UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA | Postdoctoral fellow at School of Public Health and Social Policy

“I am a planetary health scholar using mixed methods at multiple scales to assess and identify solutions to challenges that affect human well-being and the ecosystems that support life on Earth”.

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY| Senior Lecturer at Faculty of Health Sciences

“As a public health physician and educator, I strive to bring planetary health and climate justice to public health and medical education to empower our health leaders of tomorrow to engage in climate frontlines and advocate for a sustainable future for all.”

UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA | Assistant Professor at School of Public Health and Social Policy

“I am a community-engaged population health scholar focusing on food security and nutrition in Indigenous and global contexts. I am particularly interested in how the social, political and cultural dimensions of food access affect nutrition-related health outcomes”.

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA | Clinical Emergency and Remote Region Veterinarian | Wildlife Health Consultant

“I am a practitioner-scholar who is interested in understanding the more-than-human dimensions of equity in health and empowering the voices of communities in practice.”

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA| Assistant Professor, Global Health Policy, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs | School of Population and Public Health

“I am a health policy and systems researcher working on understanding health workforce policy and governance in India, Canada and other countries. I am interested in the politics of health worker associations and in the regulation of health professionals and comparing these dynamics across countries and occupational groups.”

TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY | Professor, School of Nursing | Director of MSN Program

“I am a nurse scholar engaged in the promotion of advancing planetary health equity in practice, education, research, and policy initiatives, focused on a transdisciplinary/ intersectoral approach to finding solutions for planetary health”.

FACILITATOR | Professor Emeritus at McMaster University| Adjunct Fellow| Center of Global Studies Associate at University of Victoria

“I am a physician-educator committed to promoting equity in health through action on global challenges, with a special interest in mentorship and leadership development”.

COORDINATOR | Research coordinator at UBC-Okanagan Faculty of Health and Social Development

”I am a health equity scholar using community-engaged research to explore global health challenges affecting migrant populations. I'm interested in advancing knowledge-to-equity action and social justice for underserved populations impacted by global health challenges.”

ADVISOR | Professor and co-director of the Global Health Research Program in the School of Population and Public Health at UBC.

”Jerry has led research and capacity building projects in Ecuador, South Africa, Cuba and Slovakia. His research interests include effects of globalization on health, ecosystem approaches to human health, economic evaluation of global health interventions, and health equity in Latin America.”

ADVISOR | Assistant Professor at UBC-Okanagan School of Nursing

”I am a Registered Nurse and equity scholar with an interest in the relationship between local and global health. I am working to create applied approaches for integrating equity in systems settings and strengthen capacity for people to embrace their own agency in cultivating more equitable futures.”

There are a number of academic “units” within the Vancouver-based UBC, that have activities in the field of equity-oriented global health research and climate change. These include the School of Public and Population Health (SPPH) and the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA).

While currently there is no specifically identified “hub group” related to PHEN, colleagues involved in this field meet regularly.

There also are active programs in the Institute for Global Health at the BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital.

PHEN Contact person(s):

Jerry Spiegel (jerry.spiegel@ubc.ca)

Veena Sriram (veena.sriram@ubc.ca)

The group at SFU most closely related to PHEN, is the Planetary Health Research Group, in the Faculty of Health Sciences.

This group “is a space where ideas, expertise and perspectives come together to contribute to solutions to global health challenges such as health inequity, climate change, biodiversity loss and more.”

The group co-chairs are: Maya Gislason [maya-gislason@sfu.ca] and Chris Buse [cbuse@sfu.ca].

PHEN Contact person(s):

Kate Tairyan (ktairyan@sfu.ca)

The Global Health Research discussion group was created in 2017, to bring together colleagues at the University of Victoria who have an interest in health research in the broader context of Global Health for development.

The group is a reflection of the university’s institutional membership in the Canadian Association for Global Health (CAGH) for which the Centre for Global Studies is serving as a “hub”.

PHEN Contact person(s):

Dr. Matthew Little (matthewlittle@uvic.ca)

Dr. Vic Neufeld (vrneufeld@gmail.ca)

Trinity Western University (TWU) promotes global engagement and has a program in international studies. There are two academic units that have been particularly active in equity-oriented global health research and planetary health. They are the School of Nursing (SON) and the Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences (FNAS).

These two units recently co-sponsored a conference on: “Planetary Health: Protecting and Sustaining the Well-being of our ecosystems.” There also is an active student group—Trinity Western Environment Club (TWEC).

PHEN Contact person(s):

Dr. Barbara Astle (SON) (barbara.astle@twu.ca )

Dr. David Clements (FNAS) (clements@twu.ca)

As one of BC’s research-intensive universities, the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) provides outstanding research and learning opportunities exploring cultures, health, economies, sciences, engineering, and the environment.

UNBCs research targets national priorities related to rural, northern and Indigenous communities, healthcare in rural and remote communities, climate change, and natural resources and economic diversification, and has led to critically needed outcomes in our location, as well as to Canada and globally.

Interdisciplinary researchers across UNBC share a strong commitment to climate and planetary action, bringing together diverse networks and teams, including the UNBC Health Research Network and Environment, Community, Health Observatory (ECHO) Network.

PHEN Contact person(s):

Davina Banner-Lukaris (Davina.Banner-Lukaris@unbc.ca)

Alisa Alexander

Mira Ziolo

The Rural Health Services Research Network of BC (RHSRNbc) is committed to supporting the strength and resilience of rural communities and their health across the province. Youth leadership is recognized as one of the key factors contributing to healthy communities, and thus is an area that the RHSRNbc is focused on strengthening. RHSRNbc hosts a biennial symposium centered on enhancing the resilience of rural communities, specifically rural health services.

In the year 2024, the focus is on youth leadership in climate action. In addition to the symposium, the Network has also published an open-source learning hub on rural community resilience in the face of climate change, with the hopes of it being accessed by students and incorporated into the learning objectives of youth across the province and more broadly.

RHSRNbc is focused on working with and for rural communities in order to foster stronger health systems, more resilient approaches to climate change and ecosystem disruption, and supporting youth agency and leadership.

PHEN contact person(s):  

Esther Kim (dayeon.kim@ubc.ca)

Stefan Grzybowski (stefan.grzybowski@ubc.ca)

The purpose of the Shawnigan Basin Society is to protect the long-term health and safety of the Shawnigan Lake Community Watershed specifically and the South Cowichan Watershed region generally, particularly the drinking water these watersheds provide.

They work to promote a holistic approach toward environmental solutions, community engagement, and local stewardship.

PHEN contact person(s):

Bernhard H.J. Juurlink (bjuurlink@gmail.com)