Laura St.John, University of Calgary

Research

Read how they describe their research on their University of Calgary profile.

Latest papers

The impact of a virtual wellness course for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the third year of COVID-19.
Journal of intellectual disabilities : JOID · 2026 · first author
Knowledge and Understanding of Menstrual Health in Women With Intellectual Disabilities: A Brief Report.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR · 2026 · first author
Exploring menstrual symptom frequency and impact on people with neurodevelopmental conditions.
Disability and health journal · 2026 · first author

All 4 publications

Latest funding

Exploring the impact of the menstrual cycle on sport participation in Special Olympics Athletes and People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
SSHRC · 2024 · Principal investigator
$24,705

All 1 grants and awards

4 publications.

01

The impact of a virtual wellness course for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the third year of COVID-19.

St John L, Borschneck G, Volpe T, Thakur A, Lake J, Mallet H, Pereira V, Lunsky Y

Journal of intellectual disabilities : JOID2026First author

DOI: 10.1177/17446295241272508 PMID: 39194174

02

Knowledge and Understanding of Menstrual Health in Women With Intellectual Disabilities: A Brief Report.

St John L, Beckman S, Robertson A, Doyle-Baker P, Lunsky Y

Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR2026First author

DOI: 10.1111/jir.70010 PMID: 41392415

03

Exploring menstrual symptom frequency and impact on people with neurodevelopmental conditions.

St John L, Osness E, Panech A, Lunsky Y, Doyle Baker PK

Disability and health journal2026First author

DOI: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2025.101914 PMID: 40544029

04

Evaluating the impact of a national brain health education course for older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and caregivers: Brain Health-IDD Program protocol.

Lunsky Y, Bobbette N, Chiu M, Thakur A, Patel P, Volpe T, Balogh R, Baskin A, Beaudoin MJ, Dever M, Durbin A, Fogle A, Kelly C, Lake J, Lefkowitz G, Mallett H, McCabe J, Noonan J, Selick A, Shooshtari S, Sockalingam S, St John L, Steel L, Thatcher A, McCarron M, Brain Health-IDD Program Group

BMJ open2025

DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-108960 PMID: 41475806

Exploring the impact of the menstrual cycle on sport participation in Special Olympics Athletes and People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Principal investigatorSSHRC2024Partnership Engage Grants

Principal investigators: St John, Laura

Keywords: Intellectual Disabilities; Neurodevelopmental Disabilities; Sport Participation; Physical Activity; Wellbeing; Menstrual Cycle

$24,705

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Owerko Centre
Occupational Therapy
Family Social Sciences
Other

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their SSHRC grant from 2024

Subject: Prospective PhD student Dear Professor St.John, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "The impact of a virtual wellness course for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the third year of COVID-19." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your SSHRC-funded project "Exploring the impact of the menstrual cycle on sport participation in Special Olympics Athletes and People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities" (2024), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]