Laura joined Vera’s Center on Immigration and Justice in February 2011. For the previous 10 years, she was a research scientist at one of Canada’s largest research and teaching hospitals, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. She was also assistant professor in the departments of psychiatry and anthropology at the University of Toronto.

From 2000 to 2010, Laura conducted 29 studies on immigrant settlement and mental health, 19 as principal investigator. She has specialized in community-based, policy-oriented, mixed-methods research with various refugee and immigrant communities, including Tamil, Sudanese, and Somali groups in Canada. Her primary research interests are social determinants of immigrant mental health and immigrant status, security, and well-being. Her work has focused on social support, refugee resettlement, resilience, and immigrant child well-being. Laura has written 45 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and numerous reports, policy briefs, and public and professional educational materials for a variety of audiences. She holds a BA from Indiana University and an MA and PhD from Columbia University.