Climate & Health Trainee Research

Talk Title: Sex-Specific Associations of Short-Term Environmental Exposures With Utilization of Medical Imaging in the Emergency Department

Bio: Dr. Chloe DesRoche is a radiology resident at Queen’s University. She previously completed her MSc. in computer science and MD Queen’s University. She is the Queen’s Dept. of Diagnostic Radiology Planetary Health Committee lead and has published multiple articles on environmental sustainability in radiology and interventional radiology.

Talk Title: Sex-Specific Associations of Long-Term Air Pollution Exposure With Coronary Artery Stenosis on Cardiac CT

Bio: Dr. Felipe Castillo is a Radiologist, Cardiothoracic imaging fellow at the Joint Department of Medical Imaging, University Health Network (UHN), University of Toronto. Clinical and research interests include advanced cardiac CT and MRI techniques, and the impact of environmental exposures on cardiovascular health.

Talk Title: Projections of Future Heat-Related Emergency Medical Imaging Under Climate Change Scenarios

Bio: Eray Yilmaz is a third-year medical student at the University of Western Ontario. Last year, he intercalated his medical degree with an MSc Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. His thesis explores the intersection of radiology and climate change, quantifying how climate-driven increases in heat will increase the need for emergency medical imaging.

Talk Title: Systematic Review of Gendered Impacts of Extreme Climate Events on Women Living in Poverty

Bio: Mariam Farooq is a Research Analyst at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), contributing to the Canadian Poverty, Health Equity, and Climate Change Initiative (CPHECC) led by Dr. Sean Kidd. She is currently a first-year medical student at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Prior to this, she completed her Master of Public Health at the University of Toronto and her Bachelor’s degree in Health Studies at Queen’s University. Mariam is passionate about bridging her public health expertise with clinical practice to advocate for stronger health outcomes and equity-focused policies, especially for underserved communities.

Talk Title: The Effects of Exposure to Air Pollution on Obesity and Visceral Fat Measured by Imaging Techniques: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Bio: Dr. Mehnaz Munir is a physician and recent PhD graduate in Global Health from McMaster University. Her research focuses on the impact of air pollution on obesity and visceral fat, reflecting her broader interest in the environmental determinants of chronic disease. With over six years of experience in public health, she has contributed to interdisciplinary projects in chronic disease prevention, regulatory policy, and health equity. Her work bridges climate, health, and public policy, with a strong commitment to advancing evidence-based and equitable healthcare.

Talk Title: Extreme Temperatures and Child Well-Being: Evidence from Pakistan

Bio: Dr. Salima Kerai is an interdisciplinary Public Health Researcher and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Canada. With a foundation in Nursing and a PhD in Population and Public Health from the University of British Columbia, she brings over ten years of experience from clinical, community, and academic settings in Pakistan and Canada. Her research, which sits at the intersection of health and social sciences, is driven by a passion for advancing child well-being and tackling global health inequities. Crucially, her current postdoctoral research focuses on the impact of climate-related extreme weather events on developmental and educational outcomes in children in low- and middle-income countries, generating vital evidence to inform policy and program initiatives for protecting vulnerable children worldwide.

Talk Title: Environmental Impacts of Recommended Diets for Cardiometabolic Health: A Canadian Perspective

Bio: Sarah Jarvis is a PhD candidate in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine, with a Collaborative Specialization in Climate and Health through the School of the Environment. Her research focuses on the intersection of population and planetary health through the lens of nutrition. Under the supervision of Dr. Vasanti Malik, she is developing a Canadian database to evaluate the health and environmental impacts of foods using life cycle assessment (LCA). She also explores strategies to promote healthful, sustainable diets. Sarah is a Graduate Fellow at the Collaborative Centre for Climate, Health & Sustainable Care and an alum of its 2024-2025 Student Training Program.

Bio: Dr. Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia, PhD, is an occupational therapist and assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science, where he also holds the inaugural Emily Geldsaler Grant Early Career Professorship in Workplace Mental Health. Through an occupational lens, his research program is a systematic study of occupations in the areas of work disability prevention, return to work, and disability management. This approach is designed to produce results directly applicable to identify and assess risk and to develop interventions for preventing or improving high-risk behaviours in the workplace. Dr. Nowrouzi-Kia’s work is motivated by efforts in the field of work disability prevention that extends beyond the efforts to prevent or cure diseases from a purely physical perspective, towards more holistic approaches.