Dr. Downey has participated in multiple national and international Indigenous research policy initiatives, including serving as a two-term member of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's Institute of Aboriginal Health Advisory Board, helping plan and participate in the International Network of Indigenous Health Knowledge Development, and serving as Chief Executive Officer of the National Aboriginal Health Organization, whose mandate included a strong research and knowledge translation focus.
As part of her post-doctoral fellowship role with the Department of Graduate Studies at McMaster, Dr. Downey led the development of the innovative Indigenous Undergraduate Summer Research Scholars Program and the McMaster Indigenous Research Institute.