Climate Change Impacts...

Join our Team! Participatory Climate Epidemiology Position

Post-Doctoral Fellow/ Research Consultant Job Posting – August 2022

New Opportunity: Participatory Climate Epidemiology Post-Doctoral Fellowship or Research Consultant Position

The Climate Change and Global Health Research Group at the University of Alberta, School of Public Health and the School of Arctic and Subarctic Studies at the Labrador Campus of Memorial University are excited to announce an interdisciplinary fellowship or research consultant opportunity in climate change and health projections research.

The Opportunity

This position offers an exciting and unique opportunity to work with an interdisciplinary team of faculty and students at the intersection of climate change, public health, mental health, waterborne disease, environmental science, and social sciences. The successful candidate will work closely with Dr. Sherilee Harper and Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo, in partnership with Dr. Hugo Beltrami at St. Francis Xavier University to work with partners, develop and conduct various research projects, publish research findings, and contribute to innovative knowledge mobilization activities. Specifically, this position engages with a wide range of partners and focuses on quantitative data analysis for climate-sensitive health outcomes in Nunatsiavut communities. The position involves collaboratively building climate-health models with intersectoral and transdisciplinary partners, to examine past impacts and project future impacts under different levels of global warming. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to expand and enhance research skills, work collaboratively with partners, work across disciplines, faculties, and universities, and be offered mentorship and support in a dynamic and engaging environment.

The position will be hired through the University of Alberta as either a Post-Doctoral Fellow or short-term research consultant (depending on the preferences of the candidate) for a 1-year term, with possibility for extension.

Key Qualifications

  • Applicants should either possess a PhD or be a senior PhD student in epidemiology, health sciences, public health or a relevant social science;

  • The successful candidate must demonstrate commitment to a high standard of academic excellence and have an interest in, or experience with, climate change research;

  • Recent experience with quantitative data analysis (using either: Stata and/or R) is required;

  • Applicants should possess strong project management skills including the ability to multitask and prioritize work with tight deadlines, advance complex projects, and maintain collaborative relationships with colleagues and partners from various disciplines;

  • Candidates should have strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex data in a straightforward way; and

  • Experience in social or health climate projection research is considered an asset.

The University of Alberta is committed to an equitable, diverse, and inclusive workforce. We welcome applications from all qualified persons. We encourage women; First Nations, Metis and Inuit persons; members of visible minority groups; persons with disabilities; persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity and expression; and all those who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas and the University to apply.

To Apply:

Submit an application including a cover letter, and curriculum vitae to Kelsey Robertson at kerobert@ualberta.ca or through the University of Alberta online portal.

Closing date:

Position will remain open until filled. Review of applications will begin immediately.

New Publication: Climate change and Inuit health priorities

We are pleased to share our new commentary paper recently published in One Earth. This commentary was co-authored by Sherilee Harper (University of Alberta), Dalee Sambo Dorough (Inuit Circumpolar Council), Joanna Petrasek MacDonald (Inuit Circumpolar Council), Ashlee Cunsolo (Labrador Institute of Memorial University), and Nia King (Queen’s University).

In the commentary, we asked: if climate change is the “biggest health threat of the century,” what does this mean for regions experiencing the fastest warming on the planet?

Here are the key messages from our paper:

1) What are the Climate Change key risks to Inuit health?

Some key climate-health impacts include:

  • Nutrition

  • Foodborne illness

  • Waterborne illness

  • Mental health

  • Health services

  • Heat morbidity

  • Injury and death

Key Inuit Climate-Health Risks Identified

2) What must be done to address climatechange health risks?

We called for Inuit self-determination in climate-health research, response & governance, with a focus on Inuit knowledge & Inuit-led research for a climate-resilient Inuit Nunaat.

Calls to Climate-Health Action

Article citation:

Harper, S.L., Sambo Dorough, D., Petrasek MacDonald, J., Cunsolo, A., & King, N. (2021). Climate change and Inuit health: Research does not match risks posed. One Earth, 4(12), 1656-1660.

New Publication! How has the climate and health literature evolved since the last IPCC Assessment Report? Check out our main findings here!

How has climate change and health research in North America advanced since the last IPCC Assessment Report (AR5)? Read our new research recently published in Environmental Research to find out!

Congratulations to the entire author team: Sherilee Harper, Ashlee Cunsolo, Amreen Babujee, Shaugn Coggins, Etienne de Jongh, Tianna Rusnak, Carlee Wright, and Mauricio Domínguez Aguilar!

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Here is a summary of our main findings.  

We used a scoping review approach to systematically identify and examine publication trends. We examined 56,000+ potentially relevant articles, of which 756 articles measured climate and health in North America since IPCC AR5.

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Urban heat-related and respiratory research in USA dominates the North American climate-health literature.

Gaps on previously neglected climate-health outcomes are beginning to be filled but are still under-researched, including mental health, nutrition, and foodborne disease.

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Most research focused on climate-health impacts – less focused on adaptation & mitigation. 

Geographical research inequities exist, including research gaps in Canada and Mexico, and in rural and remote regions.

Importantly, we found a significant decrease in climate-health research in Canada since IPCC AR5, which highlights a concerning trend.

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 We observed progress in future projections of climate-health risks - but projection research is still under-studied for many climate-sensitive health outcomes in North America, and would benefit from considering social and demographic variables in models. 

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Based on current climate-health evidence gaps, transdisciplinary and cross-sector research, that includes the social sciences, examining current and future climate-health adaptation, mitigation, and the adaptation-mitigation nexus should become a top priority for research, given the urgent need for this evidence to inform climate change policies, actions, and interventions.

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New publication! Climate change and Inuit mental health

Congratulations to Dr. Jacqueline Middleton for a new publication about climate change and Inuit mental health in Nunatsiavut, Canada.

Jacquie’s article was published in Social Science and Medicine and is (free) open-access.

Middleton, J., Cunsolo, A., Jones-Bitton, A., Shiwak, I., Wood, M., Pollock, N., Flowers, C., Harper, S.L., 2020. “We’re people of the snow:” Weather, climate change, and Inuit mental wellness. Soc. Sci. Med. 262, 113137. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113137

New Publication! Global review of climate change, resilience, and Indigenous knowledge

A new paper led by James Ford, and co-authored by CCGH team members Nia King and Sherilee Harper, was just published in One Earth. The article, titled “The Resilience of Indigenous Peoples to Environmental Change” examines how issues of sovereignty, power, social justice, development, and history impact the resilience of Indigenous peoples to environmental change globally.

Citation: Ford, J. D., King, N., Galappaththi, E. K., Pearce, T., McDowell, G., & Harper, S. L. (2020). The Resilience of Indigenous Peoples to Environmental Change. One Earth2(6), 532-543. Access the article here (free open-access)

New Publication! Trends in NTD and climate change research in East Africa

Congratulations to Julia Bryson on her recent publication, entitled, “Neglected tropical diseases in the context of climate change in East Africa: A systematic scoping review”.

Citation:

Bryson, J. M., Bishop-Williams, K. E., Berrang-Ford, L., Nunez, E. C., Lwasa, S., Namanya, D. B., Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change Research Team, & Harper, S.L.. (2020). Neglected Tropical Diseases in the Context of Climate Change in East Africa: A Systematic Scoping Review. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 102(6), 1443–1454. Click here to access the article.

New Publication! Characterizing climate change impacts on Indigenous peoples' mental health

Congratulations to Jacqueline Middleton for her recent publication, entitled “Indigenous mental health in a changing climate: a systematic scoping review of the global literature”, published in Environmental Research Letters.

Indigenous Peoples globally are among those who are most acutely experiencing the mental health impacts of climate change; however, little is known about the ways in which Indigenous Peoples globally experience climate-sensitive mental health impacts and outcomes, and how these experiences may vary depending on local socio-cultural contexts, geographical location, and regional variations in climate change. Thus, in this article, Jacqueline examined the extent, range, and nature of published research investigating the ways in which global Indigenous mental health is impacted by meteorological, seasonal, and climatic changes.

What did we find?

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Citation:

Middleton, J., Cunsolo, A., Jones-Bitton, A., Wright, C.J., Harper, S.L., 2020. Indigenous mental health in a changing climate: a systematic scoping review of the global literature. Environ. Res. Lett. 15, 053001.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab68a9

Global Health Fair at the University of Alberta

Last week, MSc Candidate Crystal Gong presented a poster at the Global Health Fair at the University of Alberta.

Crystal’s poster presented preliminary results from her systematic scoping review that examines how gender and/or sex are considered in climate-health research that takes place in East Africa.

Global Health Fair

2020


Inuit are the best scientists to monitor Arctic climate change

New Publication!

“The best scientists are the people that’s out there”: Inuit-led integrated environment and health monitoring to respond to climate change in the Circumpolar North

What was the article about?

An article led by Dr. Alexandra Sawatzky, Rigolet Inuit, and others characterized how Inuit have monitored the environment for centuries, and how this extends to climate change monitoring and response today.

What were the Key Messages from the Article?

Why is Inuit-led monitoring important amidst unprecedented climate change in the North? This article documented, that for Inuit in Rigolet:

A summary of the key messages:

Here is a visual summary of why Inuit-led monitoring is important for Rigolet Inuit to adapt to climate change:

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Want to access the article?

You can view the PDF of our article on Inuit-led environment-health monitoring to adapt to climate change in Rigolet here: https://rdcu.be/b0H8w

Citation: Sawatzky, A., Cunsolo, A., Jones-Bitton, A., Gillis, D., Wood, M., Flowers, C., Shiwak, I. and Harper, S.L., (2020). “The best scientists are the people that’s out there”: Inuit-led integrated environment and health monitoring to respond to climate change in the Circumpolar North. Climatic Change, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-019-02647-8

Etienne presents his research at "This is Public Health Week"

Congratulations to Etienne, who presented his research at the This is Public Health Week event in Edmonton. “This is Public Health Week™ celebrates and showcases innovations in research and practice of [the School of Public Health] community, to protect and improve the health of populations around the globe.”

Etienne is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Alberta, working with Dr Simon Otto, Dr Sherilee Harper, Dr Shelby Yamamoto, and Dr. Craig Wilkinson. Etienne’s work was funded by the Undergraduate Research Initiative at the University of Alberta.

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Chatelaine Magazine: Warming Oceans Impact Our Health

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There has been a lot of buzz about the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate that was recently released.

As one of the Lead Authors of this Special Report, Sherilee Harper was recently interviewed by Chatelaine Magazine to discuss how a warming ocean impacts all of our health.

Ashlee Cunsolo talks about climate change and ecological grief on morning radio shows across the country

Yesterday, Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo participated in a series of CBC radio morning shows across Canada, in response to the Greenlandic Perspectives on Climate Change Survey. This survey provided “national estimates of residents’ climate change beliefs, experiences, risk-opportunity perceptions and emotional responses, as well as views on recent sea ice changes, glacial changes, climate change impacts, societal adaptation, and climate and environment policy preferences.” Dr. Cunsolo discussed the implications of the study for Canadians.

Here in Edmonton, we listened to the CBC Edmonton AM interview by Mark Connolly.

New report! Canada’s Top Climate Change Risks

The Council of Canadian Academies just released a new report, entitled “Canada’s Top Climate Change Risks”. Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo served as an expert at the workshop, and Dr. Sherilee Harper served as an invited peer reviewer.

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Canada’s Top Climate Change Risks

By the Council of Canadian Academies

Here is the summary of the report:

“The climate is changing, with temperatures in Canada rising at twice the global average. Over the next 20 years, we can expect to see increasing impacts of climate change, from more frequent and severe hot extremes, to thawing of permafrost, to increases in extreme precipitation. These types of changes put a range of natural and human systems at risk, prompting governments to intensify their efforts to adapt to climate change and reduce greenhouse gases.

While many Canadian governments have studied climate change risks at the sectoral and departmental level, few have current, government-wide assessments that could help prioritize their response to risks across their activities and operations. Seeking a comprehensive examination of climate change risks from a whole-of-government perspective, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat asked the CCA to examine the top climate risks for Canada and their relative significance.

To address the question, the CCA convened a multidisciplinary panel of seven experts with backgrounds in economics, human health, earth sciences, social sciences, and climate change adaptation and risk assessment. An additional 17 experts contributed their knowledge and insights at an expert workshop. The report’s findings emerged from the judgment, experience, and expertise of the workshop participants and Expert Panel members, informed by published evidence.”

Canada Research Chair in Climate Change and Health

Sherilee Harper was recently awarded a Canada Research Chair. Canada Research Chairs are awarded to “world-class scientists and scholars from diverse backgrounds who are working on new discoveries and innovations that help our environment, health, communities and economy thrive.” The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport, recently announced the new Canada Research Chairs, which are funded by the Government of Canada.

As a Canada Research Chair in Climate Change and Health, Dr. Harper will conduct research focusing on “adaptation strategies to protect health in Inuit communities.”

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Canada Research Chair

Climate Change and Health

Award Winning Poster: Alexandra Sawatzky's Literature Review

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As part of our series on award winning poster presentations, it is pleasure to share a poster presented by Alex. At the 2017 ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting, Dr. Alex Sawatzky presented the results of her literature review about integrated environment and health surveillance in the Circumpolar North. Her poster won a poster prize at the conference, and this work has been published since then (click here to access the free article).

Congratulations Alex!

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Award Winning Poster

2017 ArcticNet ASM

National Science Assessment: Health of Canadians in a Changing Climate 2021

About the Assessment Report

The World Health Organization has identified climate change as the greatest threat to global health and to health systems in the 21st Century. Climate change risks to the health of Canadians are increasing and many impacts are already being observed.  Using the latest evidence, and engaging experts from across the country, the Government of Canada is conducting a climate change and health assessment, which is expected to be released in the summer of 2021. The report, Health of Canadians in a Changing Climate: Advancing our Knowledge for Action, will provide an assessment of the risks of climate change to the health of Canadians and the health care system. It will also support actions by health decision makers at local, provincial/ territorial and national levels, as well as those who work in public health, health care, emergency management, research and community organizations. 

Sherilee Harper is a Lead Author working on the Food Security and Food Safety Chapter in this report. Additionally, team members Amreen Babujee and Katharine Neale have been providing research support on this Chapter.

Assessment Timelines

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Learn more about the Assessment:

Visit the website to learn more https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/environment/impacts-adaptation/21189

Crystal Presents at the Canadian Nutrition Society Conference

Crystal Gong recently returned from the Canadian Nutrition Society conference in Niagara Falls.

Crystal presented her systematic scoping review of the climate change and nutrition literature in the North. Her review aimed to answer the question: how does food security and nutrition research enhance our understanding of climate change impacts and adaptation?

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Crystal Noted,

“It was an amazing experience having the opportunity to connect with students studying diverse research topics across the nutritional sciences and listening to talks from the pioneers of maternal nutrition research. Leaving the national meeting for the Canadian Nutrition Society held at the Sheraton in Niagara Falls I felt bright-eyed and hopeful for the future of nutrition.”

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How can technology support community-led monitoring in a changing climate? Read our new article to find out!

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We are excited to share our recent publication on the need for community-led, integrated and innovative monitoring programmes when responding to the health impacts of climate change in the Circumpolar North.