Groups and Units

School of Public Health faculty members and their research teams are tackling some of the most complex health issues facing our communities. Here are a few examples of their work.

Alliance for Canadian Health Outcomes Research in Diabetes

The Alliance for Canadian Health Outcomes Research in Diabetes (ACHORD) is an established team in diabetes research, in Canada and internationally. ACHORD Investigators and collaborators have been involved individually and in collaboration in various sectors of health research, namely the clinical, health services and population health sectors.

P: 780-248-1010
E: achord@ualberta.ca
W: http://www.achord.ca/

Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse

The Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse (CRISM) is a national initiative, created in response to growing concerns about the impact of substance misuse — ranging from alcohol use to prescription and non-prescription drugs.

The Prairie CRISM node includes the University of Alberta, University of Calgary and the University of Saskatchewan, and involves partnerships with more than 50 researchers, service providers, consumer advocates and policy-makers from across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. University of Alberta professor Cam Wild is the nominated principal investigator for the Prairie node.

P: (780) 492-0135
E: denise.adams@ualberta.ca
W: crismprairies.ca

Climate Change and Global Health Research Group

The Climate Change and Global Health Research Group conducts community-based, participatory epidemiology at the social-environment-health nexus, in the context of global environmental change. Our group’s current research focus involves working with intersectoral partners to respond to the grand challenge of developing an evidence base for policies, interventions and actions needed to moderate future climate change impacts on health outcomes around the world.

P: 780-492-7766
E: sherilee.harper@ualberta.ca
W: www.climatechangeandglobalhealth.com

Climate Health and Environment Epidemiology Research Group

The Climate Health and Environment Epidemiology Research (CHEER) Group is a cross-disciplinary team of faculty, postdoctoral fellow, doctoral, master’s, and undergraduate students at the University of Alberta. Dr. Shelby Yamamoto, assistant professor at the School of Public Health, leads the research group. Our research focuses on climate change, air pollution, psychosocial health and their corresponding impacts on vulnerable populations.

P: 780-492-0331
E: shelby.yamamoto@ualberta.ca
W: https://www.environmentalhealthresearch.ca

Collaborative Applied Research for Equity in Health Policy and Systems (CARE)

CARE is an applied health policy and systems research program that tackles complex public health priorities and health system challenges. Led by Dr. Stephanie Montesanti from the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health, the CARE team works in collaboration with policy and decision-makers, practitioners and communities to support evidence-informed decisions and applied interventions that improve health and health equity. We apply qualitative and quantitative methods, equity-focused policy research and analysis, systems thinking and implementation science approaches to our research. At the core of our research projects is the engagement of citizens, patients and their families, communities and practitioners to ensure that the outcomes of the research are responsive to their needs and values.

P: 780-492-6013
E: montesan@ualberta.ca
W: https://www.careresearchlab.ca

Environmental Health Sciences Group

Environmental Health Sciences (EHS) is devoted to protecting and improving the health of human populations by characterizing and limiting their exposure to chemical, biological and physical hazards in the environment. This involves interdisciplinary knowledge from both the basic and applied chemical and biological sciences to develop assessment and management strategies.

P: 780-492-8502
E: nfneuman@ualberta.ca

Epidemiological Methods for Equity Research to Generate Evidence Lab

The Epidemiological Methods for Equity Research to Generate Evidence (EMERGE) lab conducts research on how various aspects of our social and economic environments impact our health.

P: 780-492-8608
E: emerge@ualberta.ca
W: https://www.emergeresearchlab.com

Evaluation Capacity Network

A network of community partners, practitioners, researchers and funders who serve the early childhood community through community-driven, culturally responsive, action-oriented and equity-based evaluation capacity building opportunities, activities and resources.

W. https://www.evaluationcapacitynetwork.com/
E: ecninfo@ualberta.ca
Twitter: @eval_ecn

Health Technology and Policy Unit

The Health Technology and Policy Unit (HTPU) is creating knowledge to support fair, evidence-informed decision making around the introduction and use of health technologies in Canada.

P: 780-492-4791
E: tanias@ualberta.ca

Human-Environment-Animal Transdisciplinary Antimicrobial Resistance Research Group

The Human-Environment-Animal Transdisciplinary Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Research Group conducts research on the One Health epidemiology of AMR at the intersection of human, environmental and animal health.

The core focus of HEAT-AMR is to develop an evidence base to inform policies, interventions and actions that utilize a One Health approach to tackle AMR.

W: heat-amr.com

Inner City Health and Wellness Program

Our research program is dedicated to improving health and social outcomes for structurally vulnerable populations, including people who use substances and those experiencing unstable housing or homelessness.

A collaboration between the University of Alberta and other partners, ICHWP is housed at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, Canada. We have deliberately co-located researchers, educators and clinicians to ensure that our activities are both integrated and meaningful. We regularly engage with community partners in order to respond appropriately and efficiently to community needs.


P: 780-613-5022
E: contact@ichwp.ca
W: www.ichwp.ca

Policy Location and Access in Community Environments Lab

In the PLACE Research Lab, we think of "place" as the community environment that results from the interplay of the built (or physical), social, political and natural environments. A community environment interacts with an individual’s characteristics and circumstances to determine their health. Where a person lives, when and how they access the things they need in their daily life and the policies that underpin society and the economy all matter for a person’s health. Therefore, understanding the relationships between people, policy and place through a systems lens is essential to promote health and wellbeing and prevent chronic diseases.

P: 780-492-4109
E: placeresearchlab@ualberta.ca
W: http://placeresearchlab.com/

Population Health Intervention Research Unit

The Population Health Intervention Research Unit (PHIRU) conducts research related to nutrition, lifestyle, socio-economic factors and intervention programs to influence new health policies and programs for chronic disease prevention.

P: 780-492-2565
E: paul.veugelers@ualberta.ca

Return on Investment for Kids' Health

In an effort to curtail the growing issue of overweight and obesity among Canadian children, schools have been the setting of choice for health-promoting strategies. While the need for effective child health promotion programs and policies is well recognized, details on the implementation and cost-effectiveness of different policies and programs are still unclear.

The Return on Investment for Kids' Health (ROI4Kids) group aims to evaluate and improve school health programs, estimate program and avoided healthcare costs, explore broader academic and health benefits, as well as understand how to optimize program implementation.

P: 780-248-1863
E: roi.4.kids@ualberta.ca
W: https://roi4kids.com

SIRCLE (Settings-based Intervention Research through Changes in Lifestyles & Environments) Research Lab

The purpose of the SIRCLE Research Lab is to advance and mobilize knowledge in the area of school health. SIRCLE delivers and evaluates school- and community-based healthy living programs throughout Canada that promote holistic health, prevent chronic diseases and reduce health inequities. 

P: 780-492-9609
E: sircle@ualberta.ca
W: www.katestorey.com

Swimmer's Itch Team

In partnership with Alberta Health Services, the Swimmer's Itch Team is working to provide updated and detailed information on swimmer's itch outbreaks for visitors and residents of Alberta and across Canada.

E: info@swimmersitch.ca
W: http://swimmersitch.ca/

The Alberta Patient Reported Outcome Measures and EQ-5D Research and Support Unit

The Alberta Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and EQ-5D Research and Support Unit-known as APERSU-is an intermediary office that connects the EuroQol Foundation with non-commercial users of EQ-5D instruments and other patient-reported outcome measures in Alberta. This unit secures licensing for the use of EQ-5D instruments and supports research and use of other PROMs in the province.

780-248-1010
E: apersu@ualberta.ca
W: apersu.ca