Upcoming Event

Victoria Sinka – ON NEIHR Webinar Series

Welcome to the Ontario Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research Webinar Series!

Please join us on Wednesday, November 18, 2026, with Victoria Sinka!

Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2026

Time: 1:00PM – 2:00PM EST

Location: Zoom

Presentation Title: Following a Generation, Listening to the Next: What two decades of Aboriginal cohort research can teach us about preventing kidney disease

Abstract: In Australia, chronic kidney disease disproportionately affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, yet questions remain about when prevention should begin and how it can be made meaningful for young people. The Antecedents of Renal Disease in Aboriginal Children and Young People (ARDAC) study was established through Aboriginal community leadership, driven by Kamilaroi woman Rita Williams and community members who sought to better understand and prevent kidney disease for future generations. ARDAC represents Aboriginal self-determination in health research and has generated evidence spanning more than two decades of participants’ lives.

This presentation brings together findings from the ARDAC cohort and my PhD research, which continues this legacy by listening to the next generation and elevating Aboriginal young people’s perspectives on kidney health and prevention. Combining longitudinal evidence with Indigenous methodologies that privilege community priorities, lived experiences, and cultural knowledge, the presentation explores how biological, social, environmental, and health system factors influence kidney health across the life course.

Together, these complementary evidence streams highlight the importance of strengths-based, culturally responsive, and community-led approaches to kidney health promotion. The findings demonstrate how longitudinal research and community knowledge can inform prevention strategies grounded in self-determination and support Aboriginal young people to maintain kidney wellness from childhood into adulthood.

Biography

Victoria Sinka has ancestral ties with the Pitjantjatjara, Australian South Sea Islander and Maltese peoples. She is an Aboriginal Research Fellow at the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at the University of Sydney, and a PhD candidate. Her research is conducted through Indigenous women’s standpoint theory; as she works alongside the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector to improve kidney health and social and emotional wellbeing outcomes through community-led research and partnership.

The Ontario Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research (ON NEIHR) Shkaakaamikwe gchi twaa miigwewin:Mother Earth’s Giftsis a collaborative, Indigenous-led research network dedicated to improving mental health and holistic wellness for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) communities. The network is housed at the Waakebiness Institute for Indigenous Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.