James Dixon, PhD

James has been working in or adjacent to the substance use field since 2012. He began in a community-based harm reduction nonprofit organization before moving into research and academia where his studies focused on substance use, harm reduction, equity, structural determinants of health and well-being, and community-based research. He has been and continues to be involved in numerous research projects involving substance use. In 2024, James took a position with the City of Saskatoon where he continues to leverage his community-based and academic experiences into improved community safety and well-being outcomes. 

Doctorate of Philosophy, Community and Population Health Sciences, University of Saskatchewan 

Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Sociology, University of Saskatchewan

Peer-reviewed publications:

Muhajarine, N., Dixon, J., Ahmed, M.S., Bukhari, A., Clifford, J., Adeyinka, D.A., Novotna, G., Dyck, E. 2025. Co-occurrence of depression, anxiety and increased alcohol use during the late stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Saskatchewan: A cross-sectional survey. BMJ Public Health. Doi: 10.1136/bmjph-2024-000965

Gupta, S.D., Rizvi, S.J.R., Dixon, J., Muhajarine, N. 2025. The double burden of food and housing insecurity in Saskatchewan, Canada, understood in the context of a pandemic. Canadian Journal of Public Health. Doi: 10.17269/s41997-025-01014-8

Muhajarine, N., Dixon, J., Dyck, E., Clifford, J., Chasse, P., Gupta, S.D., Christopherson-Cote, C., Remember Rebuild Saskatchewan Team. 2023. Capturing and documenting the wider health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic through the Remember Rebuild Saskatchewan initiative: Protocol for a mixed methods interdisciplinary project. JMIR Research Protocols, 6(12): e46643. Doi: 10.2196/46643

Chalmers, D., Dell, C.A., Rohr, B., Dixon, J., Dowling, T. 2018. Social work and human animal interactions: A Canadian prairies survey on knowledge and practice. Critical Social Work.

Dell, C.A., Chalmers, D., Cole, D., Dixon, J. 2018. Accessing relational connections in prison: An evaluation of the St. John Therapy Dog Program at Stony Mountain Institution. Annual Review of Interdisciplinary Justice Research.

Book chapters:

Dyck, E., Dixon, J. 2024. Completing the circle: A history of psychedelics and harm reduction. Current Topics in Behavioural Neuroscience. Doi: 10.1007/7854_2024_511

Chalmers, D., Dell, C.A., Dixon, J., Rath, G. 2023. PAWSitive support: A canine-assisted learning program to support prisoners in healing from substance use. In: Responding to the Oppression of Addiction, Canadian Scholars, Toronto, CA.