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Presenters: Lancet Countdown Canada-specific brief launch

Dr. Kris Murray, Imperial College London

global report co-author

Kris Murray is an ecologist with interests in the interconnection of global change, conservation and health. His research focusses on looking at the ways in which environmental factors combine with social factors to mediate infectious disease risks in wildlife and people, and how infectious diseases impact or threaten biodiversity. This includes:

  • human health - climate, environmental and social change impacts on infectious disease burdens and distributions, disease emergence, zoonoses, biosecurity risks, health economics
  • wildlife health - infectious disease burdens and distributions, disease emergence, disease ecology, biosecurity, wildlife trade
  • biodiversity - extinction risks, threats (e.g., trade, diseases, habitat loss, invasive species, climate change), population ecology, behavioural ecology
  • ecosystems - habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation, ecosystem services
  • climate change - influence on ecosystems, biodiversity and health risks

Kris works at The Grantham Institute for Climate Change at the Imperial College London and has a PhD in Ecology and Conservation from the University of Queensland.

Dr. Courtney Howard, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment

Canadian brief co-author

Courtney Howard is an emergency physician who practices in Yellowknife, in Canada’s subarctic, and is the President-Elect of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE). She led FLOW-Finding Lasting Options for Women,  the first randomized controlled trial comparing menstrual cups to tampons, and is writing up the SOS: Summer of Smoke research project on the Northwest Territories’ severe 2014 wildfire season under the leadership of Dr. James Orbinski. Motivated by work on a Médecins Sans Frontières pediatric malnutrition project in Djibouti, and by climate-related health impacts on her Northern patient population, she led the successful campaign to have the Canadian Medical Association divest from fossil fuels. She has also contributed to advocacy efforts in active transportation, hydraulic fracturing and coal phase-out. Courtney is CAPE’s main representative to the Global Climate and Health Alliance and presents on climate-health at medical conferences across Canada and internationally.

Trevor Hancock, University of Victoria

Canadian brief co-author

Dr. Trevor Hancock is a legend in the public health field. Arguably, no individual Canadian has done more to advance the public health importance of the ecological determinants of health. From first leader of the Green Party for both Canada and Ontario in the 1980s, to co-founding both the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, Trevor's influence has been extensive. In May 2015, he led a Canadian Public Health Association working group that wrote a comprehensive Discussion Paper on the ecological determinants of health. He is one of the founders of the global Healthy Cities and Communities movement, having co-authored with Len Duhl the original background paper for World Health Organization Europe in 1986. He originated the term "healthy public policy" and in 1984 organized the first international conference on the topic. 

Alex Munter, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario–Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre

Alex Munter is President and Chief Executive Officer at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), bringing to the role more than 20 years of leadership in health and social services and an incredible commitment to helping families. In 2012, Alex served as co-chair of Ontario’s Health Kids Panel along with Kelly Murumets, President and Chief Executive Officer of ParticipACTION. Prior to joining CHEO Alex was Chief Executive Officer of the Champlain Local Health Integration Network (LHIN)—the provincial government agency responsible for planning, integrating and funding health services in the region. Prior to joining the LHIN, Alex was Executive Director of the Youth Services Bureau, one of Ontario’s largest accredited children's mental health agencies. Alex was a City and Regional Councillor in Ottawa from 1991 to 2003. Alex holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree from the University of Ottawa, a Master of Science degree in Behavioural Science from the London School of Economics and a professional designation as a Certified Health Executive from the Canadian College of Health Leaders.