The Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE) and the HealthyDesign.City teams are excited to announce the release of the new version of the HealthyPlan.city tool on November 28, 2023.
HealthyPlan.City is a free web mapping application that helps users identify environmental inequity in over 125 Canadian cities. The tool leverages nationally standardized environmental data and demographic data from the Canadian Census to map out neighbourhoods where relatively higher proportions of vulnerable populations experience worse environmental conditions. A preliminary version of the tool focussing on heat islands and tree canopy cover was made publicly available in summer 2022. This release of the tool includes multiple improvements such as:
Eight additional vulnerable population indicators from the 2021 Canadian Census
Ten additional built environment indicators such as air pollution, proximity to parks, proximity to transit stops, and flood susceptibility
An improved user interface; and
New data visualization functionalities
In this webinar, HealthyPlan.City co-directors Jeff Brook and Dany Doiron will provide an overview of the data and functionalities included in the new version of the HealthyPlan.City tool. Dr. Sarah Viehbeck, Chief Science Officer of the Public Health Agency of Canada will give opening remarks with closing remarks from Dr. Sonia Anand, Professor of Medicine & Epidemiology at McMaster University.
Children’s health is particularly sensitive to the environment. What they are exposed to during early years can have a significant impact on their healthy development. To better understand these health pathways and how to improve children’s health outcomes, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded three research projects considering different aspects of child health: obesity, IBD and asthma & COPD. In this webinar, learn what the researchers discovered through their project and what they plan to do next.
About the Projects
The Developmental Origins of Pediatric Obesity and Obesity-Related Complications
This translational project studies clinical populations of pregnant mothers, their children and parallel rodent model systems in order to determine how early life environmental exposures (e.g.- maternal diets, high blood sugars etc.) affect the genes of the children to influence their risk for obesity. We will also determine whether altering the early life environment (e.g.- through diet etc.) modifies disease risk factors in children most susceptible for obesity. The identification of new early life biomarkers of disease could prevent the extensive health and financial burden of obesity.
The diet-microbiota-gut axis in pediatric IBD
This research program investigates the complex interactions among diet, the gut microbiota, and the host. It provides information that may be essential for personalized dietary and microbiota changes required to keep people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in remission. It is well accepted that the gut microbiota plays a crucial role in the digestion of food, particularly plant-derived starches, and the production metabolites essential for human health. The primary objective of the proposed research is to investigate the complex tripartite interactions between the diet, the gut microbiota, and the host. Additionally, this study aims to characterize the role of microbial food-derived metabolites in pediatric IBD. This study will generate the information necessary for developing methods to improve bacterial activities in our intestine as treatment for IBD patients. This research will have important implications for the quality of life of people with IBD everywhere.
Gene and environment effects on lung health and risk for chronic respiratory disease, asthma & COPD
This project studies a group of babies that have been followed since birth, whose families have filled out lots of questions about what they eat, breathe and how often they get sick. These kids and their families have also done breathing tests that measure how well their lungs are doing. From studying all of this information, we believe we can discover what things each person can do to improve their lungs and prevent them from getting chronic breathing problems, making Canada the healthiest place to live.
About the Presenters
The Developmental Origins of Pediatric Obesity and Obesity-Related Complications
Dr. Vern Dolinsky conducts research at the forefront of understanding the underlying mechanisms of gestational diabetes and its impact on the developmental origins of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disorders in youth. His lab employs a cutting-edge combination of experimental animal models, in vivo imaging, and cellular, molecular, biochemical, and “-omic” technologies to uncover new insights into the biological processes that lead to these conditions. These findings have the potential to revolutionize the development of therapies for the treatment of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. His work is not only advancing our understanding of these conditions, but also pushing the boundaries of what is possible in biomedical research.
The diet-microbiota-gut axis in pediatric IBD
Alain Stintzi, Ph.D. is a professor with the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, a member of the Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology, and Vice-Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa. Dr. Stintzi obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the Louis-Pasteur University, France (1997). He was subsequently a Postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Chemistry, University of California at Berkeley. In 2000, he was appointed Assistant Professor at the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Oklahoma State University. Dr. Stintzi has considerable experience in systems biology approaches to study the role of the gut microbiota in infectious and chronic diseases. Dr. Stintzi has published over 130 articles and book chapters and has contributed to more than 150 scientific and educational conferences.
Gene and environment effects on lung health and risk for chronic respiratory disease, asthma & COPD
Dr. Padmaja Subbarao is a Clinician-Scientist in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine, specializing clinically in severe asthma. Trained in both Epidemiology and infant and preschool lung function, she holds appointments at the University of Toronto in the Departments of Paediatrics, Physiology and in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
Dr. Subbarao’s research program focuses on disentangling preschool wheeze heterogeneity to precisely predict who will develop each type of asthma, monitor its progression and discover the risk factors, exposures and underlying biology associated with each asthma subtype. She is the Director of the CHILD cohort study, one of the largest, most intensively characterized asthma birth cohorts in the world. This world-leading study enabled the discovery of the importance of the gut microbiome for the protection against asthma (cited more than 500 times).
This webinar is presented in partnership with the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Allan McKeehttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngAllan McKee2023-03-07 21:17:402023-04-04 18:50:07Environments and Health Signature Initiative Webinar: Child Health | April 3, 2023 | 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. (ET)
A changing climate will affect food through a range of effects on agriculture, livestock, water systems, and wildlife, which have implications for food security, foodborne disease, and malnutrition. For example, population growth, loss of environmental services and climate change are forcing communities to explore opportunities that treat municipal wastewater to allow its safe return for community uses or harvest rain/stormwater for various non-drinking water uses (all referred to here as wastewater reuse). As part of our everyday lives we are exposed to a wide variety of chemicals derived from consumer products, such as foam, electronic equipment and plastics, that enter our food and drinking water. Most of these chemicals are present at very low concentrations. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded three projects to consider the impact of the environment on agri-food, the food-water nexus and health. In this webinar, learn what the researchers discovered and what they plan to do next.
About the Projects
Developing a Framework for Wastewater Reuse in Canada: Using Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment, Risk Communication, and Community Engagement for Evaluating Water Fit-For-Purpose Reuse
Drinking water treatment and sanitary waste management are considered the most important environmental public health achievements for infectious disease prevention. This project develops a participatory water reuse framework to engender trust in government and utilities to provide safe reuse water that communities seek to have in an equitable way to address Canada’s $90 billion water service infrastructure deficit.
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: Towards Responsible Replacements
This research focuses on determining the extent to which our food, drinking water and breast milk contain the chemicals that have emerged as replacements for polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants, phthalates and bisphenol A. We will then determine if these new alternatives are safer than the substances that they have replaced.
Climate Change and Indigenous Food System, Food Security, and Food Safety (Climate Change IFS3)
The Climate Change and Indigenous Food System, Food Security, & Food Safety (Climate Change IFS3) has created a multinational intersectoral team to characterize the vulnerability and resilience of Indigenous food systems to climate change to inform, enhance, and expand climate change adaptation interventions and adaptation planning.
About the Speakers
Developing a Framework for Wastewater Reuse in Canada: Using Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment, Risk Communication, and Community Engagement for Evaluating Water Fit-For-Purpose Reuse
Norman Neumann is a Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. His research program focuses on development of novel approaches and tools for detecting, tracking and assessing human health risks associated with biological hazards in the environment (viruses, bacteria, protozoans, prions).
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: Towards Responsible Replacements
Barbara Hales is a James McGill Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at McGill University. Her research is focused on understanding how chemical exposures adversely affect reproduction and development. Projects in her lab, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, include the effects of house dust mixtures of flame retardants on reproduction and development, the impact of exposure to phthalates and “green” plasticizers on progeny outcome, and approaches towards the responsible replacement of endocrine disrupting chemicals.
Climate Change and Indigenous Food System, Food Security, and Food Safety (Climate Change IFS3)
Sherilee Harper is a Canada Research Chair in Climate Change and Health and an Associate Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. Her research investigates associations between weather, environment, and public health in the context of climate change, and she collaborates with partners across sectors to prioritise climate-related health actions, planning, interventions, and research.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Allan McKeehttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngAllan McKee2023-03-03 18:42:372023-04-06 17:31:26Environments and Health Signature Initiative Webinar: Agri-Food, the Food-Water Nexus and Health | April 5, 2023 | 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. (ET)
The microbiome is the collection of all microbes, such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and their genes, that naturally live on our bodies and inside us. Although microbes are so small that they require a microscope to see them, they contribute in big ways to human health and wellness. A person’s core microbiome is formed in the first years of life but can change over time in response to different factors including diet, medications, and environmental exposures. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded three projects to consider the interaction between the environment and the microbiome and its impact on human health. In this webinar, learn what this research has discovered and where the investigators plan to go next.
About the Projects
Elucidating the Gene-Environment Interactions that drive Autoimmune Disease among South Asian Canadians – The GEMINI Program
The GEMINI project (Generational differences in Environmental exposures caused by Migration: Impact on Incidence of inflammatory disease) studies a growing concern in South Asian Canadian communities – these communities are experiencing an increase in incidences of chronic inflammatory disease upon exposure to the North American environment.
Programmatic research to understand how modifiable environmental factors interact with the genome in the development of asthma
It isn’t clear why some people get asthma and others don’t, but it’s probably due to a combination of environmental and genetic (inherited) factors. The goal of this research program is to understand these environmental and genetic factors that cause asthma. This new understanding is expected to give us better tools to predict who will get asthma and to develop ways to prevent asthma developing in the first place.
The impact of the gut microbiome and environment on the development of colorectal cancer
This team of international recognized researchers investigates the role of bacteria that reside in the gut in the development of colorectal cancer. The previous and proposed research from this team show that gut bacteria is at the root of colorectal cancer; its manipulation of dietary nutrients such as complex carbohydrates and the subsequent impact on metabolic processes within the gut promotes the development of colorectal cancer in mice and humans that are genetically-predisposed to develop this disease. The research has the capacity to develop diagnostics if a specific bacterial species is identified as the causative agent in colorectal cancer. In addition, the research will lead to the development of preventative protocols for colorectal cancer using alterations in diet or specific antibiotics that displace or out-compete “pathogenic” strains.
About the Speakers
Elucidating the Gene-Environment Interactions that drive Autoimmune Disease among South Asian Canadians – The GEMINI Program
Jen Gommerman, PhD, is Professor and Canada Research Chair in Tissue-specific Immunity Department of Immunology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Jen received her Ph.D. (Immunology) at the University of Toronto in 1998. She went on to do a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School studying the complement pathway and then joined Biogen Inc. as a Staff Scientist in 2000. During her tenure at Biogen, she became interested in B cells, Multiple Sclerosis and the TNF superfamily of molecules. After 3 years in Industry, she returned to Academia as an Assistant Professor (Immunology) at the University of Toronto in 2003, in 2015 was promoted to full Professor, and in 2020 was awarded a Tier I Canada Research Chair in Tissue Specific Immunity. Jen’s basic research continues to focus on how members of the TNF superfamily of molecules regulate immunity and autoimmunity, particularly in the mucosae. Her team has uncovered a novel gut-brain axis that regulates neuroinflammation. With respect to translational work, Dr. Gommerman has been examining the role of B lymphocytes in Multiple Sclerosis patients and in animal models of MS and how environmental factors shape the microbiome.
Programmatic research to understand how modifiable environmental factors interact with the genome in the development of asthma
Stuart Turvey, MBBS, DPhil, FRCPC is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia where he holds both the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Pediatric Precision Health and the Aubrey J. Tingle Professorship in Pediatric Immunology. He is a Pediatric Immunologist and clinician-scientist based at BC Children’s Hospita. Prior to coming to Vancouver, Dr Turvey completed both his Pediatric Residency and Allergy/Immunology Fellowship at Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston. He holds a medical degree (MB BS) from the University of Sydney, Australia and a doctorate (DPhil) in Immunology from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar. Dr Turvey is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics.
The impact of the gut microbiome and environment on the development of colorectal cancer
Dr. Alberto Martin is Professor of Immunology at the University of Toronto. His research interests are in adaptive immunity, cancer immunology and B cells. His lab conducts research in three main areas, each of which is supported by external research funding: AID in antibody diversification, The molecular basis for germinal center selection & The molecular mechanisms of cancer development (i.e. specifically colon cancer and lymphoma).
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Allan McKeehttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngAllan McKee2023-03-03 18:39:432023-03-31 17:13:02Environments and Health Signature Initiative Webinar: Microbiome | March 29, 2023 | 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (ET)
Obesity has been recognized as a significant public health concern, especially as 20th century urban development encouraged more sedentary lifestyles and car-dependent transportation. A result of the interaction of genes, lifestyle, and the environment, obesity is an important issue for public health researchers and practitioners to understand. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded two projects to study the gene-environment causes of obesity, and an environments and health research consortium to support environments and health research more broadly. At this webinar, learn what the researchers have discovered and where they plan to take their research.
About the Projects
Gene Environment Team on brown/beige adipose tissue
More than 5 million Canadians have the chronic interrelated diseases of obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) and their incidence in the population are rapidly increasing. Obesity is an important risk factor for developing NAFLD and T2D which contribute to the development of liver cancer and heart disease. Therefore, designing new ways to treat or prevent T2D and NAFLD are important. In this proposal we will conduct studies in cells, mice and humans to examine how agricultural and food processing practices may regulate BAT metabolic activity directly or indirectly by altering the billions of bacteria that reside within our gastrointestinal tract. These studies will help us develop new strategies to enhance BAT activity that may be effective for treating and preventing obesity, NAFLD and T2D.
Determining the genetic and environmental factors associated with metabolic phenotypes across Canada
The program capitalizes on existing data and resources to address highly relevant questions for public health authorities, researchers, and health practitioners. The focus is on metabolic syndrome (MetS), a cluster of medical conditions that are common in aging adults, including: obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and insulin resistance.The activities of this program are: (1) To quantify the effect of air pollution and built environment on MetS; (2) to study the effect of air pollution on molecular changes in DNA that regulate gene activity, and to determine if these changes are associated with MetS; (3) to map differences in the DNA code that regulate the expression of genes, and see if their effect are modified by environmental factors.
The Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium
The consortium will play a pivotal role in supporting the research needed to address these issues. We will accomplish this by linking standardized environmental exposure data about air quality, green spaces, walkability, noise and other aspects of the urban/suburban environment to existing human health data platforms. This will enable studies looking at how these factors affect health, from birth to old age. We will also be able to map, over time, where and how conditions are changing, and how that increases or decreases the risk of health impacts.
About the Presenters
Gene Environment Team on brown/beige adipose tissue Dr. Gregory Steinberg is a professor of medicine at McMaster University where he holds a Canada Research Chair and a J. Bruce Duncan Endowed Chair in Metabolic Diseases and is Co-Director of the Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research. His research studies cellular energy sensing mechanisms and how endocrine factors, lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity are linked and contribute to the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. He has published over 180 papers many in leading scientific journals. His scientific contributions have been recognized by the Endocrine Society, the American Diabetes Association, Diabetes Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research who have each presented him with early career outstanding scientific achievement awards.
Dr. Katherine Morrison is Co-Director of the Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research (MODR) and a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at McMaster University. The newly developed Centre focuses on translational aspects of research at the interface of preclinical and clinical research. She is a clinician researcher, active clinically in the Pediatric Weight Management and Pediatric Lipid Clinics at McMaster Children’s Hospital where she is the medical director. Her research is focused on the etiology, consequences and treatment of obesity and lipid disorders in children. She leads a CIHR funded, Canadian multi-site study examining the influence of pediatric weight management programs on health outcomes in children with obesity and is co-PI on a CIHR-funded team grant seeking new pathways important to the development of obesity and its comorbidities. She led the pediatric aspects of the Canadian Clinical Practice Guideline for the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity and is on the steering committee for the current work to update those guidelines. She is on the Advisory Board for the Ontario Pediatric Bariatric Network and co-leads the Working Group on Outcome Measurement. Dr. Morrison is dedicated to improving the health of Canadian children through research, improved clinical care and education.
Determining the genetic and environmental factors associated with metabolic phenotypes across Canada
Dr. Philip Awadalla, PhD, is National Scientific Director ofCanPath (Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health), Director of Computational Biology and the Executive Scientific Director of Ontario Health Study at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, as well as a Professor of Population and Medical Genomics at the University of Toronto. He is Director of the Genome Canada, Canadian Data Integration Centre and a member of the International Hundred Thousand Consortium Steering Committee. He obtained his doctorate in population and statistical genetics from the University of Edinburgh and awarded NSERC, Killam, and Wellcome Trust Fellowships to pursue his postdoctoral work before taking faculty positions at North Carolina and the University of Montreal. He was previously the Scientific Director of CARTaGENE, and part of the analysis groups of the 1000 Genomes Program and Pan-cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes. Major current projects include genomics and computational approaches of aging, hematological diseases and cancers, as well as early-disease biomarker and drug development; other research focuses on approaches to identify genetic and environmental control points for infectious disease surveillance and resistance.
The Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium
Jeff Brook is an Associate Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto. Jeff was a tireless advocate for the creation of an environmental exposure data platform for many years, leading to the development of a funding call at the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the ultimate establishment of CANUE in June of 2016 in collaboration with many of Canada’s leading environmental health researchers. As CANUE’s Scientific Director, Jeff acts as the key liaison between environmental health research groups, in government and in academia, in Canada and internationally, toward keeping CANUE at the leading edge of environmental health research and policy. He brings 25 years of experience as an Environment Canada scientist working at the science-policy interface, 15 years of experience as an Adjunct at the University of Toronto, 12 years of leadership of the Environmental Working Group of the Canadian Health Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) study, Canada’s largest birth cohort, and 5 years of service on the Research Committee of the Health Effects Institute (HEI) (Boston). Jeff has led scientific assessments to inform policy nationally and internationally, and advised multi-stakeholder groups shaping policy, and is one of Canada’s leading experts in air quality, recognized at all levels of government and academically, including for his substantial contributions in air pollution health research.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Allan McKeehttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngAllan McKee2023-03-03 18:36:552023-03-29 18:01:49Environments and Health Signature Initiative Webinar: Obesity and Environment | March 27, 2023 | 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Health is influenced by resource development through interrelated socioeconomic, ecological, cultural, and political pathways, which demand upstream, intersectoral responses. For example, both oil and gas production and the process of consumption (as it relates to climate change) have large impacts, both positive and negative, on social, economic and environmental systems that affect people’s mental health and overall wellbeing. These relationships are especially important in Canada, where the economy remains tightly coupled with the development of natural resources and where the rate and scale of social and environmental change occurring in resource-rich regions is fueling debate regarding health impacts, especially for rural, remote and Indigenous communities. To better understand these connections, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded three projects to look at how to understand and respond to the health impacts of climate change, and the relationship between a healthy natural world and healthy people. In this webinar, learn what researchers have discovered and where they plan to go next.
About the Projects
The ECHO (Environment, Community, Health Observatory) Network: Strengthening intersectoral capacity to understand and respond to health impacts of resource development
The ECHO Network is focused on working together across sectors to take notice of – and respond to – the influence of resource extraction on health and well-being, with specific emphasis on rural, remote and Indigenous communities and environments. ECHO brings together researchers and knowledge-holders across health, environment and community sectors who have identified the need to better understand and address the cumulative health, equity and ecological challenges of resource extraction and climate change. The ECHO Network is anchored in knowledge exchange partnerships in New Brunswick, Alberta, and British Columbia, with connections across Canada and Oceania. ECHO has developed a platform of integrative tools and processes to strengthen intersectoral capacity, and to connect people to information, practices and shared perspectives across generations and contexts. By focusing on integrative and collaborative responses to cumulative impacts of resource extraction and climate change, the ECHO Network has also identified new pathways of connection and co-benefits for health, including collective efforts that prioritise Indigenous leadership, champion equity and eco-social approaches to public health.
A SHARED Future: Achieving Strength, Health, and Autonomy through Renewable Energy Development for the Future
This research program, the only EHSI program that leads with Indigenous Ways of Knowing, focuses on bringing forward stories of reconciliation and healing in the context of intersectoral partnerships in renewable energy projects. The program’s research goal is to bring to light new and restored understandings of energy and integrative health. We examine how these partnerships may offer opportunities for a new era of nation-to-nation collaborations between Indigenous Peoples, organizations, and governments, with proponents, consultants, utilities, and state governments. Our program examines how Indigenous knowledge systems have the potential to lead us towards reconciling, healing, and decolonizing our relations with each other as well as the land, air, and water around us.
Patterns of Resilience Among Youth in Contexts of Petrochemical Production and Consumption in the Global North and Global South
This project assesses how young people adapt across the carbon cycle and use what we learn about their patterns of resilience to improve the lives of all youth. Both oil and gas production and the process of consumption (as it relates to climate change) have large impacts, both positive and negative, on social, economic and environmental systems that affect young people’s mental health and overall wellbeing. To better understand these complex relationships at both ends of the carbon cycle, a multidisciplinary and multisectoral team of researchers and community and industry partners in two communities in Canada (Drayton Valley in Alberta, Cambridge Bay in Nunavut) and two communities in South Africa (Dunoon in the Western Cape, Secunda in Mpumalanga) studied the resilience of young people and the systems with which they interact.
About the Speakers
The ECHO Network (Environment, Community, Health Observatory): Strengthening intersectoral capacity to understand and respond to health impacts of resource development
Margot Parkes is professor in the UNBC School of Health Sciences and co-lead of the UNBC Health Research Institute. She also co-leads the Environment, Community, Health Observatory (ECHO) Network, focused on the cumulative health, equity and ecological challenges of resource extraction and climate change. Drawing on her background in clinical medicine, public health, human ecology, ecohealth, Margot’s research focuses on integrative, partnered and Indigenous-informed approaches that connect social and ecological influences on health. Margot prioritises working and learning with others – across regions, cultural contexts, disciplines and sectors – to foster better understanding of land, water and living systems (ecosystems) as foundational for health, equity and well-being; to strengthen collaborations that reflect these connections, and that amplify co-benefits for people, place and planet.
Dr. Sandra Allison is Medical Health Officer at Vancouver Island Health Authority, Past President of the Public Health Physicians of Canada and Clinical Assistant Professor at the UBC School of Population and Public Health. She previously was Chief Medical Health Officer at Northern Health, and served as a regional medical health officer in Manitoba. She has extensive experience working with Indigenous people and rural and remote settings. In addition, she continues to work in primary care as a family physician. Dr. Allison was the Principal Knowledge User Applicant for the ECHO Network, founding co-chair of the ECHO Network Steering Committee between 2017-2019, and has remained an active knowledge exchange partner with the network since then.
Dr. Raina Fumerton is a public health physician and the Northwest Medical Health Officer at Northern Health. In addition to her generalist MHO responsibilities, Dr. Fumerton is the physician lead for the health protection portfolio and has a keen interest in environmental health, climate change, as well as the ecological and health/mental health/social/economic/cultural impacts of industrial development on the health of northern rural and remote communities. Since 2019, Dr. Fumerton contributed as the co-chair of the ECHO Network Steering Committee, as co-lead for the Northern BC regional case, and is actively involved as a knowledge exchange partner in the transition from the EHSI-funded ECHO Network to an ongoing pan-Canadian ECHO collective.
A SHARED Future: Achieving Strength, Health, and Autonomy through Renewable Energy Developments for the Future
Dr Heather Castleden (she/her) is a Professor and the President’s Impact Chair in Transformative Governance for Planetary Health at the University of Victoria. She is a white settler scholar, trained as a geographer, and she has been doing community-based participatory research in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples for over two decades. She is a former Canada Research Chair, Fulbright Scholar, and is now an elected member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists. Dr Castleden is the Co-Director of the ‘A SHARED Future’ research program and is the Scientific Director of the HEC Lab.
Dr Diana Lewis (she/her) is a member of the Sipekne’katik Mi’kmaq First Nation in Nova Scotia. She is an Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Health Goverance at the University of Guelph. Dr Lewis is a Co-Director of A SHARED Future. Her research interests are to foster a wider understanding of Indigenous worldviews and how Indigenous worldviews must inform environmental decisions, specifically as Indigenous peoples are impacted by resource or industrial development. She is a strong advocate for Indigenous data sovereignty and Indigenous-led decision making, and she is currently working with Indigenous communities across Canada to develop an Indigenous-led environmental health risk assessment approach.
Patterns of Resilience Among Youth in Contexts of Petrochemical Production and Consumption in the Global North and Global South
Michael Ungar, Ph.D., is the founder and Director of the Resilience Research Centre at Dalhousie University where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Child, Family and Community Resilience. In 2022, Dr. Ungar was ranked the number one Social Work scholar in the world in recognition of his ground-breaking work as a family therapist and resilience researcher. That work has influenced the way human adaptation in stressful environments and organizational processes are understood and studied globally, with much of Dr. Ungar’s clinical work and scholarship focused on the resilience of marginalized children and families, and adult populations experiencing mental health challenges at home and in the workplace.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Allan McKeehttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngAllan McKee2023-02-21 18:12:172023-03-15 19:41:19Environments and Health Signature Initiative Webinar: Resource Development | March 9, 2023 | 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. (ET)
The way cities are built have a significant impact on our health. From land-use mix to transportation infrastructure and housing, the physical features of communities influence the health-seeking behaviours of their residents, and contribute to opportunities to incorporate physical activity in their day-to-day lives. To better understand these connections, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded three projects to look at a variety of aspects of the urban form and urban development and how they impact public health. In this webinar, learn what researchers have discovered and where they plan to go next.
About the Projects
The Built Environment and Active Transportation Safety in Children and Youth
This research program studies how features of the built environment affect whether kids walk or bike to school and whether or not certain built environment features increase or decrease their likelihood of getting hurt. The program partners with injury prevention professionals, provincial governments, environmental organizations and traffic safety professionals who are in a position to help us better understand what features of traffic environments are dangerous or safe.
Multisectoral Urban Systems for Health and Equity in Canadian Cities
At the beginning of the 21st century, to counter threats to population health, Public Health Departments have forged new alliances with major Canadian cities. This research program studies partnerships aimed at transforming built environments to increase the availability of fruit and vegetables, promote public transport and physical activity, and improve availability of affordable housing.
Environments and Health INTERACT: INTErventions, Research, and Action in Cities Team
This research project measures how designing healthy cities can influence physical activity and how much people participate in social activities. It evaluates four infrastructure designs in four different Canadian cities (Vancouver, Victoria, Saskatoon and Montreal). It also develops and refines smartphone apps to measure how people move through cities. These tools include apps to measure physical activity and apps for interactive mapping of where people move in a city.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Allan McKeehttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngAllan McKee2023-02-06 14:59:422023-03-01 21:07:10Environments and Health Signature Initiative Webinar: Urban Form and Health | February 27 | 3:00 – 4:30 pm (ET)
Sound is a common feature of many cities. But unwanted, persistent and loud sound can become noise and affect our health. Exposure to noise pollution is associated with significant health hazards, including hearing loss, cardiovascular impacts such as heart disease and high blood pressure, metabolic disease, attention and memory loss, sleep disturbance, depression, and decreased quality of life. Those with a lower socioeconomic status are more likely to live in areas where they experience higher levels of noise pollution, putting them at greater risk of its health impacts. However, cities don’t have to be noisy. There are steps they can take to mitigate noise pollution and reduce its health burden.
This webinar will:
Discuss prevalence of noise pollution in Canada
Discuss how excessive noise affects health
Discuss how cities can address noise and mitigate its health effects
About the Speaker
Dr. Oiamo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University. His research in environmental health geography focuses on exposure assessment through the development of environmental models of noise and air quality, novel population exposure metrics, and simulation systems to assess health impacts of urban change. These efforts complement research activities that aim to further our understanding of environmental determinants of health as well as health and disease risks in vulnerable urban populations. Through collaboration with public and private sector partners, these research activities are applied and oriented towards environmental decision-making and policy. Dr. Oiamo also teaches on topics related to environmental decision-making, sustainable development, demography and environmental health.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Dany Doironhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngDany Doiron2022-09-29 14:25:112022-11-07 16:13:13CANUE Expert Webinar – Noise Pollution and Health – October 27, 2022 | 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. (ET)
In Canada, air pollution causes more than 15,000 premature deaths each year, including 6,000 in Ontario, and 3,000 in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, where transportation is the largest source of air pollution. Canadian research has shown that marginalized socio-economic groups are disproportionately exposed to traffic-related air pollution. Residents who face socio-economic barriers are also likely to be more vulnerable to the impacts of this pollution, as they face other health inequities correlated with socio-economic status. The current push for electric vehicles by federal, provincial and municipal governments presents an opportunity to drastically reduce air pollution from traffic sources, leading to health, social and climate change benefits. However, strengthening and accelerating policies to electrify cars, SUVs and public transit buses, along with updating truck fleets is needed to realize these benefits.
This webinar will:
Discuss health effects of Traffic-Related Air Pollution (TRAP)
Discuss health and environmental benefits of upgrading and electrifying transportation
Discuss the barriers and opportunities to increasing rates of electrification
About the speaker:
Laura Minet is an Assistant Professor at the University of Victoria where she leads the Clean Air (CLAIR) lab. The group’s research is motivated by the need to improve urban air quality and minimize population exposure to air pollution to reduce the burden of air pollution on our health. The lab’s researchers use empirical and physical models to analyze changes in air quality over time, understand the influence of urban features on air quality, and evaluate the impact of urban planning policies and changing meteorological conditions on population exposure and health.
She holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto, where she was also a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Earth Sciences in Professor Miriam Diamond’s Environmental Research Group. Her areas of expertise include air quality, population exposure to air pollution, population health, transportation engineering, vehicle emissions and dispersion modelling.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Dany Doironhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngDany Doiron2022-08-26 12:04:302022-09-29 14:20:24CANUE Expert Webinar – Electric Vehicles, Air Pollution, and Health – September 26, 2022 | 12 p.m. (ET)
The health effects of traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) continue to be of important public health interest. Assessing exposure to TRAP is challenging because TRAP is a complex mixture of particulate matter and gaseous pollutants and exhibits high spatial and temporal variability. Following its well-cited 2010 critical review, the Health Effects Institute (HEI) appointed a new expert panel to systematically evaluate the epidemiological evidence regarding the associations between long-term exposure to TRAP and selected adverse health outcomes. The panel used a systematic approach to search the literature, select studies for inclusion in the review, assess study quality, summarize results, and reach conclusions about the confidence in the evidence.
This webinar will:
Discuss patterns of exposure to traffic-related air pollution around the world, and which populations are most exposed to TRAP
Review the health impacts of increased exposure to long-term exposure to TRAP
Discuss strengths and weaknesses of the evidence, and future research needs
About the speaker:
Hanna Boogaard has more than 15 years of experience in air pollution epidemiology. She is a Consultant Principal Scientist at the Health Effects Institute (HEI) in Boston, MA, an independent research organization with balanced funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency and motor vehicle industry. She received a PhD in 2012 in air pollution epidemiology from Utrecht University, Netherlands. She studied health effects of traffic-related air pollution, and the effectiveness of traffic policy measures. At HEI, she is involved in research oversight and review of studies investigating the health effects of air pollution and studies evaluating the effectiveness of interventions to improve air quality and public health. In addition, she is involved in developing and overseeing new research programs on non-tailpipe traffic emissions, studies assessing adverse health effects of long-term exposure to low levels of ambient air pollution, and studies on health effects of traffic-related air pollution. Furthermore, she is working very closely with an expert HEI panel to systematically evaluate the evidence for the associations of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution with selected health outcomes. She holds a MSc in Epidemiology and Environmental Health Sciences (2005) from Maastricht University, Netherlands.
She has been advisor of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, World Health Organization, Health Canada, and other national and international bodies. She is associate editor for Environment International and on the Editorial Review Board for Environmental Health Perspectives. She is co-chair of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) Europe Chapter, and member of the ISEE Policy Committee.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Dany Doironhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngDany Doiron2022-04-29 01:36:142022-06-08 01:08:02The Health Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Traffic-Related Air Pollution – June 1st 2022
For two decades, the UNICEF Report Card series has released a report every two years that reveal the state of children and youth across high-income countries. This year’s Report Card, which will be released globally on May 24, takes a new focus on children’s environment. It compares rich countries’ environmental impacts on young people’s health and broader well-being.
Following the release of the report, on May 25 at 12:00 p.m. (ET), join us for an echo event, where three researchers and users of CANUE data will dive deeper into how Canadian children’s exposures to greenspace, playability and air pollution affect their health and wellbeing.
This webinar will explore how each of these exposures impact children’s health, and what could be done to ensure more children have access to greenspace, playable communities and are exposed to less air pollution.
About the speakers:
Emily Gemmell is a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health. Rooted in a human rights framework, her research focuses on the ways in which urban form influences child health behaviours and how cities can support health and social connection by integrating kids’ perspectives and needs into the design of neighbourhood spaces. She is currently developing a high-level, evidence-based geospatial metric to assess neighbourhood playability across Canadian urban centers and creating a scalable, computer vision model for assessing child and parent perceptions of neighbourhood environments for outdoor play.
Ingrid Jarvis is a PhD candidate in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at the University of British Columbia. She holds a BA in Psychology and a BSc in Natural Resources Conservation with Honours. Her CIHR-funded thesis examines how environmental exposures, including green and blue spaces, influence human health and development across the life course among Metro Vancouver residents. Her research focuses on early childhood and adult exposure to surrounding urban environments in relation to a range of health indicators. Her work takes an interdisciplinary approach by applying geospatial and epidemiological analyses that combine administrative, survey, and GIS data.
Eric Lavigne is a Senior Epidemiologist with the Water & Air Quality Bureau of Health Canada and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa. Eric’s research investigates how children’s health is affected by ambient air pollution and climate change. Much of this work is based on epidemiology, biostatistics, and environmental sciences. The research is designed to be policy-relevant and contribute to well-informed decision-making to better protect human health.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Dany Doironhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngDany Doiron2022-04-29 01:25:132022-05-31 19:57:27UNICEF Report Card Echo Event: Healthy Communities for Canadian Children: Reducing Air Pollution, Increasing Access to Greenspace, and Building Playable Neighbourhoods – May 25th | 2022
How healthy you are can depend a lot on where you live. But how should cities and towns approach transforming the built environment to improve residents’ health? The Community Wellbeing Framework, developed by the Conference Board of Canada and DIALOG, is an evidence-based methodology to design for community wellbeing made up of five domains, 18 indicators, and 48 metrics. The Framework defines and evaluates the built environment’s contributions to community wellbeing and helps guide conversations toward a shared vision and actionable decision making, with tangible value, on how the world around us can and should be designed.
Join us for a webinar with Antonio Gomez-Palacio to learn how the Framework is being used by communities and decision-makers to support physical, mental, environmental and social wellbeing.
This webinar will:
Review the elements of the built environment that contribute to physical and mental health and wellbeing
Provide an overview of the evidence-based Community Wellbeing Framework
Present case studies of how the Community Wellbeing Framework is being used in community projects that promote health and wellbeing
About the speaker:
Antonio Gomez-Palacio is an urban planner and founding partner with DIALOG, one of Canada’s leading design firms. Antonio’s professional experience and research focus on the intersection of architecture, planning, and urban design. He’s internationally recognized for transforming cities into vibrant urban places that respond to their social, economic, and environmental contexts. Antonio has worked on a wide range of projects focused on urban intensification, master planning, mixed-use, transit, heritage, economic development, and sustainability. His project work includes light-rail transit (LRT) projects for Mississauga, Brampton, and Edmonton, downtown plans for Halifax and Regina, and campus plans for Seneca College and Laurentian University.
In addition to impacting communities through his professional practice, Antonio has acted as chair of the Toronto Society of Architects and the City of Vaughan’s Design Review Panel. He is involved with several industry initiatives and organizations, including the Canadian Institute of Planners, the Royal Architectural Institute of
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Dany Doironhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngDany Doiron2022-03-14 18:22:412022-04-13 17:46:37Community Wellbeing: How to Build Communities that Support Physical, Mental, Environmental and Social Wellbeing | March 31st, 2022
In 2021, recognizing the health burden of exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), the World Health Organization cut its guideline for annual average exposure in half. Now 86% of Canadians living in areas that exceed the new WHO guideline. Exposure to air pollution is estimated to cause 7 million deaths every year, and exposure to PM2.5 in particular has been linked with premature death in people with heart or lung disease, nonfatal heart attacks, aggravated asthma, decreased lung function and coughing or difficulty breathing.
Understanding what PM2.5 is, where it comes from, how it’s measured and its effect on health can help public health professionals better manage the health risks it presents to everyone, and health researchers better use relevant and meaningful datasets to understand its health effects.
This webinar will:
Review the sources and composition of PM2.5, and behaviour that leads to spatial and temporal patterns
Discuss how satellite-based data is created and used
Review datasets available through CANUE and the University of Washington in St. Louis, and discuss which sets are recommended for environmental health research
About the speakers:
Jeff Brook is a Scientific Director of the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium, as well as Assistant Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto. He has 25 years of experience as an Environment Canada scientist working at the science-policy interface. During this time he spent 15 years as faculty at the University of Toronto, where he was involved in research, lecturing and graduate student training. He is one of Canada’s leading experts in air quality, recognized at all levels of government and academically, including for his substantial contributions in air pollution health research. Dr. Brook has led scientific assessments to inform policy nationally and internationally, and advised multi-stakeholder groups shaping policy. He has led a variety of multi-disciplinary research teams in government, government-academic partnerships and in academia. Recently his efforts have expanded beyond air quality, for example for 8 years he has led the Environmental Working Group of the Canadian Health Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) study and co-led the Gene x Environment Research Platform within the AllerGen Network of Centres of Excellence.
Aaron van Donkelaar is a Research Associate with the Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group at Washington University in St. Louis. His research combines satellite retrievals with chemical transport model simulations to estimate fine aerosol concentrations around the world. This work is being used to provide valuable insight into exposure-related health effects in regions where these concentrations are not monitored directly, which include some of the most heavily populated and polluted places on earth.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Dany Doironhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngDany Doiron2022-02-15 04:21:042022-03-14 18:04:00PM 2.5: What it Is and Why it Matters – February 24th | 2022
Transportation is an integral part of our daily lives, giving us access to people, education, jobs, services, and goods. Our transportation choices and behaviours are influenced by four interrelated factors: the land use and built environment, infrastructure, available modes, and emerging technologies/disruptors. These factors influence how we move ourselves and goods, and are modifiable. In turn, these factors impact various exposures, lifestyles and health outcomes. Understanding how transportation can be both beneficial and detrimental to health is crucial for policy- and decision-makers aiming to prioritize and improve public health in their cities.
This webinar will:
Summarize pathways that link transportation to health
Review how pathways between transportation and health intersect with equity
Show quantitative health impact assessments of these pathways from cities across the world
Overview data and methodological gaps in health impact assessments of transportation decisions
Discuss how understanding the pathways, health impacts and co-benefits can inform decision making about transportation and public health
About the speaker:
Haneen Khreis is a Senior Research Associate in the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge and is an Associate Scientist with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. She is a cross-disciplinary researcher broadly studying the health impacts of transport planning and policy with a special interest in cities. She is trained in transport planning and engineering, vehicle emissions and air quality monitoring and modelling, systematic reviews, health impact and burden of disease assessment. She also has expertise in policy options generation and the science-policy link. Haneen has worked extensively with air pollution and asthma in particular, doing epidemiological, burden of disease assessment and monetization studies.
She has published over 70 peer-reviewed papers, chapters and technical reports, with a large media impact, and edited three books on integrating human health into planning, transport and health, and traffic-related air pollution and health. Haneen recently developed a cross-disciplinary course titled “Traffic-Related Air Pollution: Emissions, Human Exposures, and Health.”. She is dedicated to improving human health and equity through supporting relevant education, workforce development, and evidence-based healthy and just planning.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Dany Doironhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngDany Doiron2022-01-25 14:49:592022-02-15 03:53:26Pathways Between Transportation and Health – February 4th | 2022
This summer was one of the hottest on record – especially in Canadian cities – and the accelerating rate of climate change means future summers will be hotter for longer, leading to increased heat-related deaths and health issues. By the middle of the century, the number of days over 30℃ will double in Canada. One of the key ways cities can respond to climate change and mitigate the effects of extreme heat in cities and promote better health is to create more green space, which cools the air and promotes better physical and mental health.
This webinar will:
Review the physical and mental health impacts of green space
Discuss how green space can help cities adapt to the effects of climate change
Explore policies and investments cities could enact to accelerate the expansion of green space
About the speaker:
Matilda van den Bosch is an Associated Researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health in Spain and an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia.
She investigates how environmental exposures, for example, urban green spaces, can influence various aspects of human health and how we can create healthier cities.
Activities in her lab include regulating urban ecosystem services, such as heat reduction with an impact on heat-related morbidity and mortality, as well as cultural services from urban nature, for example, increased physical activity and stress recovery. Much of the research focuses on linkages between various types of land-use data and health mediators or outcomes. Another project is looking at the mental health impacts of deforestation in low-and middle-income countries.
As co-leader of the greenness team within the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE), she is part of a team developing greenness metrics across Canada for linking to various health cohorts.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Dany Doironhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngDany Doiron2021-10-12 15:57:022021-11-15 22:02:08Greenness, Public Health and Adapting to Climate Change | November 4th | 2021
Whether you live in a walkable community with access to green space or in a car-dependent community close to pollution emitters can have an outsize influence on your health outcomes, and maps closely with income and societal privilege. Addressing these kinds of environmental inequities, if done correctly, can provide health, environmental and economic co-benefits. But, if we want healthier, cleaner and more equitable communities, we will need data-driven solutions. This talk will explain how nationally standardized datasets are fueling a renaissance in environmental health research, how data can be used to identify environmental health inequities in Canadian cities and highlight tools that public health professionals will be able to use to operationalize insights and address inequities in the built environment.
About the presenters:
Jeffrey Brook
Scientific Director and Nominated Principal Investigator
Jeffrey Brook has 25 years of experience as an Environment Canada scientist working at the science-policy interface. During this time he spent 15 years as faculty at the University of Toronto, where he was involved in research, lecturing and graduate student training. He is one of Canada’s leading experts in air quality, recognized at all levels of government and academically, including for his substantial contributions in air pollution health research. Dr. Brook has led scientific assessments to inform policy nationally and internationally, and advised multi-stakeholder groups shaping policy. He has led a variety of multi-disciplinary research teams in government, government-academic partnerships and in academia. Recently his efforts have expanded beyond air quality, for example for 8 years he has led the Environmental Working Group of the Canadian Health Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) study and co-led the Gene x Environment Research Platform within the AllerGen Network of Centres of Excellence.
Eleanor Setton
Managing Director
As an Adjunct Associate Professor (2008- 2016), Eleanor most recently acted as Co-Director of the Spatial Sciences Research Lab (SSRL) at the University of Victoria. This role involved managing the SSRL grants, staff, and students, and conducting a range of research related to spatial aspects of exposure to environmental pollutants as a PI or Co-PI. Of particular value to CANUE is Dr. Setton’s expertise in population-level environmental exposure assessment; direct experience working with large spatial and tabular datasets related to land use, pollutant emissions and socio-economic characteristics; and developing knowledge translation products about cancer and the environment.
Dany Doiron
Data Linkage Lead and Special Projects Manager
Dany Doiron is a Research Associate at the Respiratory Epidemiology and Clinical Research Unit of the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, Canada. Dany has a Masters degree in Public Policy from Simon Fraser University, and a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Basel. Prior to joining CANUE, Dany worked with Maelstrom Research, helping epidemiological research consortia in Canada and Europe implement innovative solutions to facilitate multi-centre data integration and co-analysis. Since 2016, Dany provides expertise in linking environmental data to confidential health databases for CANUE. He currently acts as the Chief Operating Officer of the Canadian Cohort of Obstructive Lung Disease (CanCOLD), a large population-based cohort dedicated to better understanding Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Dany’s research focuses on the respiratory health effects of outdoor air pollution exposure.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Dany Doironhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngDany Doiron2021-09-22 14:00:392021-10-25 18:20:37Mobilizing Environmental Data to Build Healthier Cities for All | September 29 | 2021
This summer, record-breaking hot temperatures in British Columbia were met with a higher-than-average number of wildfires across the province. Extremely hot days caused by climate change are expected to lead to longer wildfire seasons which will burn larger areas, and public health officials will need to adapt their existing advice for prolonged smoky periods.
This webinar will:
Review trends and population health impacts of extreme heat and forest fires
Explain how the built environment can contribute to and protect against extreme heat and wildfire smoke exposure in cities
Explore local and national policy options to reduce harmful effects of extreme heat and wildfire smoke exposure
About the presenter:
Sarah Henderson is a Scientific Director in Environmental Health Services at BCCDC. She is also an Associate Professor in the UBC School of Population & Public Health.
Dr. Henderson leads a program of applied research and surveillance to support evidence-based policy for the province. This role requires her to be a generalist rather than a specialist and her work spans a wide range of topics, including air pollution from all provincially relevant sources (wildfire smoke, residential woodsmoke, industry, road dust, shipping, and vehicles), extreme weather events, radon gas, food safety, water quality, and exposures managed by the Drug and Poison Information Centre (DPIC). All of her work integrates large environmental datasets with large human health dataset from multiple sources, and she views data science as a key competency in environmental health.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2021-08-09 18:17:062021-10-20 14:08:54Extreme Heat, Forest Fires and the Role of the Built Environment | October 7th | 2021
Linkage of CANUE exposure data with provincially managed administrative health databases offers new and exciting opportunities for environmental health research. To date, CANUE data has been linked to data held by Population Data BC (PopData), Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP), and the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training (NB-IRDT).
Speakers:
Kelly Sanderson is the Lead of Business and Initiatives Development at Population Data BC. She works closely with BC government and BC SUPPORT Unit partners on joint data initiatives funded by the Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR). She joined the organization in 2009 and was previously the Data Access Unit Lead where she enjoyed working with and guiding many researchers through the Data Access Request process. Her educational background and related professional experience was in Urban Planning and Geographical Information systems so she readily appreciates the value CANUE data brings as a new PopData holding.
Charles Burchill has been an Associate Director at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, University of Manitoba, since 2006. Prior to this role, he worked as a research analyst at MCHP starting in 1992. He is actively involved with Health and Social policy-related research using Manitoba administrative health and social data. The repository of data represents over 80 distinct programs and databases with linkable data in the areas of health, family services, justice, and education. His graduate work was in field ecology, with the CANUE data providing an opportunity to bring his interests full circle. The CANUE data represents an important source of built environment and environmental data that can be linked through small area geographies to the overall repository.
Dr. Ted McDonald is a Professor of Economics at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, Academic Director of the NB Research Data Centre, Director of the NB Institute for Research, Data and Training and the New Brunswick lead for the Maritime SPOR SUPPORT Unit. He holds a Ph.D. and a Master of Commerce in Economics from the University of Melbourne. Dr. McDonald’s main areas of research include health status and labour market issues of immigrants, rural residents, minority groups and other subpopulations, as well as an ongoing program of research on the socioeconomic and demographic determinants of cancer.
Dany Doiron is a research associate in the Respiratory Epidemiology and Clinical Research Unit at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and is CANUE’s data linkage lead. Dany holds a Masters degree in Public Policy (Simon Fraser University) and PhD in Epidemiology (University of Basel). His research explores the effects of environmental exposures on health.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2020-03-17 20:42:242020-03-30 15:30:43Linked CANUE and administrative health databases: PopDataBC, MCHP and NB_IRDT | March 27th | 2020
About the Speaker: Dr. Jeffrey Brook
Dr. Jeffrey Brook is CANUE’s Principal Investigator and Scientific Director. He is also an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry. He has 25 years of experience as an Environment Canada scientist working at the science-policy interface. He is one of Canada’s leading experts in air quality, recognized at all levels of government and academically, including for his substantial contributions in air pollution health research. Dr. Brook has led scientific assessments to inform policy nationally and internationally, and advised multi-stakeholder groups shaping policy.
This webinar will provide an overview of the CANUE data and research opportunities made possible by linking CPTP’s individual lifestyle, genetic and behavioural data with CANUE’s environmental exposure metrics. This collaboration provides health researchers easy access to standardized urban environmental exposures, allowing them to tackle real-world problems related to exposures and the subsequent health outcomes. Ultimately, new knowledge enabled by the CANUE-CPTP partnership will help identify cost-effective actions that promote healthy childhood development and aging, reduce the burden of chronic disease, and minimize the impact of changing environments.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2020-01-27 18:05:342020-01-27 18:05:34Environmental health research opportunities through CPTP and CANUE | February 13th | 2020
It’s a fact – people move! Join our panel of experts to hear more about how this impacts environmental health research, and how you can take advantage of residential history data now in Canada’s major cohorts.
Paul Villeneuve, Professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics, with appointments in the Department of Health Sciences and in the Departments of Health Sciences and Neurosciences at Carleton University
Statistics Canada residential history program.
Michael Tjepkema, Principal Researcher, Statistics Canada, Division of Health Analysis
CANUE data and cohorts with residential history.
Dany Doiron, Research Associate, Respiratory Epidemiology and Clinical Research Unit, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC); CANUE data linkage expert.
Case Study – Examples from the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort.
Dan Crouse, Consulting Senior Scientist, Health Effects Institute, Boston, MA.
Case Study – Examples from the BC Generations CPTP cohort.
Trevor Dummer, Co-National Scientific Director of the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project (CPTP).
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2019-12-13 21:33:142020-02-04 22:15:18Making the Most of Residential History | February 4th | 2020
The Canadian Institutes for Health Research has announced a new Operating Grant Competition for data analysis using existing databases and cohorts. The intent of this funding opportunity is to highlight and encourage the use of previously funded cohort, administrative, and survey data. There will be three funding streams; one stream in cancer prevention and control, another in reproductive, maternal, child, and youth health, as well as a stream in healthy cities intervention research.
CANUE hosted a webinar on June 26th (9 am pacific | 12 noon eastern) for researchers who would like more detailed information on our data holdings, partnerships with health data holders, and an opportunity to ask questions directly to the CANUE team.
Advances in technology, including mobile apps, have provided researchers with new ways to collect data. Health researchers are increasingly interested in developing and using mobile apps for research data collection. However, many challenges exist for health researchers when developing mobile apps. The purpose of this webinar is provide an overview of results of a report interviewing 8 researchers who have developed mobile apps. We will also provide recommendations for researchers who are planning to develop a health research apps.
Melissa Tobin is a Master of Science in Kinesiology student at Memorial University and an INTERACT Trainee. She is a graduate of the Bachelor of Kinesiology Honours (Co-op) Degree from Memorial University. Melissa’s master’s research will focus on how exposure to active transportation infrastructure influences physical activity levels. Melissa is very passionate about increasing physical activity levels for all members of our community.
Daniel Fuller is Canada Research Chair in Population Physical Activity in the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation at Memorial University. His research is focused on using wearable technologies to study physical activity, transportation interventions, and equity in urban spaces. He focuses his methodological work on methods for natural experiments, and machine learning.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2019-03-28 19:55:482019-08-27 17:51:24Developing Apps for Population Health Research | APRIL 17 | 2019
Non communicable diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among populations in high income countries. The rapid increase of overweight and obesity among Canadians and its associated consequences, including hypertension and diabetes is a major public health problem, and threaten to halt the declines in cardiovascular disease deaths Canada has experienced in the past 30 years.
Knowledge gaps exist regarding the impact of the built environment in relation to individual risk factor development, and the variation of these built environments across Canada by region and rurality. In order to address these gaps in our knowledge, we convened the Canadian Alliance of Healthy Hearts and Minds – a prospective cohort of men and women recruited from existing cohorts in Canada and through recruitment of a new First Nations cohort study.
As part of the knowledge translation plan of the Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds project, we developed and released an on-line, interactive map of 2,074 communities across Canada that conveys the information from our community contextual health audits. In this presentation, I will describe the development of the map, and describe how to access and use the tools embedded in the map.
Russell de Souza is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact at McMaster University. He is a registered dietitian, and his research focuses on dietary patterns, health, and how the food environment shapes food choice and risk of cardiovascular disease.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2019-02-05 18:18:162019-08-27 17:54:11Interactive Mapping of Environmental Health Assessments | MARCH 19 | 2019
The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has risen drastically in industrialized nations, such as Canada, over the last half of the 20th century. Although the incidence rate in adults with IBD has plateaued in Canada, the incidence of IBD among Canadian children is continuing to rise. Environmental risk factors, such as air pollution may be involved in IBD development, but epidemiological studies are inconclusive.
This presentation will summarize the results from a study investigating the effects of ambient air pollution on the risk of developing pediatric-onset IBD using Ontario administrative health data. In-utero and childhood residential exposures to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) were evaluated in terms of their potential associations with IBD diagnosed before the age of 18. Other environmental factors, such as residential exposure to greenness as well as several maternal and individual-level factors were also considered as potential confounders and effect modifiers of these associations.
Michael Elten is currently completing a Master’s degree in Epidemiology in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa. His research focuses on evaluating the effects of air pollution on health, with an emphasis on maternal and early-life exposures.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2019-02-04 18:07:182019-08-27 17:56:16Ambient Air Pollution and the Risk of Childhood-onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease | FEBRUARY 12 | 2019
Utilitarian walkability by 1km buffered postal code – Prepared by Urban Design 4 Health Ltd and Toronto Public Health
The Walkable City: Neighbourhood Design and Preferences, Travel Choices and Health, April 2012 Toronto Public Health
Hear about Dr. Frank’s recent collaborative work in Metro Vancouver, linking detailed data on neighbourhood walkability, regional transit and park access with Type 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stress, and sense of community relationships across a range of age and income cohorts, followed by a broader discussion of walkability research and future directions.
Lawrence Frank is Professor in Sustainable Transportation and Public Health at UBC and specializes in the interaction between land use, travel behavior, air quality; and health. He coined the term “walkability” in the early – mid 90’s; his work led to WalkScore and has been cited over 26,000 times making him one of the 2 most cited planning academics globally. Thompson and Reuters has listed him in the top 1% globally since 2014 as a highly cited researcher. Dr. Frank has published over 150 peer reviewed articles and reports and co-authored two of the leading books – Heath and Community Design and Urban Sprawl and Public Health which helped to map out the field emerging at the nexus of planning and health.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2018-09-20 21:02:462019-08-27 17:58:23Lessons Learned: Moving Walkability to Policy and Practice | October 16 | 2018
The Canadian Institutes for Health Research has announced a new Operating Grant Competition for data analysis using existing databases and cohorts. We are especially proud to be the focus of two grants available under the Environments and Health Signature Initiatives portion of this competition.
CANUE data have the potential to be linked to a wide range of health data holdings at the 6-digit postal code level.
The CANUE team hosted an informational webinar on August 17th to answer any questions about our data holdings and how to access them to support the development of grant applications. Representatives from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging cohort and the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project also attended to highlight opportunities for using pre-linked CANUE data with their data holdings.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2018-07-24 21:54:362019-08-27 18:00:04CIHR OPERATING GRANT FOR CANUE DATA: WEBINAR AUGUST 17 | 2018
Cities contain over half the world’s population, consume two-thirds of global energy, and are highly vulnerable to climate change. Advances in information technology enabling more intelligent and responsive urban infrastructure has the potential to improve city operations and manage demand.
Historically, planning and investment for urban infrastructure has been done sector-by-sector, but infrastructure is becoming more interdependent due to rising cross-sector demands, climate change policy and increasing use of information and communication technologies (ICT). Cities will increasingly depend on ICT for capacity provision (pervasive sensor networks enabling autonomous control) and delivery of services (on-demand transport).
However, the long-term sustainability implications for smart infrastructure provision and investment are not well understood. Fundamental questions remain including: How can we avoid lock-in to environmentally damaging infrastructure? To what extent can we predict future health and social impacts, and manage risk across urban sectors? This talk will explore long-term critical interdependency between sectors (buildings, power, transport, ICT) and discuss the use of ubiquitous urban data, and predictive modelling and simulation to inform sustainable urban policy and planning.
Dr. Martino Tran is Director of the Urban Predictive Analytics Lab, Co-Director of the Master of Engineering Leadership in Urban Systems, and Assistant Professor in the School of Community and Regional Planning at UBC. He is also a Visiting Research Associate at the Environmental Change Institute and a former Oxford Martin Fellow in Complexity, Resilience and Risk at the University of Oxford.
Dr. Tran’s research focuses on predictive modelling and simulation of urban infrastructure and technology to inform policy and investment strategies with positive societal and sustainability outcomes. He has led both technical and policy research for government, academia and industry on the large-scale deployment of smart energy and transport technologies. He has advised UNEP, UNDP, Hitachi Europe’s Smart Cities Program, City Councils, and collaborates with the UK Energy Research Centre that informs national energy and climate policy. Dr. Tran also has lectured at UBC and Oxford on Sustainable Energy, Climate Change and Smart Cities and is a peer reviewer for Science and Nature.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00IdeaZonehttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngIdeaZone2018-07-23 16:56:272019-08-27 18:00:45Predicting Environmental and Social Impacts for Smart Sustainable Cities |September 18 | 2018
CANUE member Dr. Michael Jerrett presents at the National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine – Geographical Sciences Committee Meeting, May 2018. Hear Dr. Jerrett’s thoughts on how we deal with individual movements through time and space, what that means for environmental exposures, and how we capture data to characterize exposures for health studies.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2018-07-06 19:11:202018-07-06 23:26:23Using Sensors to Assess Environmental Exposures | May 15 | 2018
For his presentation, Dr. Baldauf will summarize the U.S. EPA’s research program on the use of built and green infrastructure to mitigate local air pollution impacts from transportation facilities. His presentation will describe the current scientific understanding of how urban infrastructure affects local air quality, including a review of projects conducted in the US and other parts of the world investigating solid noise barrier and roadside vegetation impacts in particular. He will also summarize existing resources developed by the U.S. EPA to assist environmental and health professionals, urban planners, and developers to identify best practices to mitigate local air pollution impacts and avoid unintended consequences where urban infrastructure may exacerbate local air quality concerns.
Dr. Baldauf has over 20 years of experience conducting research on emissions, air quality impacts, and adverse health effects from exposures to air pollution emitted by transportation and industrial sources. His research focuses on the development of policies and practices to mitigate air pollution emissions and impacts at local, urban, and global scales. His research has led to national emissions standards and best practices to mitigate air pollution impacts using urban development including built and green infrastructure. He has a joint affiliation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research & Development and the Office of Transportation & Air Quality where he has led cross-disciplinary research teams focusing on air quality measurements, air dispersion modeling, and sustainable transportation and urban development issues. He also maintains Adjunct Professor appointments in the School of Engineering at North Carolina State University and Texas A&M University. Dr. Baldauf co-manages the U.S. EPA’s Mobile Source Emissions Research Laboratory and led the cross-agency Sustainable Transportation Initiative. He has published over 100 peer-review journal articles and several book chapters on these topics during his career at the U.S. EPA.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2018-05-04 17:43:392018-07-06 23:27:43Urban Green and Built Infrastructure as a Tool to Mitigate Local Air Pollution | April 10 | 2018 | VIDEO AVAILABLE
The rise of physical inactivity and associated chronic health conditions (e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular disease) are a national challenge for Canada, both in terms of costs to healthcare systems and human suffering. This burden has prompted interest improving the active living friendliness (e.g., walkability) of Canadian communities to support daily physical activity as a population-level health intervention.
While many datasets and studies offer local perspectives on the human, health and economic impact of active living environments, national-level data is sparse. This webinar will discuss the potential of national indices recently developed by CANUE members as well as challenges for their use to study associations with health outcomes.
Dr. Dan Fuller and Dr. Henry Luan
Drs. Fuller and Luan will discuss the highlights from the November 2017 Walkability Workshop and provide an update on directions and research plans for the CANUE Neighbourhood Factors team in 2018. They will provide an update of the upcoming Canadian urban sprawl and urban density measures being developed for CANUE. The presentation will focus on the development process and challenges with creating urban sprawl and density metrics.
Dr. Nancy Ross and Thomas Hermann
Introducing Can-ALE – the new Canadian Active Living Environment Index. Can-ALE is a recently released dataset of geographic-based active living friendliness measures for Canada. Hear about the work undertaken to produce the dataset, findings that may inform future data creation activities, and potential uses for research and policy.
Daniel Fuller is Canada Research Chair in Population Physical Activity in the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation at Memorial University. His research is focused on using wearable technologies to study physical activity, transportation interventions, and equity in urban spaces. He focuses his methodological work on methods for natural experiments, and machine learning.
Hui (Henry) Luan is a post-doctoral fellow in the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation at Memorial University. His research focuses on spatial and spatio-temporal modeling of health-related phenomena using Bayesian approaches. The main aim is to detect spatial and spatio-temporal clusters of these phenomena and identify risk factors that contribute to the geographical disparities.
Nancy Ross is a Professor in the Department of Geography, associate member of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, the Institute for Health and Social Policy, and the School of Environment, Associate Vice-Principal of Research and Innovation at McGill University and is a Canada Research Chair. Her research interests include how social and built environments affect human health. She currently oversees a broad range of research, including studies which analyze the relationship between neighbourhood-level built design, food environments and health outcomes.
Thomas Herrmann is a research assistant and recent graduate of McGill University (BA Geography). Over the past year, Thomas was involved with the creation of Can-ALE, a national database of GIS-derived measures of the active living friendliness of Canadian communities. Presently, his work centres on analyzing the relationship between characteristics of the built environment and population health through data linkage with national health surveys.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2018-01-31 17:09:072018-07-06 23:28:55Measuring Walkability and Urban Sprawl – Opportunities and Challenges | February 28 | 2018 | VIDEO AVAILABLE
Environmental noise has been linked to a number of health effects including annoyance, sleep disturbance and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). In this seminar, we will present the current evidence on the association between environmental noise and onset of CVD. We will also present preliminary assessments of associations between noise and CVD in Quebec. These assessments are based on population cohorts created with linked medico-administrative health data and recent noise models. We will also present gaps that remain on the relationship between environmental noise and the onset of CVD.
Audrey Smargiassi is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the School of Public Health and a researcher at the Public Health Research Institute at the University of Montreal.
Larisa Ines Yankoty is a PhD Candidate in Public Health, Epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the University of Montreal.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2017-11-27 20:02:492021-11-30 17:13:19Noise Exposure and Cardiovascular Disease Onset | January 10 | 2018 | VIDEO AVAILABLE
Main drivers of air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and urban environmental inequities often overlap, yet rarely do our efforts to address these problems are carried out in an integrated manner.
The growing political will to reduce greenhouse gas emissions around the world is likely to bring significant investments into mitigation policies, including in urban areas. In this policy context, without rigorous coordination between policies that target climate, air pollution, and environmental justice, cities can miss on a unique opportunity to harvest ancillary public health and societal benefits from their climate investments.
In this talk we explore methods that rely on air quality models and mathematical analyses to quantify the impact of individual pollution sources on various policy endpoints such as health or environmental justice.
We provide examples of decision metrics that link various endpoints to sources of air pollution, and explore ways to leverage the wide range of expertise within CANUE to incorporate such quantitative analyses into an integrated assessment platform.
Amir Hakami is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carleton University. His expertise is in air quality modeling and use of mathematical methods within these models to address problems that lie at the interface of policy, health, and economics of air pollution.
Robyn Chatwin-Davies is a Master’s student at Carleton University studying atmospheric modelling and air quality. Specifically, her research focuses on environmental justice, as she seeks to understand the relationship between pollution and socio-economic status. Robyn previously completed a Bachelor in Environmental Engineering, graduating with High Distinction in 2012.
Angele Genereux is currently completing her Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering at Carleton, after completing a Bachelor of Engineering degree at the same department in 2016. Her work focuses on estimating the health damage from vehicular emissions on an age-segregated basis, and on ways that these emissions affect environmental health in densely populated urban areas.
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2017-11-07 18:25:002018-07-06 23:31:20Linking Air Quality, Climate and Environmental Inequity | November 21 | 2017 | VIDEO AVAILABLE
Hear the latest results based on an analysis of the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort, from Dr. Dan Crouse and Adele Balram, University of New Brunswick.
Dan L Crouse is a Research Associate in the Department of Sociology at UNB. He is trained in both epidemiology and geography, and has led and been involved in many studies examining the impacts of exposure to air pollution on adverse health outcomes, including risk of mortality, adverse birth outcomes, and incidence of cancer. He lead the first Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort (CanCHEC) study to examine associations between mortality and long-term exposures to fine particulate matter, which was published in 2012, and has published several other studies with CanCHEC since then.
Adele Balram is a Database Analyst with the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data, and Training. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of New Brunswick and a Master of Public Health from Memorial University in Newfoundland. Adele has several years’ experience in public health, including working as an epidemiologist on environmental and community health issues across New Brunswick.
Both Dr. Crouse and Ms. Balram are supported by the Maritime SPOR Support Unit (MSSU), which receives financial support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness, the New Brunswick Department of Health, the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation (NSHRF), and the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation (NBHRF).
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2017-09-29 02:53:582018-07-06 23:33:38Does Living in Greener Areas and Near Water Affect Mortality? | October 10 | 2017 | VIDEO AVAILABLE
Do you manage a cohort, health survey, or administrative health database? Please join us for an overview of our upcoming urban environmental exposure data release, and a discussion of logistics for receiving and merging our data with yours.
We will be giving the same overview on September 20th, 26th and 28th to accommodate as many of you as possible. Just choose the most convenient date!
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2017-08-30 08:56:272018-07-06 23:35:23Navigating the Data Merge | September 20 | 26 | 28 |2017 | PRESENTATION NOW AVAILABLE
Environment Canada is currently working on the 2.5 km High Resolution Deterministic Prediction system (HRDPS), expected to become operational next year.
This webinar-style meeting will highlight some of the health databases that CANUE researchers typically use, and provide an overview of these new weather/climate datasets. The overall objective of the meeting is to explore the utility of HRDPS data sets for conducting health research, and identify which health databases might be of most interest, as a first step in working together to advance our research agendas.
AGENDA
Presentation: CANUE
Overview of cohorts/health databases and opportunities for weather/climate research
Presentation: Environment Canada
HRDPS model/outputs, reanalysis opportunities
Discussion
Priorities for data development/linkage
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2017-08-29 05:53:392018-07-06 23:35:42New Opportunities for Weather and Health Research | September 21 | 2017 | VIDEOS NOW AVAILABLE
Join us for a quick CANUE tour! Find out how CANUE works, what we do, how we can help you advance environmental health research in Canada and abroad, and move evidence into policy and practice.
PRESENTED BY:
https://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.png00Eleanor Settonhttps://canue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CANUE-logo-final-300-291x300.pngEleanor Setton2017-08-15 17:58:562018-07-06 23:36:18All About CANUE | September 12 | 2017 | PRESENTATION NOW AVAILABLE
Official HealthyPlan.City Release | November 28, 2023 | 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. (EST)
/in Featured, News, Webinars /by Joey SyerEnvironments and Health Signature Initiative Webinar: Child Health | April 3, 2023 | 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. (ET)
/in Events, News, Uncategorized, Webinars /by Allan McKeeChildren’s health is particularly sensitive to the environment. What they are exposed to during early years can have a significant impact on their healthy development. To better understand these health pathways and how to improve children’s health outcomes, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded three research projects considering different aspects of child health: obesity, IBD and asthma & COPD. In this webinar, learn what the researchers discovered through their project and what they plan to do next.
About the Projects
The Developmental Origins of Pediatric Obesity and Obesity-Related Complications
This translational project studies clinical populations of pregnant mothers, their children and parallel rodent model systems in order to determine how early life environmental exposures (e.g.- maternal diets, high blood sugars etc.) affect the genes of the children to influence their risk for obesity. We will also determine whether altering the early life environment (e.g.- through diet etc.) modifies disease risk factors in children most susceptible for obesity. The identification of new early life biomarkers of disease could prevent the extensive health and financial burden of obesity.
The diet-microbiota-gut axis in pediatric IBD
This research program investigates the complex interactions among diet, the gut microbiota, and the host. It provides information that may be essential for personalized dietary and microbiota changes required to keep people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in remission. It is well accepted that the gut microbiota plays a crucial role in the digestion of food, particularly plant-derived starches, and the production metabolites essential for human health. The primary objective of the proposed research is to investigate the complex tripartite interactions between the diet, the gut microbiota, and the host. Additionally, this study aims to characterize the role of microbial food-derived metabolites in pediatric IBD. This study will generate the information necessary for developing methods to improve bacterial activities in our intestine as treatment for IBD patients. This research will have important implications for the quality of life of people with IBD everywhere.
Gene and environment effects on lung health and risk for chronic respiratory disease, asthma & COPD
This project studies a group of babies that have been followed since birth, whose families have filled out lots of questions about what they eat, breathe and how often they get sick. These kids and their families have also done breathing tests that measure how well their lungs are doing. From studying all of this information, we believe we can discover what things each person can do to improve their lungs and prevent them from getting chronic breathing problems, making Canada the healthiest place to live.
About the Presenters
The Developmental Origins of Pediatric Obesity and Obesity-Related Complications
Dr. Vern Dolinsky conducts research at the forefront of understanding the underlying mechanisms of gestational diabetes and its impact on the developmental origins of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disorders in youth. His lab employs a cutting-edge combination of experimental animal models, in vivo imaging, and cellular, molecular, biochemical, and “-omic” technologies to uncover new insights into the biological processes that lead to these conditions. These findings have the potential to revolutionize the development of therapies for the treatment of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. His work is not only advancing our understanding of these conditions, but also pushing the boundaries of what is possible in biomedical research.
The diet-microbiota-gut axis in pediatric IBD
Alain Stintzi, Ph.D. is a professor with the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, a member of the Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology, and Vice-Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa. Dr. Stintzi obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the Louis-Pasteur University, France (1997). He was subsequently a Postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Chemistry, University of California at Berkeley. In 2000, he was appointed Assistant Professor at the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Oklahoma State University. Dr. Stintzi has considerable experience in systems biology approaches to study the role of the gut microbiota in infectious and chronic diseases. Dr. Stintzi has published over 130 articles and book chapters and has contributed to more than 150 scientific and educational conferences.
Gene and environment effects on lung health and risk for chronic respiratory disease, asthma & COPD
Dr. Padmaja Subbarao is a Clinician-Scientist in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine, specializing clinically in severe asthma. Trained in both Epidemiology and infant and preschool lung function, she holds appointments at the University of Toronto in the Departments of Paediatrics, Physiology and in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
Dr. Subbarao’s research program focuses on disentangling preschool wheeze heterogeneity to precisely predict who will develop each type of asthma, monitor its progression and discover the risk factors, exposures and underlying biology associated with each asthma subtype. She is the Director of the CHILD cohort study, one of the largest, most intensively characterized asthma birth cohorts in the world. This world-leading study enabled the discovery of the importance of the gut microbiome for the protection against asthma (cited more than 500 times).
This webinar is presented in partnership with the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health.
Environments and Health Signature Initiative Webinar: Agri-Food, the Food-Water Nexus and Health | April 5, 2023 | 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. (ET)
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Allan McKeeA changing climate will affect food through a range of effects on agriculture, livestock, water systems, and wildlife, which have implications for food security, foodborne disease, and malnutrition. For example, population growth, loss of environmental services and climate change are forcing communities to explore opportunities that treat municipal wastewater to allow its safe return for community uses or harvest rain/stormwater for various non-drinking water uses (all referred to here as wastewater reuse). As part of our everyday lives we are exposed to a wide variety of chemicals derived from consumer products, such as foam, electronic equipment and plastics, that enter our food and drinking water. Most of these chemicals are present at very low concentrations. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded three projects to consider the impact of the environment on agri-food, the food-water nexus and health. In this webinar, learn what the researchers discovered and what they plan to do next.
About the Projects
Developing a Framework for Wastewater Reuse in Canada: Using Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment, Risk Communication, and Community Engagement for Evaluating Water Fit-For-Purpose Reuse
Drinking water treatment and sanitary waste management are considered the most important environmental public health achievements for infectious disease prevention. This project develops a participatory water reuse framework to engender trust in government and utilities to provide safe reuse water that communities seek to have in an equitable way to address Canada’s $90 billion water service infrastructure deficit.
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: Towards Responsible Replacements
This research focuses on determining the extent to which our food, drinking water and breast milk contain the chemicals that have emerged as replacements for polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants, phthalates and bisphenol A. We will then determine if these new alternatives are safer than the substances that they have replaced.
Climate Change and Indigenous Food System, Food Security, and Food Safety (Climate Change IFS3)
The Climate Change and Indigenous Food System, Food Security, & Food Safety (Climate Change IFS3) has created a multinational intersectoral team to characterize the vulnerability and resilience of Indigenous food systems to climate change to inform, enhance, and expand climate change adaptation interventions and adaptation planning.
About the Speakers
Developing a Framework for Wastewater Reuse in Canada: Using Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment, Risk Communication, and Community Engagement for Evaluating Water Fit-For-Purpose Reuse
Norman Neumann is a Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. His research program focuses on development of novel approaches and tools for detecting, tracking and assessing human health risks associated with biological hazards in the environment (viruses, bacteria, protozoans, prions).
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: Towards Responsible Replacements
Barbara Hales is a James McGill Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at McGill University. Her research is focused on understanding how chemical exposures adversely affect reproduction and development. Projects in her lab, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, include the effects of house dust mixtures of flame retardants on reproduction and development, the impact of exposure to phthalates and “green” plasticizers on progeny outcome, and approaches towards the responsible replacement of endocrine disrupting chemicals.
Climate Change and Indigenous Food System, Food Security, and Food Safety (Climate Change IFS3)
Sherilee Harper is a Canada Research Chair in Climate Change and Health and an Associate Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. Her research investigates associations between weather, environment, and public health in the context of climate change, and she collaborates with partners across sectors to prioritise climate-related health actions, planning, interventions, and research.
Environments and Health Signature Initiative Webinar: Microbiome | March 29, 2023 | 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (ET)
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Allan McKeeThe microbiome is the collection of all microbes, such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and their genes, that naturally live on our bodies and inside us. Although microbes are so small that they require a microscope to see them, they contribute in big ways to human health and wellness. A person’s core microbiome is formed in the first years of life but can change over time in response to different factors including diet, medications, and environmental exposures. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded three projects to consider the interaction between the environment and the microbiome and its impact on human health. In this webinar, learn what this research has discovered and where the investigators plan to go next.
About the Projects
Elucidating the Gene-Environment Interactions that drive Autoimmune Disease among South Asian Canadians – The GEMINI Program
The GEMINI project (Generational differences in Environmental exposures caused by Migration: Impact on Incidence of inflammatory disease) studies a growing concern in South Asian Canadian communities – these communities are experiencing an increase in incidences of chronic inflammatory disease upon exposure to the North American environment.
Programmatic research to understand how modifiable environmental factors interact with the genome in the development of asthma
It isn’t clear why some people get asthma and others don’t, but it’s probably due to a combination of environmental and genetic (inherited) factors. The goal of this research program is to understand these environmental and genetic factors that cause asthma. This new understanding is expected to give us better tools to predict who will get asthma and to develop ways to prevent asthma developing in the first place.
The impact of the gut microbiome and environment on the development of colorectal cancer
This team of international recognized researchers investigates the role of bacteria that reside in the gut in the development of colorectal cancer. The previous and proposed research from this team show that gut bacteria is at the root of colorectal cancer; its manipulation of dietary nutrients such as complex carbohydrates and the subsequent impact on metabolic processes within the gut promotes the development of colorectal cancer in mice and humans that are genetically-predisposed to develop this disease. The research has the capacity to develop diagnostics if a specific bacterial species is identified as the causative agent in colorectal cancer. In addition, the research will lead to the development of preventative protocols for colorectal cancer using alterations in diet or specific antibiotics that displace or out-compete “pathogenic” strains.
About the Speakers
Elucidating the Gene-Environment Interactions that drive Autoimmune Disease among South Asian Canadians – The GEMINI Program
Jen Gommerman, PhD, is Professor and Canada Research Chair in Tissue-specific Immunity Department of Immunology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Jen received her Ph.D. (Immunology) at the University of Toronto in 1998. She went on to do a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School studying the complement pathway and then joined Biogen Inc. as a Staff Scientist in 2000. During her tenure at Biogen, she became interested in B cells, Multiple Sclerosis and the TNF superfamily of molecules. After 3 years in Industry, she returned to Academia as an Assistant Professor (Immunology) at the University of Toronto in 2003, in 2015 was promoted to full Professor, and in 2020 was awarded a Tier I Canada Research Chair in Tissue Specific Immunity. Jen’s basic research continues to focus on how members of the TNF superfamily of molecules regulate immunity and autoimmunity, particularly in the mucosae. Her team has uncovered a novel gut-brain axis that regulates neuroinflammation. With respect to translational work, Dr. Gommerman has been examining the role of B lymphocytes in Multiple Sclerosis patients and in animal models of MS and how environmental factors shape the microbiome.
Programmatic research to understand how modifiable environmental factors interact with the genome in the development of asthma
Stuart Turvey, MBBS, DPhil, FRCPC is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia where he holds both the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Pediatric Precision Health and the Aubrey J. Tingle Professorship in Pediatric Immunology. He is a Pediatric Immunologist and clinician-scientist based at BC Children’s Hospita. Prior to coming to Vancouver, Dr Turvey completed both his Pediatric Residency and Allergy/Immunology Fellowship at Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston. He holds a medical degree (MB BS) from the University of Sydney, Australia and a doctorate (DPhil) in Immunology from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar. Dr Turvey is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics.
The impact of the gut microbiome and environment on the development of colorectal cancer
Dr. Alberto Martin is Professor of Immunology at the University of Toronto. His research interests are in adaptive immunity, cancer immunology and B cells. His lab conducts research in three main areas, each of which is supported by external research funding: AID in antibody diversification, The molecular basis for germinal center selection & The molecular mechanisms of cancer development (i.e. specifically colon cancer and lymphoma).
Environments and Health Signature Initiative Webinar: Obesity and Environment | March 27, 2023 | 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (ET)
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Allan McKeeObesity has been recognized as a significant public health concern, especially as 20th century urban development encouraged more sedentary lifestyles and car-dependent transportation. A result of the interaction of genes, lifestyle, and the environment, obesity is an important issue for public health researchers and practitioners to understand. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded two projects to study the gene-environment causes of obesity, and an environments and health research consortium to support environments and health research more broadly. At this webinar, learn what the researchers have discovered and where they plan to take their research.
About the Projects
Gene Environment Team on brown/beige adipose tissue
More than 5 million Canadians have the chronic interrelated diseases of obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) and their incidence in the population are rapidly increasing. Obesity is an important risk factor for developing NAFLD and T2D which contribute to the development of liver cancer and heart disease. Therefore, designing new ways to treat or prevent T2D and NAFLD are important. In this proposal we will conduct studies in cells, mice and humans to examine how agricultural and food processing practices may regulate BAT metabolic activity directly or indirectly by altering the billions of bacteria that reside within our gastrointestinal tract. These studies will help us develop new strategies to enhance BAT activity that may be effective for treating and preventing obesity, NAFLD and T2D.
Determining the genetic and environmental factors associated with metabolic phenotypes across Canada
The program capitalizes on existing data and resources to address highly relevant questions for public health authorities, researchers, and health practitioners. The focus is on metabolic syndrome (MetS), a cluster of medical conditions that are common in aging adults, including: obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and insulin resistance.The activities of this program are: (1) To quantify the effect of air pollution and built environment on MetS; (2) to study the effect of air pollution on molecular changes in DNA that regulate gene activity, and to determine if these changes are associated with MetS; (3) to map differences in the DNA code that regulate the expression of genes, and see if their effect are modified by environmental factors.
The Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium
The consortium will play a pivotal role in supporting the research needed to address these issues. We will accomplish this by linking standardized environmental exposure data about air quality, green spaces, walkability, noise and other aspects of the urban/suburban environment to existing human health data platforms. This will enable studies looking at how these factors affect health, from birth to old age. We will also be able to map, over time, where and how conditions are changing, and how that increases or decreases the risk of health impacts.
About the Presenters
Gene Environment Team on brown/beige adipose tissue
Dr. Gregory Steinberg is a professor of medicine at McMaster University where he holds a Canada Research Chair and a J. Bruce Duncan Endowed Chair in Metabolic Diseases and is Co-Director of the Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research. His research studies cellular energy sensing mechanisms and how endocrine factors, lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity are linked and contribute to the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. He has published over 180 papers many in leading scientific journals. His scientific contributions have been recognized by the Endocrine Society, the American Diabetes Association, Diabetes Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research who have each presented him with early career outstanding scientific achievement awards.
Dr. Katherine Morrison is Co-Director of the Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research (MODR) and a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at McMaster University. The newly developed Centre focuses on translational aspects of research at the interface of preclinical and clinical research. She is a clinician researcher, active clinically in the Pediatric Weight Management and Pediatric Lipid Clinics at McMaster Children’s Hospital where she is the medical director. Her research is focused on the etiology, consequences and treatment of obesity and lipid disorders in children. She leads a CIHR funded, Canadian multi-site study examining the influence of pediatric weight management programs on health outcomes in children with obesity and is co-PI on a CIHR-funded team grant seeking new pathways important to the development of obesity and its comorbidities. She led the pediatric aspects of the Canadian Clinical Practice Guideline for the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity and is on the steering committee for the current work to update those guidelines. She is on the Advisory Board for the Ontario Pediatric Bariatric Network and co-leads the Working Group on Outcome Measurement. Dr. Morrison is dedicated to improving the health of Canadian children through research, improved clinical care and education.
Determining the genetic and environmental factors associated with metabolic phenotypes across Canada
Dr. Philip Awadalla, PhD, is National Scientific Director of CanPath (Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health), Director of Computational Biology and the Executive Scientific Director of Ontario Health Study at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, as well as a Professor of Population and Medical Genomics at the University of Toronto. He is Director of the Genome Canada, Canadian Data Integration Centre and a member of the International Hundred Thousand Consortium Steering Committee. He obtained his doctorate in population and statistical genetics from the University of Edinburgh and awarded NSERC, Killam, and Wellcome Trust Fellowships to pursue his postdoctoral work before taking faculty positions at North Carolina and the University of Montreal. He was previously the Scientific Director of CARTaGENE, and part of the analysis groups of the 1000 Genomes Program and Pan-cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes. Major current projects include genomics and computational approaches of aging, hematological diseases and cancers, as well as early-disease biomarker and drug development; other research focuses on approaches to identify genetic and environmental control points for infectious disease surveillance and resistance.
The Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium
Jeff Brook is an Associate Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto. Jeff was a tireless advocate for the creation of an environmental exposure data platform for many years, leading to the development of a funding call at the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the ultimate establishment of CANUE in June of 2016 in collaboration with many of Canada’s leading environmental health researchers. As CANUE’s Scientific Director, Jeff acts as the key liaison between environmental health research groups, in government and in academia, in Canada and internationally, toward keeping CANUE at the leading edge of environmental health research and policy. He brings 25 years of experience as an Environment Canada scientist working at the science-policy interface, 15 years of experience as an Adjunct at the University of Toronto, 12 years of leadership of the Environmental Working Group of the Canadian Health Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) study, Canada’s largest birth cohort, and 5 years of service on the Research Committee of the Health Effects Institute (HEI) (Boston). Jeff has led scientific assessments to inform policy nationally and internationally, and advised multi-stakeholder groups shaping policy, and is one of Canada’s leading experts in air quality, recognized at all levels of government and academically, including for his substantial contributions in air pollution health research.
Environments and Health Signature Initiative Webinar: Resource Development | March 9, 2023 | 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. (ET)
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Allan McKeeVIDEO AVAILABLE
Health is influenced by resource development through interrelated socioeconomic, ecological, cultural, and political pathways, which demand upstream, intersectoral responses. For example, both oil and gas production and the process of consumption (as it relates to climate change) have large impacts, both positive and negative, on social, economic and environmental systems that affect people’s mental health and overall wellbeing. These relationships are especially important in Canada, where the economy remains tightly coupled with the development of natural resources and where the rate and scale of social and environmental change occurring in resource-rich regions is fueling debate regarding health impacts, especially for rural, remote and Indigenous communities. To better understand these connections, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded three projects to look at how to understand and respond to the health impacts of climate change, and the relationship between a healthy natural world and healthy people. In this webinar, learn what researchers have discovered and where they plan to go next.
About the Projects
The ECHO (Environment, Community, Health Observatory) Network: Strengthening intersectoral capacity to understand and respond to health impacts of resource development
The ECHO Network is focused on working together across sectors to take notice of – and respond to – the influence of resource extraction on health and well-being, with specific emphasis on rural, remote and Indigenous communities and environments. ECHO brings together researchers and knowledge-holders across health, environment and community sectors who have identified the need to better understand and address the cumulative health, equity and ecological challenges of resource extraction and climate change. The ECHO Network is anchored in knowledge exchange partnerships in New Brunswick, Alberta, and British Columbia, with connections across Canada and Oceania. ECHO has developed a platform of integrative tools and processes to strengthen intersectoral capacity, and to connect people to information, practices and shared perspectives across generations and contexts. By focusing on integrative and collaborative responses to cumulative impacts of resource extraction and climate change, the ECHO Network has also identified new pathways of connection and co-benefits for health, including collective efforts that prioritise Indigenous leadership, champion equity and eco-social approaches to public health.
A SHARED Future: Achieving Strength, Health, and Autonomy through Renewable Energy Development for the Future
This research program, the only EHSI program that leads with Indigenous Ways of Knowing, focuses on bringing forward stories of reconciliation and healing in the context of intersectoral partnerships in renewable energy projects. The program’s research goal is to bring to light new and restored understandings of energy and integrative health. We examine how these partnerships may offer opportunities for a new era of nation-to-nation collaborations between Indigenous Peoples, organizations, and governments, with proponents, consultants, utilities, and state governments. Our program examines how Indigenous knowledge systems have the potential to lead us towards reconciling, healing, and decolonizing our relations with each other as well as the land, air, and water around us.
Patterns of Resilience Among Youth in Contexts of Petrochemical Production and Consumption in the Global North and Global South
This project assesses how young people adapt across the carbon cycle and use what we learn about their patterns of resilience to improve the lives of all youth. Both oil and gas production and the process of consumption (as it relates to climate change) have large impacts, both positive and negative, on social, economic and environmental systems that affect young people’s mental health and overall wellbeing. To better understand these complex relationships at both ends of the carbon cycle, a multidisciplinary and multisectoral team of researchers and community and industry partners in two communities in Canada (Drayton Valley in Alberta, Cambridge Bay in Nunavut) and two communities in South Africa (Dunoon in the Western Cape, Secunda in Mpumalanga) studied the resilience of young people and the systems with which they interact.
About the Speakers
The ECHO Network (Environment, Community, Health Observatory): Strengthening intersectoral capacity to understand and respond to health impacts of resource development
Margot Parkes is professor in the UNBC School of Health Sciences and co-lead of the UNBC Health Research Institute. She also co-leads the Environment, Community, Health Observatory (ECHO) Network, focused on the cumulative health, equity and ecological challenges of resource extraction and climate change. Drawing on her background in clinical medicine, public health, human ecology, ecohealth, Margot’s research focuses on integrative, partnered and Indigenous-informed approaches that connect social and ecological influences on health. Margot prioritises working and learning with others – across regions, cultural contexts, disciplines and sectors – to foster better understanding of land, water and living systems (ecosystems) as foundational for health, equity and well-being; to strengthen collaborations that reflect these connections, and that amplify co-benefits for people, place and planet.
Dr. Sandra Allison is Medical Health Officer at Vancouver Island Health Authority, Past President of the Public Health Physicians of Canada and Clinical Assistant Professor at the UBC School of Population and Public Health. She previously was Chief Medical Health Officer at Northern Health, and served as a regional medical health officer in Manitoba. She has extensive experience working with Indigenous people and rural and remote settings. In addition, she continues to work in primary care as a family physician. Dr. Allison was the Principal Knowledge User Applicant for the ECHO Network, founding co-chair of the ECHO Network Steering Committee between 2017-2019, and has remained an active knowledge exchange partner with the network since then.
Dr. Raina Fumerton is a public health physician and the Northwest Medical Health Officer at Northern Health. In addition to her generalist MHO responsibilities, Dr. Fumerton is the physician lead for the health protection portfolio and has a keen interest in environmental health, climate change, as well as the ecological and health/mental health/social/economic/cultural impacts of industrial development on the health of northern rural and remote communities. Since 2019, Dr. Fumerton contributed as the co-chair of the ECHO Network Steering Committee, as co-lead for the Northern BC regional case, and is actively involved as a knowledge exchange partner in the transition from the EHSI-funded ECHO Network to an ongoing pan-Canadian ECHO collective.
A SHARED Future: Achieving Strength, Health, and Autonomy through Renewable Energy Developments for the Future
Dr Heather Castleden (she/her) is a Professor and the President’s Impact Chair in Transformative Governance for Planetary Health at the University of Victoria. She is a white settler scholar, trained as a geographer, and she has been doing community-based participatory research in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples for over two decades. She is a former Canada Research Chair, Fulbright Scholar, and is now an elected member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists. Dr Castleden is the Co-Director of the ‘A SHARED Future’ research program and is the Scientific Director of the HEC Lab.
Dr Diana Lewis (she/her) is a member of the Sipekne’katik Mi’kmaq First Nation in Nova Scotia. She is an Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Health Goverance at the University of Guelph. Dr Lewis is a Co-Director of A SHARED Future. Her research interests are to foster a wider understanding of Indigenous worldviews and how Indigenous worldviews must inform environmental decisions, specifically as Indigenous peoples are impacted by resource or industrial development. She is a strong advocate for Indigenous data sovereignty and Indigenous-led decision making, and she is currently working with Indigenous communities across Canada to develop an Indigenous-led environmental health risk assessment approach.
Patterns of Resilience Among Youth in Contexts of Petrochemical Production and Consumption in the Global North and Global South
Michael Ungar, Ph.D., is the founder and Director of the Resilience Research Centre at Dalhousie University where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Child, Family and Community Resilience. In 2022, Dr. Ungar was ranked the number one Social Work scholar in the world in recognition of his ground-breaking work as a family therapist and resilience researcher. That work has influenced the way human adaptation in stressful environments and organizational processes are understood and studied globally, with much of Dr. Ungar’s clinical work and scholarship focused on the resilience of marginalized children and families, and adult populations experiencing mental health challenges at home and in the workplace.
Environments and Health Signature Initiative Webinar: Urban Form and Health | February 27 | 3:00 – 4:30 pm (ET)
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Allan McKeeThe way cities are built have a significant impact on our health. From land-use mix to transportation infrastructure and housing, the physical features of communities influence the health-seeking behaviours of their residents, and contribute to opportunities to incorporate physical activity in their day-to-day lives. To better understand these connections, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded three projects to look at a variety of aspects of the urban form and urban development and how they impact public health. In this webinar, learn what researchers have discovered and where they plan to go next.
About the Projects
The Built Environment and Active Transportation Safety in Children and Youth
This research program studies how features of the built environment affect whether kids walk or bike to school and whether or not certain built environment features increase or decrease their likelihood of getting hurt. The program partners with injury prevention professionals, provincial governments, environmental organizations and traffic safety professionals who are in a position to help us better understand what features of traffic environments are dangerous or safe.
Multisectoral Urban Systems for Health and Equity in Canadian Cities
At the beginning of the 21st century, to counter threats to population health, Public Health Departments have forged new alliances with major Canadian cities. This research program studies partnerships aimed at transforming built environments to increase the availability of fruit and vegetables, promote public transport and physical activity, and improve availability of affordable housing.
Environments and Health INTERACT: INTErventions, Research, and Action in Cities Team
This research project measures how designing healthy cities can influence physical activity and how much people participate in social activities. It evaluates four infrastructure designs in four different Canadian cities (Vancouver, Victoria, Saskatoon and Montreal). It also develops and refines smartphone apps to measure how people move through cities. These tools include apps to measure physical activity and apps for interactive mapping of where people move in a city.
CANUE Expert Webinar – Noise Pollution and Health – October 27, 2022 | 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. (ET)
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Dany DoironVIDEO AVAILABLE
Sound is a common feature of many cities. But unwanted, persistent and loud sound can become noise and affect our health. Exposure to noise pollution is associated with significant health hazards, including hearing loss, cardiovascular impacts such as heart disease and high blood pressure, metabolic disease, attention and memory loss, sleep disturbance, depression, and decreased quality of life. Those with a lower socioeconomic status are more likely to live in areas where they experience higher levels of noise pollution, putting them at greater risk of its health impacts. However, cities don’t have to be noisy. There are steps they can take to mitigate noise pollution and reduce its health burden.
This webinar will:
About the Speaker
Dr. Oiamo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University. His research in environmental health geography focuses on exposure assessment through the development of environmental models of noise and air quality, novel population exposure metrics, and simulation systems to assess health impacts of urban change. These efforts complement research activities that aim to further our understanding of environmental determinants of health as well as health and disease risks in vulnerable urban populations. Through collaboration with public and private sector partners, these research activities are applied and oriented towards environmental decision-making and policy. Dr. Oiamo also teaches on topics related to environmental decision-making, sustainable development, demography and environmental health.
CANUE Expert Webinar – Electric Vehicles, Air Pollution, and Health – September 26, 2022 | 12 p.m. (ET)
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Dany DoironVIDEO AVAILABLE
In Canada, air pollution causes more than 15,000 premature deaths each year, including 6,000 in Ontario, and 3,000 in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, where transportation is the largest source of air pollution. Canadian research has shown that marginalized socio-economic groups are disproportionately exposed to traffic-related air pollution. Residents who face socio-economic barriers are also likely to be more vulnerable to the impacts of this pollution, as they face other health inequities correlated with socio-economic status. The current push for electric vehicles by federal, provincial and municipal governments presents an opportunity to drastically reduce air pollution from traffic sources, leading to health, social and climate change benefits. However, strengthening and accelerating policies to electrify cars, SUVs and public transit buses, along with updating truck fleets is needed to realize these benefits.
This webinar will:
About the speaker:
Laura Minet is an Assistant Professor at the University of Victoria where she leads the Clean Air (CLAIR) lab. The group’s research is motivated by the need to improve urban air quality and minimize population exposure to air pollution to reduce the burden of air pollution on our health. The lab’s researchers use empirical and physical models to analyze changes in air quality over time, understand the influence of urban features on air quality, and evaluate the impact of urban planning policies and changing meteorological conditions on population exposure and health.
She holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto, where she was also a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Earth Sciences in Professor Miriam Diamond’s Environmental Research Group. Her areas of expertise include air quality, population exposure to air pollution, population health, transportation engineering, vehicle emissions and dispersion modelling.
The Health Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Traffic-Related Air Pollution – June 1st 2022
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Dany DoironVIDEO AVAILABLE
The health effects of traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) continue to be of important public health interest. Assessing exposure to TRAP is challenging because TRAP is a complex mixture of particulate matter and gaseous pollutants and exhibits high spatial and temporal variability. Following its well-cited 2010 critical review, the Health Effects Institute (HEI) appointed a new expert panel to systematically evaluate the epidemiological evidence regarding the associations between long-term exposure to TRAP and selected adverse health outcomes. The panel used a systematic approach to search the literature, select studies for inclusion in the review, assess study quality, summarize results, and reach conclusions about the confidence in the evidence.
This webinar will:
About the speaker:
Hanna Boogaard has more than 15 years of experience in air pollution epidemiology. She is a Consultant Principal Scientist at the Health Effects Institute (HEI) in Boston, MA, an independent research organization with balanced funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency and motor vehicle industry. She received a PhD in 2012 in air pollution epidemiology from Utrecht University, Netherlands. She studied health effects of traffic-related air pollution, and the effectiveness of traffic policy measures. At HEI, she is involved in research oversight and review of studies investigating the health effects of air pollution and studies evaluating the effectiveness of interventions to improve air quality and public health. In addition, she is involved in developing and overseeing new research programs on non-tailpipe traffic emissions, studies assessing adverse health effects of long-term exposure to low levels of ambient air pollution, and studies on health effects of traffic-related air pollution. Furthermore, she is working very closely with an expert HEI panel to systematically evaluate the evidence for the associations of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution with selected health outcomes. She holds a MSc in Epidemiology and Environmental Health Sciences (2005) from Maastricht University, Netherlands.
She has been advisor of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, World Health Organization, Health Canada, and other national and international bodies. She is associate editor for Environment International and on the Editorial Review Board for Environmental Health Perspectives. She is co-chair of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) Europe Chapter, and member of the ISEE Policy Committee.
UNICEF Report Card Echo Event: Healthy Communities for Canadian Children: Reducing Air Pollution, Increasing Access to Greenspace, and Building Playable Neighbourhoods – May 25th | 2022
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Dany DoironVIDEO AVAILABLE
For two decades, the UNICEF Report Card series has released a report every two years that reveal the state of children and youth across high-income countries. This year’s Report Card, which will be released globally on May 24, takes a new focus on children’s environment. It compares rich countries’ environmental impacts on young people’s health and broader well-being.
Following the release of the report, on May 25 at 12:00 p.m. (ET), join us for an echo event, where three researchers and users of CANUE data will dive deeper into how Canadian children’s exposures to greenspace, playability and air pollution affect their health and wellbeing.
This webinar will explore how each of these exposures impact children’s health, and what could be done to ensure more children have access to greenspace, playable communities and are exposed to less air pollution.
About the speakers:
Emily Gemmell is a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health. Rooted in a human rights framework, her research focuses on the ways in which urban form influences child health behaviours and how cities can support health and social connection by integrating kids’ perspectives and needs into the design of neighbourhood spaces. She is currently developing a high-level, evidence-based geospatial metric to assess neighbourhood playability across Canadian urban centers and creating a scalable, computer vision model for assessing child and parent perceptions of neighbourhood environments for outdoor play.
Ingrid Jarvis is a PhD candidate in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at the University of British Columbia. She holds a BA in Psychology and a BSc in Natural Resources Conservation with Honours. Her CIHR-funded thesis examines how environmental exposures, including green and blue spaces, influence human health and development across the life course among Metro Vancouver residents. Her research focuses on early childhood and adult exposure to surrounding urban environments in relation to a range of health indicators. Her work takes an interdisciplinary approach by applying geospatial and epidemiological analyses that combine administrative, survey, and GIS data.
Eric Lavigne is a Senior Epidemiologist with the Water & Air Quality Bureau of Health Canada and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa. Eric’s research investigates how children’s health is affected by ambient air pollution and climate change. Much of this work is based on epidemiology, biostatistics, and environmental sciences. The research is designed to be policy-relevant and contribute to well-informed decision-making to better protect human health.
Community Wellbeing: How to Build Communities that Support Physical, Mental, Environmental and Social Wellbeing | March 31st, 2022
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Dany DoironVIDEO AVAILABLE
How healthy you are can depend a lot on where you live. But how should cities and towns approach transforming the built environment to improve residents’ health? The Community Wellbeing Framework, developed by the Conference Board of Canada and DIALOG, is an evidence-based methodology to design for community wellbeing made up of five domains, 18 indicators, and 48 metrics. The Framework defines and evaluates the built environment’s contributions to community wellbeing and helps guide conversations toward a shared vision and actionable decision making, with tangible value, on how the world around us can and should be designed.
Join us for a webinar with Antonio Gomez-Palacio to learn how the Framework is being used by communities and decision-makers to support physical, mental, environmental and social wellbeing.
This webinar will:
About the speaker:
Antonio Gomez-Palacio is an urban planner and founding partner with DIALOG, one of Canada’s leading design firms. Antonio’s professional experience and research focus on the intersection of architecture, planning, and urban design. He’s internationally recognized for transforming cities into vibrant urban places that respond to their social, economic, and environmental contexts. Antonio has worked on a wide range of projects focused on urban intensification, master planning, mixed-use, transit, heritage, economic development, and sustainability. His project work includes light-rail transit (LRT) projects for Mississauga, Brampton, and Edmonton, downtown plans for Halifax and Regina, and campus plans for Seneca College and Laurentian University.
In addition to impacting communities through his professional practice, Antonio has acted as chair of the Toronto Society of Architects and the City of Vaughan’s Design Review Panel. He is involved with several industry initiatives and organizations, including the Canadian Institute of Planners, the Royal Architectural Institute of
PM 2.5: What it Is and Why it Matters – February 24th | 2022
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Dany DoironVIDEO AVAILABLE
In 2021, recognizing the health burden of exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), the World Health Organization cut its guideline for annual average exposure in half. Now 86% of Canadians living in areas that exceed the new WHO guideline. Exposure to air pollution is estimated to cause 7 million deaths every year, and exposure to PM2.5 in particular has been linked with premature death in people with heart or lung disease, nonfatal heart attacks, aggravated asthma, decreased lung function and coughing or difficulty breathing.
Understanding what PM2.5 is, where it comes from, how it’s measured and its effect on health can help public health professionals better manage the health risks it presents to everyone, and health researchers better use relevant and meaningful datasets to understand its health effects.
This webinar will:
About the speakers:
Jeff Brook is a Scientific Director of the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium, as well as Assistant Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto. He has 25 years of experience as an Environment Canada scientist working at the science-policy interface. During this time he spent 15 years as faculty at the University of Toronto, where he was involved in research, lecturing and graduate student training. He is one of Canada’s leading experts in air quality, recognized at all levels of government and academically, including for his substantial contributions in air pollution health research. Dr. Brook has led scientific assessments to inform policy nationally and internationally, and advised multi-stakeholder groups shaping policy. He has led a variety of multi-disciplinary research teams in government, government-academic partnerships and in academia. Recently his efforts have expanded beyond air quality, for example for 8 years he has led the Environmental Working Group of the Canadian Health Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) study and co-led the Gene x Environment Research Platform within the AllerGen Network of Centres of Excellence.
Aaron van Donkelaar is a Research Associate with the Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group at Washington University in St. Louis. His research combines satellite retrievals with chemical transport model simulations to estimate fine aerosol concentrations around the world. This work is being used to provide valuable insight into exposure-related health effects in regions where these concentrations are not monitored directly, which include some of the most heavily populated and polluted places on earth.
Pathways Between Transportation and Health – February 4th | 2022
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Dany DoironVIDEO AVAILABLE
Transportation is an integral part of our daily lives, giving us access to people, education, jobs, services, and goods. Our transportation choices and behaviours are influenced by four interrelated factors: the land use and built environment, infrastructure, available modes, and emerging technologies/disruptors. These factors influence how we move ourselves and goods, and are modifiable. In turn, these factors impact various exposures, lifestyles and health outcomes. Understanding how transportation can be both beneficial and detrimental to health is crucial for policy- and decision-makers aiming to prioritize and improve public health in their cities.
This webinar will:
About the speaker:
Haneen Khreis is a Senior Research Associate in the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge and is an Associate Scientist with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. She is a cross-disciplinary researcher broadly studying the health impacts of transport planning and policy with a special interest in cities. She is trained in transport planning and engineering, vehicle emissions and air quality monitoring and modelling, systematic reviews, health impact and burden of disease assessment. She also has expertise in policy options generation and the science-policy link. Haneen has worked extensively with air pollution and asthma in particular, doing epidemiological, burden of disease assessment and monetization studies.
She has published over 70 peer-reviewed papers, chapters and technical reports, with a large media impact, and edited three books on integrating human health into planning, transport and health, and traffic-related air pollution and health. Haneen recently developed a cross-disciplinary course titled “Traffic-Related Air Pollution: Emissions, Human Exposures, and Health.”. She is dedicated to improving human health and equity through supporting relevant education, workforce development, and evidence-based healthy and just planning.
Greenness, Public Health and Adapting to Climate Change | November 4th | 2021
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Dany DoironVIDEO AVAILABLE
This summer was one of the hottest on record – especially in Canadian cities – and the accelerating rate of climate change means future summers will be hotter for longer, leading to increased heat-related deaths and health issues. By the middle of the century, the number of days over 30℃ will double in Canada. One of the key ways cities can respond to climate change and mitigate the effects of extreme heat in cities and promote better health is to create more green space, which cools the air and promotes better physical and mental health.
This webinar will:
About the speaker:
Matilda van den Bosch is an Associated Researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health in Spain and an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia.
She investigates how environmental exposures, for example, urban green spaces, can influence various aspects of human health and how we can create healthier cities.
Activities in her lab include regulating urban ecosystem services, such as heat reduction with an impact on heat-related morbidity and mortality, as well as cultural services from urban nature, for example, increased physical activity and stress recovery. Much of the research focuses on linkages between various types of land-use data and health mediators or outcomes. Another project is looking at the mental health impacts of deforestation in low-and middle-income countries.
As co-leader of the greenness team within the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE), she is part of a team developing greenness metrics across Canada for linking to various health cohorts.
Mobilizing Environmental Data to Build Healthier Cities for All | September 29 | 2021
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Dany DoironVIDEO AVAILABLE
Whether you live in a walkable community with access to green space or in a car-dependent community close to pollution emitters can have an outsize influence on your health outcomes, and maps closely with income and societal privilege. Addressing these kinds of environmental inequities, if done correctly, can provide health, environmental and economic co-benefits. But, if we want healthier, cleaner and more equitable communities, we will need data-driven solutions. This talk will explain how nationally standardized datasets are fueling a renaissance in environmental health research, how data can be used to identify environmental health inequities in Canadian cities and highlight tools that public health professionals will be able to use to operationalize insights and address inequities in the built environment.
About the presenters:
Jeffrey Brook
Scientific Director and Nominated Principal Investigator
Jeffrey Brook has 25 years of experience as an Environment Canada scientist working at the science-policy interface. During this time he spent 15 years as faculty at the University of Toronto, where he was involved in research, lecturing and graduate student training. He is one of Canada’s leading experts in air quality, recognized at all levels of government and academically, including for his substantial contributions in air pollution health research. Dr. Brook has led scientific assessments to inform policy nationally and internationally, and advised multi-stakeholder groups shaping policy. He has led a variety of multi-disciplinary research teams in government, government-academic partnerships and in academia. Recently his efforts have expanded beyond air quality, for example for 8 years he has led the Environmental Working Group of the Canadian Health Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) study and co-led the Gene x Environment Research Platform within the AllerGen Network of Centres of Excellence.
Eleanor Setton
Managing Director
As an Adjunct Associate Professor (2008- 2016), Eleanor most recently acted as Co-Director of the Spatial Sciences Research Lab (SSRL) at the University of Victoria. This role involved managing the SSRL grants, staff, and students, and conducting a range of research related to spatial aspects of exposure to environmental pollutants as a PI or Co-PI. Of particular value to CANUE is Dr. Setton’s expertise in population-level environmental exposure assessment; direct experience working with large spatial and tabular datasets related to land use, pollutant emissions and socio-economic characteristics; and developing knowledge translation products about cancer and the environment.
Dany Doiron
Data Linkage Lead and Special Projects Manager
Dany Doiron is a Research Associate at the Respiratory Epidemiology and Clinical Research Unit of the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, Canada. Dany has a Masters degree in Public Policy from Simon Fraser University, and a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Basel. Prior to joining CANUE, Dany worked with Maelstrom Research, helping epidemiological research consortia in Canada and Europe implement innovative solutions to facilitate multi-centre data integration and co-analysis. Since 2016, Dany provides expertise in linking environmental data to confidential health databases for CANUE. He currently acts as the Chief Operating Officer of the Canadian Cohort of Obstructive Lung Disease (CanCOLD), a large population-based cohort dedicated to better understanding Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Dany’s research focuses on the respiratory health effects of outdoor air pollution exposure.
Extreme Heat, Forest Fires and the Role of the Built Environment | October 7th | 2021
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Eleanor SettonVIDEO AVAILABLE
This summer, record-breaking hot temperatures in British Columbia were met with a higher-than-average number of wildfires across the province. Extremely hot days caused by climate change are expected to lead to longer wildfire seasons which will burn larger areas, and public health officials will need to adapt their existing advice for prolonged smoky periods.
This webinar will:
About the presenter:
Sarah Henderson is a Scientific Director in Environmental Health Services at BCCDC. She is also an Associate Professor in the UBC School of Population & Public Health.
Dr. Henderson leads a program of applied research and surveillance to support evidence-based policy for the province. This role requires her to be a generalist rather than a specialist and her work spans a wide range of topics, including air pollution from all provincially relevant sources (wildfire smoke, residential woodsmoke, industry, road dust, shipping, and vehicles), extreme weather events, radon gas, food safety, water quality, and exposures managed by the Drug and Poison Information Centre (DPIC). All of her work integrates large environmental datasets with large human health dataset from multiple sources, and she views data science as a key competency in environmental health.
Environment + Health: Data 101 Seminar Series: May 21st | 2021 | 10am pacific | 1pm eastern
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Eleanor SettonVIDEO AVAILABLE
Environment + Health: Data 101 Seminar Series: April 21st | 2021 | 10am pacific | 1pm eastern
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Eleanor SettonVIDEO AVAILABLE
Environment + Health: Data 101 Seminar Series: March 26th | 2021 | 10am pacific | 1pm eastern
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Eleanor SettonVIDEO AVAILABLE
Environment and Health : Data 101 Seminar Series: February 26th | 2021 | 10am pacific | 1pm eastern
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Eleanor SettonVIDEO AVAILABLE
Linked CANUE and administrative health databases: PopDataBC, MCHP and NB_IRDT | March 27th | 2020
/in Events, News, Uncategorized, Webinars /by Eleanor SettonLinked CANUE and administrative health databases: PopDataBC and MCHP
March 27th (9 am pacific | 12 noon eastern)
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Linkage of CANUE exposure data with provincially managed administrative health databases offers new and exciting opportunities for environmental health research. To date, CANUE data has been linked to data held by Population Data BC (PopData), Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP), and the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training (NB-IRDT).
Speakers:
Kelly Sanderson is the Lead of Business and Initiatives Development at Population Data BC. She works closely with BC government and BC SUPPORT Unit partners on joint data initiatives funded by the Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR). She joined the organization in 2009 and was previously the Data Access Unit Lead where she enjoyed working with and guiding many researchers through the Data Access Request process. Her educational background and related professional experience was in Urban Planning and Geographical Information systems so she readily appreciates the value CANUE data brings as a new PopData holding.
Charles Burchill has been an Associate Director at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, University of Manitoba, since 2006. Prior to this role, he worked as a research analyst at MCHP starting in 1992. He is actively involved with Health and Social policy-related research using Manitoba administrative health and social data. The repository of data represents over 80 distinct programs and databases with linkable data in the areas of health, family services, justice, and education. His graduate work was in field ecology, with the CANUE data providing an opportunity to bring his interests full circle. The CANUE data represents an important source of built environment and environmental data that can be linked through small area geographies to the overall repository.
Dr. Ted McDonald is a Professor of Economics at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, Academic Director of the NB Research Data Centre, Director of the NB Institute for Research, Data and Training and the New Brunswick lead for the Maritime SPOR SUPPORT Unit. He holds a Ph.D. and a Master of Commerce in Economics from the University of Melbourne. Dr. McDonald’s main areas of research include health status and labour market issues of immigrants, rural residents, minority groups and other subpopulations, as well as an ongoing program of research on the socioeconomic and demographic determinants of cancer.
Dany Doiron is a research associate in the Respiratory Epidemiology and Clinical Research Unit at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and is CANUE’s data linkage lead. Dany holds a Masters degree in Public Policy (Simon Fraser University) and PhD in Epidemiology (University of Basel). His research explores the effects of environmental exposures on health.
Environmental health research opportunities through CPTP and CANUE | February 13th | 2020
/in Events, Uncategorized, Webinars /by Eleanor SettonAbout the Speaker: Dr. Jeffrey Brook
Dr. Jeffrey Brook is CANUE’s Principal Investigator and Scientific Director. He is also an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry. He has 25 years of experience as an Environment Canada scientist working at the science-policy interface. He is one of Canada’s leading experts in air quality, recognized at all levels of government and academically, including for his substantial contributions in air pollution health research. Dr. Brook has led scientific assessments to inform policy nationally and internationally, and advised multi-stakeholder groups shaping policy.
This webinar will provide an overview of the CANUE data and research opportunities made possible by linking CPTP’s individual lifestyle, genetic and behavioural data with CANUE’s environmental exposure metrics. This collaboration provides health researchers easy access to standardized urban environmental exposures, allowing them to tackle real-world problems related to exposures and the subsequent health outcomes. Ultimately, new knowledge enabled by the CANUE-CPTP partnership will help identify cost-effective actions that promote healthy childhood development and aging, reduce the burden of chronic disease, and minimize the impact of changing environments.
Webinar registration: http://bit.ly/CPTPwebinarFeb13
Making the Most of Residential History | February 4th | 2020
/in Events, Webinars /by Eleanor SettonWhy do we care about residential history?
CIHR Data Analysis Grants | June 26th | 2019
/in Events, News, Webinars /by Eleanor SettonThe Canadian Institutes for Health Research has announced a new Operating Grant Competition for data analysis using existing databases and cohorts. The intent of this funding opportunity is to highlight and encourage the use of previously funded cohort, administrative, and survey data. There will be three funding streams; one stream in cancer prevention and control, another in reproductive, maternal, child, and youth health, as well as a stream in healthy cities intervention research.
CANUE hosted a webinar on June 26th (9 am pacific | 12 noon eastern) for researchers who would like more detailed information on our data holdings, partnerships with health data holders, and an opportunity to ask questions directly to the CANUE team.
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Developing Apps for Population Health Research | APRIL 17 | 2019
/in Events, Webinars /by Eleanor Setton9am – 10am pacific | 12 noon – 1pm eastern | 1:30pm – 2:30pm NFLD
Advances in technology, including mobile apps, have provided researchers with new ways to collect data. Health researchers are increasingly interested in developing and using mobile apps for research data collection. However, many challenges exist for health researchers when developing mobile apps. The purpose of this webinar is provide an overview of results of a report interviewing 8 researchers who have developed mobile apps. We will also provide recommendations for researchers who are planning to develop a health research apps.
Melissa Tobin is a Master of Science in Kinesiology student at Memorial University and an INTERACT Trainee. She is a graduate of the Bachelor of Kinesiology Honours (Co-op) Degree from Memorial University. Melissa’s master’s research will focus on how exposure to active transportation infrastructure influences physical activity levels. Melissa is very passionate about increasing physical activity levels for all members of our community.
Daniel Fuller is Canada Research Chair in Population Physical Activity in the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation at Memorial University. His research is focused on using wearable technologies to study physical activity, transportation interventions, and equity in urban spaces. He focuses his methodological work on methods for natural experiments, and machine learning.
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Interactive Mapping of Environmental Health Assessments | MARCH 19 | 2019
/in Events, Webinars /by Eleanor Setton9am-10am pacific | 12 noon – 1pm eastern
Non communicable diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among populations in high income countries. The rapid increase of overweight and obesity among Canadians and its associated consequences, including hypertension and diabetes is a major public health problem, and threaten to halt the declines in cardiovascular disease deaths Canada has experienced in the past 30 years.
Knowledge gaps exist regarding the impact of the built environment in relation to individual risk factor development, and the variation of these built environments across Canada by region and rurality. In order to address these gaps in our knowledge, we convened the Canadian Alliance of Healthy Hearts and Minds – a prospective cohort of men and women recruited from existing cohorts in Canada and through recruitment of a new First Nations cohort study.
As part of the knowledge translation plan of the Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds project, we developed and released an on-line, interactive map of 2,074 communities across Canada that conveys the information from our community contextual health audits. In this presentation, I will describe the development of the map, and describe how to access and use the tools embedded in the map.
Russell de Souza is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact at McMaster University. He is a registered dietitian, and his research focuses on dietary patterns, health, and how the food environment shapes food choice and risk of cardiovascular disease.
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Ambient Air Pollution and the Risk of Childhood-onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease | FEBRUARY 12 | 2019
/in Events, Webinars /by Eleanor Setton9am-10am pacific | 12 noon – 1pm eastern
The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has risen drastically in industrialized nations, such as Canada, over the last half of the 20th century. Although the incidence rate in adults with IBD has plateaued in Canada, the incidence of IBD among Canadian children is continuing to rise. Environmental risk factors, such as air pollution may be involved in IBD development, but epidemiological studies are inconclusive.
This presentation will summarize the results from a study investigating the effects of ambient air pollution on the risk of developing pediatric-onset IBD using Ontario administrative health data. In-utero and childhood residential exposures to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) were evaluated in terms of their potential associations with IBD diagnosed before the age of 18. Other environmental factors, such as residential exposure to greenness as well as several maternal and individual-level factors were also considered as potential confounders and effect modifiers of these associations.
Michael Elten is currently completing a Master’s degree in Epidemiology in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa. His research focuses on evaluating the effects of air pollution on health, with an emphasis on maternal and early-life exposures.
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Lessons Learned: Moving Walkability to Policy and Practice | October 16 | 2018
/in Events, Webinars /by Eleanor Setton9am – 10am pacific | 12 noon – 1pm eastern
Utilitarian walkability by 1km buffered postal code – Prepared by Urban Design 4 Health Ltd and Toronto Public Health
The Walkable City: Neighbourhood Design and Preferences, Travel Choices and Health, April 2012 Toronto Public Health
Hear about Dr. Frank’s recent collaborative work in Metro Vancouver, linking detailed data on neighbourhood walkability, regional transit and park access with Type 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stress, and sense of community relationships across a range of age and income cohorts, followed by a broader discussion of walkability research and future directions.
Lawrence Frank is Professor in Sustainable Transportation and Public Health at UBC and specializes in the interaction between land use, travel behavior, air quality; and health. He coined the term “walkability” in the early – mid 90’s; his work led to WalkScore and has been cited over 26,000 times making him one of the 2 most cited planning academics globally. Thompson and Reuters has listed him in the top 1% globally since 2014 as a highly cited researcher. Dr. Frank has published over 150 peer reviewed articles and reports and co-authored two of the leading books – Heath and Community Design and Urban Sprawl and Public Health which helped to map out the field emerging at the nexus of planning and health.
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CIHR OPERATING GRANT FOR CANUE DATA: WEBINAR AUGUST 17 | 2018
/in Webinars /by Eleanor SettonThe Canadian Institutes for Health Research has announced a new Operating Grant Competition for data analysis using existing databases and cohorts. We are especially proud to be the focus of two grants available under the Environments and Health Signature Initiatives portion of this competition.
CANUE data have the potential to be linked to a wide range of health data holdings at the 6-digit postal code level.
The CANUE team hosted an informational webinar on August 17th to answer any questions about our data holdings and how to access them to support the development of grant applications. Representatives from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging cohort and the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project also attended to highlight opportunities for using pre-linked CANUE data with their data holdings.
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Predicting Environmental and Social Impacts for Smart Sustainable Cities |September 18 | 2018
/in Webinars /by IdeaZone9am- 10am pacific | 12 noon – 1 pm eastern
Cities contain over half the world’s population, consume two-thirds of global energy, and are highly vulnerable to climate change. Advances in information technology enabling more intelligent and responsive urban infrastructure has the potential to improve city operations and manage demand.
Historically, planning and investment for urban infrastructure has been done sector-by-sector, but infrastructure is becoming more interdependent due to rising cross-sector demands, climate change policy and increasing use of information and communication technologies (ICT). Cities will increasingly depend on ICT for capacity provision (pervasive sensor networks enabling autonomous control) and delivery of services (on-demand transport).
However, the long-term sustainability implications for smart infrastructure provision and investment are not well understood. Fundamental questions remain including: How can we avoid lock-in to environmentally damaging infrastructure? To what extent can we predict future health and social impacts, and manage risk across urban sectors? This talk will explore long-term critical interdependency between sectors (buildings, power, transport, ICT) and discuss the use of ubiquitous urban data, and predictive modelling and simulation to inform sustainable urban policy and planning.
Dr. Martino Tran is Director of the Urban Predictive Analytics Lab, Co-Director of the Master of Engineering Leadership in Urban Systems, and Assistant Professor in the School of Community and Regional Planning at UBC. He is also a Visiting Research Associate at the Environmental Change Institute and a former Oxford Martin Fellow in Complexity, Resilience and Risk at the University of Oxford.
Dr. Tran’s research focuses on predictive modelling and simulation of urban infrastructure and technology to inform policy and investment strategies with positive societal and sustainability outcomes. He has led both technical and policy research for government, academia and industry on the large-scale deployment of smart energy and transport technologies. He has advised UNEP, UNDP, Hitachi Europe’s Smart Cities Program, City Councils, and collaborates with the UK Energy Research Centre that informs national energy and climate policy. Dr. Tran also has lectured at UBC and Oxford on Sustainable Energy, Climate Change and Smart Cities and is a peer reviewer for Science and Nature.
Using Sensors to Assess Environmental Exposures | May 15 | 2018
/in Webinars /by Eleanor SettonCANUE member Dr. Michael Jerrett presents at the National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine – Geographical Sciences Committee Meeting, May 2018. Hear Dr. Jerrett’s thoughts on how we deal with individual movements through time and space, what that means for environmental exposures, and how we capture data to characterize exposures for health studies.
Urban Green and Built Infrastructure as a Tool to Mitigate Local Air Pollution | April 10 | 2018 | VIDEO AVAILABLE
/in Webinars /by Eleanor SettonVIDEO NOW AVAILABLE
For his presentation, Dr. Baldauf will summarize the U.S. EPA’s research program on the use of built and green infrastructure to mitigate local air pollution impacts from transportation facilities. His presentation will describe the current scientific understanding of how urban infrastructure affects local air quality, including a review of projects conducted in the US and other parts of the world investigating solid noise barrier and roadside vegetation impacts in particular. He will also summarize existing resources developed by the U.S. EPA to assist environmental and health professionals, urban planners, and developers to identify best practices to mitigate local air pollution impacts and avoid unintended consequences where urban infrastructure may exacerbate local air quality concerns.
Dr. Baldauf has over 20 years of experience conducting research on emissions, air quality impacts, and adverse health effects from exposures to air pollution emitted by transportation and industrial sources. His research focuses on the development of policies and practices to mitigate air pollution emissions and impacts at local, urban, and global scales. His research has led to national emissions standards and best practices to mitigate air pollution impacts using urban development including built and green infrastructure. He has a joint affiliation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research & Development and the Office of Transportation & Air Quality where he has led cross-disciplinary research teams focusing on air quality measurements, air dispersion modeling, and sustainable transportation and urban development issues. He also maintains Adjunct Professor appointments in the School of Engineering at North Carolina State University and Texas A&M University. Dr. Baldauf co-manages the U.S. EPA’s Mobile Source Emissions Research Laboratory and led the cross-agency Sustainable Transportation Initiative. He has published over 100 peer-review journal articles and several book chapters on these topics during his career at the U.S. EPA.
Measuring Walkability and Urban Sprawl – Opportunities and Challenges | February 28 | 2018 | VIDEO AVAILABLE
/in Webinars /by Eleanor SettonFebruary 28 | 2018
9am – 10am pacific | 12 noon – 1pm eastern
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The rise of physical inactivity and associated chronic health conditions (e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular disease) are a national challenge for Canada, both in terms of costs to healthcare systems and human suffering. This burden has prompted interest improving the active living friendliness (e.g., walkability) of Canadian communities to support daily physical activity as a population-level health intervention.
While many datasets and studies offer local perspectives on the human, health and economic impact of active living environments, national-level data is sparse. This webinar will discuss the potential of national indices recently developed by CANUE members as well as challenges for their use to study associations with health outcomes.
Dr. Dan Fuller and Dr. Henry Luan
Drs. Fuller and Luan will discuss the highlights from the November 2017 Walkability Workshop and provide an update on directions and research plans for the CANUE Neighbourhood Factors team in 2018. They will provide an update of the upcoming Canadian urban sprawl and urban density measures being developed for CANUE. The presentation will focus on the development process and challenges with creating urban sprawl and density metrics.
Dr. Nancy Ross and Thomas Hermann
Introducing Can-ALE – the new Canadian Active Living Environment Index. Can-ALE is a recently released dataset of geographic-based active living friendliness measures for Canada. Hear about the work undertaken to produce the dataset, findings that may inform future data creation activities, and potential uses for research and policy.
Daniel Fuller is Canada Research Chair in Population Physical Activity in the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation at Memorial University. His research is focused on using wearable technologies to study physical activity, transportation interventions, and equity in urban spaces. He focuses his methodological work on methods for natural experiments, and machine learning.
Hui (Henry) Luan is a post-doctoral fellow in the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation at Memorial University. His research focuses on spatial and spatio-temporal modeling of health-related phenomena using Bayesian approaches. The main aim is to detect spatial and spatio-temporal clusters of these phenomena and identify risk factors that contribute to the geographical disparities.
Nancy Ross is a Professor in the Department of Geography, associate member of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, the Institute for Health and Social Policy, and the School of Environment, Associate Vice-Principal of Research and Innovation at McGill University and is a Canada Research Chair. Her research interests include how social and built environments affect human health. She currently oversees a broad range of research, including studies which analyze the relationship between neighbourhood-level built design, food environments and health outcomes.
Thomas Herrmann is a research assistant and recent graduate of McGill University (BA Geography). Over the past year, Thomas was involved with the creation of Can-ALE, a national database of GIS-derived measures of the active living friendliness of Canadian communities. Presently, his work centres on analyzing the relationship between characteristics of the built environment and population health through data linkage with national health surveys.
Noise Exposure and Cardiovascular Disease Onset | January 10 | 2018 | VIDEO AVAILABLE
/in Webinars /by Eleanor SettonJanuary 10|2018
9am – 10am pacific |12 noon – 1pm eastern
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Environmental noise has been linked to a number of health effects including annoyance, sleep disturbance and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). In this seminar, we will present the current evidence on the association between environmental noise and onset of CVD. We will also present preliminary assessments of associations between noise and CVD in Quebec. These assessments are based on population cohorts created with linked medico-administrative health data and recent noise models. We will also present gaps that remain on the relationship between environmental noise and the onset of CVD.
Audrey Smargiassi is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the School of Public Health and a researcher at the Public Health Research Institute at the University of Montreal.
Larisa Ines Yankoty is a PhD Candidate in Public Health, Epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the University of Montreal.
Linking Air Quality, Climate and Environmental Inequity | November 21 | 2017 | VIDEO AVAILABLE
/in Webinars /by Eleanor SettonNovember 21 | 2017
9am – 10am pacific | 12 noon – 1pm eastern
VIDEO AVAILABLE
Main drivers of air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and urban environmental inequities often overlap, yet rarely do our efforts to address these problems are carried out in an integrated manner.
The growing political will to reduce greenhouse gas emissions around the world is likely to bring significant investments into mitigation policies, including in urban areas. In this policy context, without rigorous coordination between policies that target climate, air pollution, and environmental justice, cities can miss on a unique opportunity to harvest ancillary public health and societal benefits from their climate investments.
In this talk we explore methods that rely on air quality models and mathematical analyses to quantify the impact of individual pollution sources on various policy endpoints such as health or environmental justice.
We provide examples of decision metrics that link various endpoints to sources of air pollution, and explore ways to leverage the wide range of expertise within CANUE to incorporate such quantitative analyses into an integrated assessment platform.
Amir Hakami is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carleton University. His expertise is in air quality modeling and use of mathematical methods within these models to address problems that lie at the interface of policy, health, and economics of air pollution.
Robyn Chatwin-Davies is a Master’s student at Carleton University studying atmospheric modelling and air quality. Specifically, her research focuses on environmental justice, as she seeks to understand the relationship between pollution and socio-economic status. Robyn previously completed a Bachelor in Environmental Engineering, graduating with High Distinction in 2012.
Angele Genereux is currently completing her Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering at Carleton, after completing a Bachelor of Engineering degree at the same department in 2016. Her work focuses on estimating the health damage from vehicular emissions on an age-segregated basis, and on ways that these emissions affect environmental health in densely populated urban areas.
Does Living in Greener Areas and Near Water Affect Mortality? | October 10 | 2017 | VIDEO AVAILABLE
/in Webinars /by Eleanor SettonOctober 10, 2017
9am – 10am pacific | 12 noon – 1pm eastern
Hear the latest results based on an analysis of the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort, from Dr. Dan Crouse and Adele Balram, University of New Brunswick.
Dan L Crouse is a Research Associate in the Department of Sociology at UNB. He is trained in both epidemiology and geography, and has led and been involved in many studies examining the impacts of exposure to air pollution on adverse health outcomes, including risk of mortality, adverse birth outcomes, and incidence of cancer. He lead the first Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort (CanCHEC) study to examine associations between mortality and long-term exposures to fine particulate matter, which was published in 2012, and has published several other studies with CanCHEC since then.
Adele Balram is a Database Analyst with the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data, and Training. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of New Brunswick and a Master of Public Health from Memorial University in Newfoundland. Adele has several years’ experience in public health, including working as an epidemiologist on environmental and community health issues across New Brunswick.
Both Dr. Crouse and Ms. Balram are supported by the Maritime SPOR Support Unit (MSSU), which receives financial support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness, the New Brunswick Department of Health, the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation (NSHRF), and the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation (NBHRF).
Lead author and CANUE Director Dan Crouse talks about his recent paper on Radio Canada. http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2017/ 10/13/new-canadian-study- suggests-that-trees-can-play- a-part-in-a-longer-life/
Navigating the Data Merge | September 20 | 26 | 28 |2017 | PRESENTATION NOW AVAILABLE
/in Webinars /by Eleanor Setton9am – 10:30am pacific | 12 noon – 1:30pm eastern
Do you manage a cohort, health survey, or administrative health database? Please join us for an overview of our upcoming urban environmental exposure data release, and a discussion of logistics for receiving and merging our data with yours.
We will be giving the same overview on September 20th, 26th and 28th to accommodate as many of you as possible. Just choose the most convenient date!
Read the recently completed CANUE Health Data Holder Survey, identifying opportunities and issues for data merging.
AGENDA
Introduction of CANUE team
Overview of data sets
themes (air pollution, greenness,etc.)
format
documentation
conditions for use
Data delivery and merging
planned delivery dates
push and pull model
ad hoc requests
CANUE tool development
unique exposure combinations tool
temporal aggregation tool
spatial aggregation tool
Q/A and discussion
New Opportunities for Weather and Health Research | September 21 | 2017 | VIDEOS NOW AVAILABLE
/in Webinars /by Eleanor SettonEnvironment Canada is currently working on the 2.5 km High Resolution Deterministic Prediction system (HRDPS), expected to become operational next year.
This webinar-style meeting will highlight some of the health databases that CANUE researchers typically use, and provide an overview of these new weather/climate datasets. The overall objective of the meeting is to explore the utility of HRDPS data sets for conducting health research, and identify which health databases might be of most interest, as a first step in working together to advance our research agendas.
AGENDA
Presentation: CANUE
Overview of cohorts/health databases and opportunities for weather/climate research
Presentation: Environment Canada
HRDPS model/outputs, reanalysis opportunities
Discussion
Priorities for data development/linkage
All About CANUE | September 12 | 2017 | PRESENTATION NOW AVAILABLE
/in Webinars /by Eleanor Setton9am – 10am pacific | 12 noon – 1pm eastern
Join us for a quick CANUE tour! Find out how CANUE works, what we do, how we can help you advance environmental health research in Canada and abroad, and move evidence into policy and practice.
PRESENTED BY: