Areas of interest

Epidemiology, biostatistics, infectious diseases, implementation science methods, marginalized populations, health services provision, global health, health innovation

Education

• B.A. in Human Biology, Brown University
• M.Sc. in Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Ph.D. in Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Biography

Dr. Samji received her doctorate in infectious disease epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she also completed her MSc. Subsequently, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship, awarded by the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, at the BC Centre for Disease Control where she studied syndemics associated with HIV, hepatitis C virus, the overdose epidemic and population mental health. She currently holds a joint appointment at the BCCDC as a Senior Scientist in the Clinical Prevention Services division. Dr. Samji joined the Faculty of Health Sciences at SFU as an Assistant Professor in 2017.

Dr. Samji has expertise in the design and implementation of observational cohort studies and the analysis of administrative health data. She studies healthcare access for underserved populations, including those with HIV, who use drugs, and children and youth. Dr. Samji currently leads a longitudinal study measuring predictors of positive youth mental health, well-being, and developmental success in high school students in collaboration with the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP-UBC).

She is a Research Associate at the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Heath and Addictions (CARMHA) and has spearheaded research to estimate the prevalence of mental disorders in BC to inform health services planning for the BC Ministry of Health. She received a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Association for HIV Research in 2011, a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2015, and a Mowafaghian Child Health Award from the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2020.