Dr. Kobayashi is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and a Research Affiliate with the Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health at the University of Victoria. She is also the Associate Dean, Research in the Faculty of Social Sciences. 

She is a social gerontologist who uses a life course perspective to explore the intersections of structural, cultural, and individual factors/experiences affecting health and aging in the Canadian population. She has been nominated to and held positions in the Canadian Sociological Association and the Canadian Association on Gerontology, and is currently co-leader of the Ethnicity and Aging theme team for the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE). Karen sits on the CIHR-IA’s Social Dimensions of Aging review committee, and has been a reviewer for SSHRC in both their standard research grant and CURA competitions. She is a member of the MSFHR’s Research Trainee Fellowship Committee in Population Health, and locally is part of the CLSA’s local organizing committee.

AGE-WELL Funded Projects

• Implementing Changes in Technology Development Practices that Protects Users’ Security and Privacy (8.5-CAT) (completed)
• Beyond Ability411: A Participatory Action Research Study to Scale-Up a Web-Based Service About Assistive Technologies for Older Adults in British Columbia (AWCAT-2019-136)
• Knowledge Mobilization (CC1 K-MOB)
• Knowledge Mobilization Research (CC1 K-MOB Research)
• Knowledge Mobilization and Commercialization (CC1 K-MOC)

Outputs