Assistant Professor
HBSc (University of Toronto), MPH (University of Toronto), PhD (McMaster University), PDF (McGill University)
Phone: 705-748-1011 ext. 7939
Email: manishapahwa@trentu.ca
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=u_C4ZdIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9131-8721
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/manisha-pahwa-she-her-3156135a
Biography
Dr. Manisha Pahwa is a health policy researcher. Her interests focus on the moral foundations of health policy in societies where there are a wide range of different values related to health and well-being. Dr. Pahwa’s research aims to investigate current ethical frameworks used in health policymaking, generate knowledge about ethics as it is lived and experienced in public health and health care contexts, and develop resources that support dialogue and the integration of moral diversity in health policy decision-making. Of particular interest are the ethical views, moral experiences, and moral contexts of groups with poor health outcomes, which are underrepresented in current ethical frameworks and principles. Dr. Pahwa’s long-term vision is to expand and enrich the scope of ethical frameworks which guide health policymaking, and thus contribute to a healthier, more just and flourishing society.
Dr. Pahwa earned her PhD in Health Policy from McMaster University and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Ethics at McGill University. She often engages with marginalized communities and uses/integrates normative and empirical methods in her work (qualitative, quantitative, mixed, and arts-based approaches). She is passionate about strengthening capacity for applied ethics and health policy research through mentoring students and trainees at the confluence of these areas.
Areas of Interest
Health policy; Ethics; Value pluralism; Health and social equity; Cancer screening; Women’s health; Community-engaged research; Qualitative research; Mixed methods research; Arts-based research; Empirical ethics research; Interdisciplinary health research and education
Current Research Projects
- Informing more inclusive breast cancer screening shared decision-making for culturally and gender diverse South Asian communities in Canada (Canadian Cancer Society, 2025-2027)
- The ethics of incorporating socially protected characteristics in breast cancer risk prediction models (SSHRC, 2026-2028)
- Potential justice implications of risk-stratified breast cancer screening (CIHR, 2026-2027)
Selected Publications
- Pahwa M. What Black Health means for bioethics in Canada: book review. Can. J. Bioeth 2025;8:156-8. https://doi.org/10.7202/1117881ar.
- Pahwa M, Abelson J, Schwartz L, Demers PA, Shen K, Shaikh H, Vanstone M. Public perspectives on ethical issues in lung cancer screening policy design and implementation in Ontario, Canada. Ethics, Medicine and Public Health Volume 33, 2025, 101061, ISSN 2352-5525, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101061.
- Pahwa M, Abelson J, Demers PA, Schwartz L, Shen K, Vanstone M. Ethical dimensions of population-based lung cancer screening in Canada: Key informant qualitative description study. Public Health Ethics, 2024;, phae008, https://doi.org/10.1093/phe/phae008
- Pahwa M, Mehta C. Responding to substance use among racialized communities in the current polysubstance era. Canadian Journal of Bioethics 2024;7:106-8. https://doi.org/10.7202/1114965ar.
- Pahwa M, Cernat A, Abelson J, Demers PA, Schwartz L, Shen K, Chowdhury M, Higgins C, Vanstone M. Public perspectives on the benefits and harms of lung cancer screening: A systematic review and mixed-method integrative synthesis. Journal of Health Services Research & Policy 2024 Oct 15:13558196241288984. doi: 10.1177/13558196241288984. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39404663.
- Pahwa M, Cavanagh A, Vanstone M. Key Informants in Applied Qualitative Health Research. Qual Health Res. 2023 Dec;33(14):1251-1261. doi: 10.1177/10497323231198796. Epub 2023 Oct 30. PMID: 37902082; PMCID: PMC10666509.
Supervision
- Accepting graduate students (2026-2027 and 2027-2028)
- Available to mentor externally funded postdoctoral fellows