Dr. Randip Gill (he/his) is a PhD graduate from the School of Population and Public Health at UBC. Randip was born and raised in Surrey, BC. His PhD work focused on how different types of childhood poverty experience affect children’s development, health, and school success from kindergarten to high school graduation in British Columbia, and how these relationships differ by the child’s immigration background. The goal of this work was to further our understanding in this area, and to inform intervention and policy to reduce harms related to poverty.
Outside of work, Dr. Gill tries to have fun and relax by spending time with family and friends, going to the gym, tech and video games, and dabbling in just about any recreational activity, from fencing, fitness classes, or dance.
What drew you to the PhD in Population and Public Health program at UBC?
I was drawn to this program by the alignment of the faculty and coursework to my research interest and goals, specifically the presence of the interdisciplinary research team including my research supervisor, Dr. Anne Gadermann, at the Human Early Learning Partnership. The research team and opportunity to utilize data linkages spanning developmental surveys completed by children, their parents, and their teachers, to administrative data including health, immigration, and education records was incredibly appealing to potentially utilize in my dissertation research.
What led you to your research focus?
I was led to my research focus both in the coursework and experiences that I had prior to my PhD, as well as my personal experience in the ties between my doctoral research and my family’s experience in BC. Learning how intertwined poverty, immigration background, and children’s developmental outcomes are, I was inspired to explore this research further in my doctoral work.
How has your time at UBC made an impact on you?
There likely isn’t an area of my life where my time at UBC hasn’t made an impact. From the knowledge and skills that I’ve gained, exposure to experiences and perspectives that I’ve had the opportunity to interact with and learn from, and the friendships I’ve obtained, it’s been an absolute privilege to have spent the time that I’ve had here.
What is your favorite memory from your time at UBC?
There is definitely a recency bias, but I would say that my PhD graduation is my favorite memory of my time at UBC. Experiencing the culmination of years of work in a topic that I’m passionate about, alongside those who care about me and have enabled me to pursue this work is a moment I will cherish.
Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration on two fronts. I have an innate curiosity to learn about just about any science, and I find enjoyment in the process of scientific pursuit and contributing in my own small way to knowledge and knowledge translation. I also find inspiration from my family. My parents are immigrants from India who started with very little in Canada to ultimately build a prosperous life for themselves and their children. I’m inspired to build upon the work and efforts that they’ve made. I aim to contribute, in whatever small way, to improving the health and developmental outcomes for children in BC and elsewhere, particularly those who experience socioeconomic hardship.
What does a healthy society mean to you?
A healthy society to me means a society in which every individual has an opportunity to thrive, and that supports are provided to empower individuals to create these conditions for positive health, development, and educational outcomes.
What are your plans after graduation?
I am currently working as a postdoctoral research fellow at UBC with the Human Early Learning Partnership. I am continuing my work towards understanding how early risk factors affect children’s development and health outcomes. This work includes a project examining how early childhood experiences may biologically embed through mechanisms such as epigenetic modification to affect children’s health outcomes.
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