The McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA) and Dixon Hall have announced Dr. Marla Beauchamp as the inaugural associate scientific director of the MIRA | Dixon Hall Centre.
Formed through the generosity of Suzanne Labarge, McMaster’s former chancellor, the centre is a unique partnership between MIRA and Dixon Hall, a multi-service agency in Toronto’s downtown East focused on addressing poverty, social injustices and isolation across the lifespan. The centre brings together Dixon Hall’s expertise in providing comprehensive community-based client care and MIRA’s excellence in creating innovative research programs centred around aging and older adults.
The centre is supporting short- and long-term projects that are responsive to the needs of older adults, with an initial focus on issues such as housing insecurity, barriers to mobility, transitions in care (such as from the hospital to community) and equitable access to digital technology for older adults.
“I am thrilled for the opportunity to take a leadership role in this initiative,” says Beauchamp. “Partnering with Dixon Hall, an organization so deeply embedded in the community, is invaluable for our researchers working to understand how we can help people age well in the places they live.”
Along with Dr. Parminder Raina, scientific director of MIRA, and Mina Mawani, CEO of Dixon Hall, Beauchamp will help lead the centre by working closely with researchers and partners at Dixon Hall to bridge the gap between academia and community.
“We are excited for Marla to bring her vision and ideas to this new role and we look forward to building on the many great things already underway at the MIRA | Dixon Hall Centre,” Says Christine Chow, Director, Seniors Services at Dixon Hall.
A physical therapist and associate professor in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster, Beauchamp holds the Canada Research Chair in Mobility, Aging and Chronic Disease (Tier 2). Beauchamp has been a MIRA member since 2017 and is the project lead of McMaster Monitoring My Mobility (MacM3), one of MIRA’s major programs of research supported by the Labarge Centre for Mobility in Aging.
Suzanne Labarge, McMaster’s former chancellor, and Dr. Marla Beauchamp, newly appointed associate scientific director of the MIRA | Dixon Hall Centre.
