Jaclyn Holdsworth

Jaclyn is an undergraduate student at McMaster University, pursuing an Honours degree in Arts & Science combined with Political Science. She is a research assistant working at the McMaster Health Forum’s Impact Lab, where she has contributed to the Health Systems Evidence (HSE), Social Systems Evidence (SSE), and COVID-END databases. She is currently one of the Office Leads for the COVID-END database. The HSE, SSE, and COVID-END databases empower local and global stakeholders to make research-informed decisions. Jaclyn has been involved in her community from a young age volunteering, collecting supplies, and raising funds and awareness for causes including cancer research and clean water projects. Jaclyn hopes to continue to contribute to her community in new ways through the next chapter of her life.

As a Global Skills Opportunity (GSO) awardee, Jaclyn will travel to work with the Caribbean Centre for Health Systems Research and Development (CCHSRD) in Trinidad and Tobago. She has never traveled to the Caribbean before and is excited to experience Trinidad’s unique culture. Jaclyn looks forward to learning from the CCHSRD team and building new skills and connections.

As an outgoing Queen Elizabeth Scholar, Jaclyn will employ the skills developed during her GSO award with a return to Trinidad and Tobago to engage in a more fulsome and culturally immersive experience with CCHSRD. During her time abroad Jaclyn will support CCHSRD’s mission of generating and facilitating the use of research evidence in an effort to empower Caribbean countries to strengthen health systems and policy making processes. Jaclyn will learn how such processes can be used to enable greater equity in health.