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Desai Shan

Research Summary

Dr. Desai Shan is a socio-legal scholar of occupational health and safety whose research program, the Maritime Occupational Health and Safety Program (MOHSP), examines how law, regulation and governance shape the health, safety and welfare of people who work at sea. Trained in maritime law and in the sociology of work, she combines legal and policy analysis with qualitative and mixed-methods health research to study seafarers, fish harvesters, tugboat crews and Arctic maritime workers in Canada and internationally. Her work has been cited by the International Labour Organization and Transport Canada, including in the background documentation for the 2022 amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, and in the ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook 2023.

Research Interests

• Occupational health and safety law, regulation and governance
• Maritime health (marine shipping, fishing, aquaculture and offshore policies)
• Seafarers’ welfare, labour rights and access to health care at sea
• Workers’ compensation and return to work
• Arctic maritime health and coastal community well-being
• Health policy and systems; social determinants of health

Courses

• MED 6280 – Community Health Research Methods (instructor)MED 6108 / MED 6110 – Occupational Health and Safety: A Maritime Perspective (course developer and principal instructor)
• OHS 6003 – Regulatory Approaches and Compensation Systems (course developer and principal instructor)
• OHS 6001 – Supervised Capstone Research Paper (faculty supervisor)

Education

• PhD, Social Sciences (maritime socio-legal studies), Cardiff University, United Kingdom, 2017
• Postgraduate Diploma, Social Science Research Methods, Cardiff University, United Kingdom, 2012
• LLB, Maritime Law, Dalian Maritime University, China, and University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, 2010

Current Research

• Navigating Health Together: Co-Producing Knowledge for Seafarers’ Health and Wellbeing in Newfoundland and Labrador. Nominated Principal Investigator. Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Employment and Social Development Canada – Catalyst Grant: Partnering for Impact (2026–2028)
• Safety on Board British Columbia Tugboats: Enforcing Safety for Seafarers and their Families. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Insight Development Grant (2023-2026)
• Clean Arctic Shipping Initiative – Theme 3, Project 8: Building Healthy and Resilient Arctic Maritime Communities: Occupational and Community Health Perspectives. Co-Principal Investigator. Canada First Research Excellence Fund (2023–2029)

Selected Recent Publications

• Rojas Aldieri, H. A., Shea, J. M., Mulay, S., Valcour, J., & Shan, D. (2026). Navigating mental health needs at sea: Perspectives from the Canadian maritime community during the COVID-19 pandemic. PLOS Global Public Health, 6(5), e0006493. doi:10.1371/journal.pgph.0006493
• Rojas Aldieri, H. A., Ochs, C., Valcour, J., Shea, J. M., Mulay, S., & Shan, D. (2026). Depression and anxiety among seafarers in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Maritime Health, 77(2), 126–136. doi:10.5603/imh.104606
• Shan, D., Medley, A., Neis, B., & Small, C. (2025). Return to work after injuries: Legal challenges for seafarers in Canada. New Solutions: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy, 35(1), 60–72. doi:10.1177/10482911251317583
• Shan, D., Ochs, C., & MacKenzie, E. G. (2025). New amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006: Linkages to pandemic lessons. Ocean Yearbook, 39, 385–421. doi:10.1163/22116001-03901017
• Shan, D., Ochs, C., Rajagopal, S., Rojas Aldieri, H. A., & Zhang, P. (2024). Precariousness and vulnerability: Seafarers in the COVID-19 pandemic. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 33(1), 42–69. doi:10.1177/01171968241245731
• Shan, D. (2022). Occupational safety and health challenges for maritime key workers in the global COVID-19 pandemic. International Labour Review, 161(2), 267–287. doi:10.1111/ilr.12220 (published by the ILO in French and Spanish translation)
• Shan, D. (2022). Enforcement of fishing occupational health and safety (OHS) standards: Challenges in Atlantic Canada. Marine Policy, 145, 105282. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2022.105282
• Shan, D., & Neis, B. (2020). Employment-related mobility, regulatory weakness and potential fatigue-related safety concerns in short-sea seafaring on Canada’s Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway: Canadian seafarers’ experiences. Safety Science, 121, 165–176. doi:10.1016/j.ssci.2019.08.017

Awards

• Most Inspiring Immigrants in Atlantic Canada, Atlantic Chamber of Commerce / My East Coast Experience (2025)
• Rock Star Supervisor Award, School of Graduate Studies, ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ University (2024) Dean of Medicine Excellence Award – Junior Faculty Research Award (Non-clinical), Faculty of Medicine, ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ University (2024)
• Ron Rice Award for Best Conference Paper, Canadian Transportation Research Forum (2018)

Professional Affiliations

• Review Editor, Occupational Health and Safety section, Frontiers in Public Health
• Member, International Law Association – Canada.
• Associate Fellow, Higher Education Academy, United Kingdom

External Links