Janet McLaughlin


Janet McLaughlin is an Associate Professor of Health Studies and a Research Associate with the International Migration Research Centre at Wilfrid Laurier University. She is an interdisciplinary scholar trained in medical anthropology, with interests in the areas of global and environmental health, food systems, labour, social justice, citizenship, transnational migration and the social impacts of autism. Her research and publications have focused on various areas of migrant workers’ health, rights and well-being, including: access to health care and workers’ compensation; women’s experiences of gender-based violence; occupational, mental, sexual and reproductive health; social determinants of health; and the impacts of separation on migrant families. She is co-founder of the Migrant Worker Health Project, www.migrantworkerhealth.ca, which promotes accessible health care for migrant workers. Dr. McLaughlin is currently researching autism policy and family impacts in Ontario.

From this contributor

Explore more from The Transmitter

leech illustration.

What leeches reveal about movement

Lidia Szczupak turned to the animals to explore how the nervous system coordinates movement.

By Claudia López Lloreda
27 August 2026 | 6 min read
Illustration of scientist facing a fractured landscape.

Redefining underrepresentation in global neuroscience

Shifting the focus of equity initiatives from identity categories to structural barriers can reveal overlooked challenges and increase support and participation worldwide.

Illustration of scientists climbing over a barrier to reach publications.

Scientific talent is global. Access to the world’s scientific stage is not.

Neuroscience in Chile, and across Latin America, does not lack talent or ideas, but the systems that make science visible—prestigious journals, conferences and networks—increasingly price its researchers out.

By Vicente Medel
27 August 2026 | 8 min read