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/interactive/... via @nytopinion.nytimes.com #GlobalHealth
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
America’s scientific community is in panic mode as Elon Musk takes a chainsaw to the National Institutes of Health, the world’s largest funder of biomedical research, by @mollykraskin.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti... via @theglobeandmail.com #cancer
Opinion: America’s scientific community is in panic mode
The National Institutes of Health - the world’s largest funder of vital biomedical research – is now facing deep cost-cutting and dogmatic governance from the Trump administration. What will happen af...
www.theglobeandmail.com
March 14, 2025 at 10:22 PM
America’s scientific community is in panic mode as Elon Musk takes a chainsaw to the National Institutes of Health, the world’s largest funder of biomedical research, by @mollykraskin.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti... via @theglobeandmail.com #cancer
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
harrowing story of evacuation from DR Congo, in the midst of USAID's dismantling.
USAID official describes escaping violence in Congo amid agency turmoil
YouTube video by ABC News
youtu.be
March 14, 2025 at 2:32 PM
harrowing story of evacuation from DR Congo, in the midst of USAID's dismantling.
Reposted by Laura Sikstrom
Atul Gawande, who worked for U.S.A.I.D. during the last Administration, calls the agency “America at its best.” But with Donald Trump and Elon Musk, “there’s a different world view at play here,” he says. “Power is what matters, not impact.” Listen here.
Atul Gawande on Elon Musk’s “Surgery with a Chainsaw”
Gawande, until recently a senior leader at U.S.A.I.D., explains the agency’s importance to America and to the world, and what its undoing by DOGE will bring.
www.newyorker.com
March 14, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Atul Gawande, who worked for U.S.A.I.D. during the last Administration, calls the agency “America at its best.” But with Donald Trump and Elon Musk, “there’s a different world view at play here,” he says. “Power is what matters, not impact.” Listen here.
USAID fall out at Johns Hopkins. www.france24.com/en/live-news...
Top US university says ending 2,000 positions due to Trump cuts
The prestigious Johns Hopkins University said Thursday it is being forced to lay off more than 2,000 employees in the aftermath of the Trump administration's massive reduction in foreign aid funding.
www.france24.com
March 14, 2025 at 2:19 AM
USAID fall out at Johns Hopkins. www.france24.com/en/live-news...