 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BC Leadership Chair in Aboriginal Environmental Health (2007)
After two years of effort, the LEEF Chair team reached its targeted capacity in 2007. Our team has grown to 28 researchers, including one visiting scientist, 2 post-doctoral fellows, 2 PhD students, 8 MSc students, 5 research associates and 5 research assistants. We moved into our newly allocated research space in the basement of the Administration Building in October and now have 9 research offices, a secured data laboratory, a computer laboratory with GIS support, and a meeting room. With the support of an equipment grant from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), we have also added a new radioactive laboratory and a cell culture laboratory in the Laboratory Building. We have also acquired a new ICP-MS with support from the LEEF Chair and Husky Energy.
We continue to do innovative research from molecular biology to population studies in the area of Environmental Health. We obtained new research funds from NSERC and the Canadian Institute of Health Research, Health Canada, and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). The number of Aboriginal communities that we are supporting in both research and service keeps increasing. Of course we cannot do it all. It is our hope that the new First Nations Environmental Health Innovative Network will play an increasingly significant role in bridging the gap between researchers and First Nations communities. The two national projects that we have been planning are in full swing. The Inuit Health Survey covered 18 coastal Inuit communities and collected data samples from over 1200 participants in 2007, and we plan to visit 12 more communities in 2008. The First Nations Diet, Nutrition and Environment Study obtained full endorsement from the Assembly of First Nations and is in the final planning stage. We will collect samples in 140 First Nations communities across the country in the next ten years. These studies will provide invaluable results on the state of knowledge of the environment and the health status of the peoples.
Our growing economy and population density is putting tremendous pressure on the environment. It is our hope that we can generate useful knowledge to empower people in making the best decisions to maintain sustainable development without comprising the wellbeing of people and the environment.
|
|
|
|
|
University of Northern British Columbia
3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, Canada, V2N 4Z9 | |
|
|
|
|
|
