Housing researcher Jim Dunn wins Trailblazer Award from national public health body

Jim Dunn, professor in the department of health, aging & society, has won the 2025 Trailblazer Award for senior career scholars from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH). 

The award recognizes the pioneering research that Dunn has carried out in urban geography and housing and population health for over a quarter of a century. 

“The Trailblazer Award recognizes the exceptional contributions made by Canadian researchers who significantly enhance our understanding of public health issues and population health,” said Katherine Frohlich, Scientific Director, IPPH. 

“Trailblazers are pioneers, innovators and path breakers. Being a trailblazer may mean taking risks, working with uncertainty or attempting to do what others before might not have dared.” 

Dunn’s trailblazing scholarly contributions in population health intervention research, including his work examining the impact of housing and neighbourhood interventions were recognized by this award. In addition, the award acknowledged his external impact as a community leader in strategic policy development and implementation on issues of health inequity and built environments and health. 

The award comes shortly after Dunn won the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) 2024 Gold Roof Award for Knowledge to Action. That award recognized the Housing Sustainability & Investment Roadmap (HSIR) project with the City of Hamilton. 

Dunn’s research aims to create solutions to Canada’s housing crisis, examining the link between affordable housing and health.  

Among other initiatives, Dunn created the Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative (CHEC), a knowledge-mobilization and research-capacity-building hub funded by the CMHC and housed at McMaster. It aims to bring expertise to the key debates in housing policy and stimulate new research and housing data. 

One of CHEC’s primary goals is to grow Canada’s housing research and policy capacity. To that end, it recently established Canada’s first graduate degree in Housing Policy, the Master of Public Policy in Housing Policy. A cohort of 10 students began the program earlier this month and will complete a 12-month intensive, online program aimed at training the next generation of housing leaders in Canada.