Dr. Bukola (Oluwabukola) Salami
National Research Leader in Black and Racialized Peoples’ Health | Policy Advisor | Institution Builder
WHO I Am
Dr. Bukola Salami is a nationally and internationally recognized leader advancing equitable health systems through research, policy, and institutional strategy.
She works at the intersection of evidence, governance, and community partnership to help organizations design systems that improve population health and deliver measurable impact.
She is a Registered Nurse, Full Professor, and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Black and Racialized Peoples’ Health at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary.
WHAT I DO
I work with communities, governments, health systems, research institutions, and organizations seeking to strengthen equity, impact, and accountability at scale.
My work focuses on:
• Health systems and public health transformation.
• Research strategy and funding competitiveness.
• Equity-informed policy and institutional design.
• Knowledge mobilization and evidence-to-policy translation.
• Leadership and governance in complex systems.
• Community engaged research.
LEADERSHIP
Dr. Bukola Salami has held numerous national and international leadership, editorial, and advisory roles that have significantly shaped research, policy, and practice in nursing, migrant health, and health equity.
Since January 2023, she has served on the Editorial Boards of Qualitative Health Research, Nursing Inquiry, and Nursing Philosophy. She also joined the Editorial Board of the Canadian Journal of Nursing Research in 2023, where she serves as Special Issue Editor (2023 – Present) for a special issue on Racism in Nursing. In addition, she has served as Associate Editor of the Canadian Medical Association Journal since 2021. Between March 2024 and December 2024, she served as Academic Editor for PLOS Global Public Health in California, USA.
Dr. Salami is widely recognized for her expertise in academic evaluation and promotion review. She has served as an External Examiner for promotion and tenure cases at several leading institutions, including Yale University (April 2023), University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (January – March 2023), McMaster University (2023 and 2024), Toronto Metropolitan University (January 2023), University of Victoria (October 2022), and Western University (August 2022).
She is the Founder and Lead of the African Child and Youth Migration Network (January 2019 – Present), an international research network affiliated with the Worldwide Universities Network. She also served as a Steering Committee Member of the Worldwide Universities Network Global Africa Group from July 2019 to June 2023, based in Leeds, England. During the same period, she led the Migration and Health Research Group at the University of Alberta (January 2019 – June 2023).
Dr. Salami contributes extensively to national health policy and advisory initiatives. She currently serves as Co Chair of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario Best Practice Guideline on Anti Black Racism in Nursing (January 2022 – Present) and as a Committee Member of the Public Health Agency of Canada Black Mental Health Working Group (January 2019 – Present). In July 2025, she began serving as Co Chair and Committee Member of the Public Health Agency of Canada Advisory Committee on Science.
Her work advancing equity and inclusion in healthcare education includes serving as Member of the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing Anti Racism Committee (January 2024 – Present). She also served as Co Chair of the EDIA Advisory Committee on Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity, and Accessibility in Team based Comprehensive Primary Care from October 2022 to February 2024, an initiative supported by Service Canada and the Foundation for Advancing Family Medicine.
Dr. Salami has also contributed extensively to academic governance at the University of Alberta (2014 – Present) through roles on numerous committees, including the Kule Institute for Advanced Studies Advisory Council (2021 – 2023), the Faculty Evaluation Committee (2019 – 2020), the Research Review Committee (Chair, 2019 – 2020), and several faculty hiring, awards, and curriculum review committees.
Beyond academia, she has contributed to government and community initiatives including the Edmonton Women’s Taskforce (2021) and the Edmonton Black, African, Caribbean Working Group with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (2021).
Earlier in her career, Dr. Salami served as a Board Member of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses of North America (2011 – 2015), where she also held roles as Newsletter Editor (2011 – 2015) and Research Committee Member (2013 – 2015). She also held leadership roles with Sigma Theta Tau International (2010 – 2013) and contributed to several global health and nursing initiatives through the University of Toronto (2008 – 2011) and other professional organizations.
Through these extensive roles spanning over two decades, Dr. Salami continues to influence academic scholarship, healthcare policy, and global health equity initiatives in Canada and internationally.
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