Staff ~ Scientists ~ Executive team

Dr. Monique Gignac

Scientific Director & Senior Scientist; Privacy Officer
PhD, Social Psychology, University of Waterloo
Staff email
mgignac@iwh.on.ca
Staff extension
416-927-2027 ext. 2150

Dr. Monique Gignac is scientific director and senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health. She is also a professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

Gignac’s research expertise is in the areas of health and social psychology, including health models of disability. Her research examines psychosocial factors like stress, coping, adaptation and communication, and their importance in understanding the impact of chronic diseases on the lives of adults across the life course. Of particular interest is research on workplace communication, privacy, support and accommodation needs among individuals living with chronic, episodic conditions.

Gignac's research program is strongly collaborative. She works with clinicians, epidemiologists, health economists, sociologists and health psychologists. Study designs in her research program span community health surveys, qualitative research, measurement design and evaluation, and analyses of population health datasets.

Gignac has received recognition for her research with a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award (2013); an award for outstanding leadership and research from the Canadian Networks of Centres of Excellence (2011); Distinguished Scholar (2013), Lecturer (2014) and service awards (2019, 2021) from the international Association of Rheumatology Professionals (ARP); and recognition for mentorship (2015) from the Health Care, Technology and Place (HCTP) Strategic Research Training Program funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Care (CIHR).

Photo of Monique Gignac

“Many chronic physical and mental health conditions create ongoing challenges for those living with them. That's because their symptoms are often invisible. They're also intermittent in impact and therefore highly unpredictable. That creates a lot of stress and hard-to-answer questions. Should a person disclose their health condition at work? How does a person get support from others during times of difficulty without affecting their career? My goal is to apply research to improve the health and work outcomes of individuals living with these conditions.” – Dr. Monique Gignac

Research areas

Shelves of colourful file olders in a medical office
Clinical treatment and health measurement
A close-up of a businessman's hand wheeling his wheelchair
Workplace disability management

Projects

Publications

Speaker Series presentations

Interviews and articles