Meet our team by clicking on the icons or photos below:

Climate Change & Global Health Research Group Leader

Sherilee L. Harper

Sherilee L. Harper is a Canada Research Chair in Climate Change and Health and Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta.  Her research investigates associations between weather, environment, and public health in the context of climate change, and she collaborates with partners across sectors to prioritise climate-related health actions, planning, interventions, and research. 

She is a Lead Author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC); Lead Author on the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6-WG2); served on the Gender Task Group for the IPCC; and serves on the Editorial Board of Epidemiology and Infection, PLOS Climate, and Frontiers in Climate.

Research Staff

Graduate Students

Undergraduate Students

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Team Member Biographies

Breanne Aylward

PhD Student | 2020 - Present

Breanne completed a Bachelor of Science at the University of Alberta in 2015, majoring in biological sciences. She completed a Master of Science in Health Promotion and Socio-behavioural Sciences at the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health in 2020. Working under the supervision of Dr. Kim Raine, her MSc thesis research explored how communities in Alberta were engaged in creating and acting on recommendations for health-promoting food environments. This project reinforced Breanne’s interest in the social and environmental determinants of human health, as well as community-based participatory approaches to research. As a PhD student with Drs. Sherilee Harper and Ashlee Cunsolo, Breanne will explore the mental health impacts of climate change.

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Madison Cooper

MSc Candidate, Health Promotion and Socio-behavioural Sciences
2020 - present

Madison is a Master's student at the University of Alberta, pursuing an MSc in Health Promotion and Socio-behavioural Sciences. Her research interest is in climate change and mental health. She completed her undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies at Laurentian University, where she began research on how "ecological grief," the grief felt in relation to real or anticipated loss, manifests in the post-secondary classroom. Under the supervision of Drs. Sherilee Harper and Ashlee Cunsolo, Madison's research will examine how the incidence, prevalence, and distribution of climate-sensitive mental health outcomes, including ecological grief, are affecting youth across the country.

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Marina Banuet Martínez, MSc

PhD Student
2020 - present

Marina is a PhD candidate in Public Health - Epidemiology at the University of Alberta. She completed a BSc in microbiology and a MSc in molecular biology in Mexico. Her research focuses on the impacts of environmental variations on the health status of different populations. She is particularly interested in exploring the health-disease dynamics in populations inequitably impacted by climate change from a One Health perspective. Marina is also interested in knowledge mobilization, particularly using photography to connect science and local knowledge. She currently works in partnership with fishing communities in Mexico to understand the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on the fisher’s health and well-being. She is a yoga, sports and outdoors enthusiast, constantly seeking to expand her knowledge and experience.

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Amy Caughey, RD 

PhD Student, Public Health  
2017 - present

Amy is a registered dietitian who has spent over 15 years living and working in Nunavut.  Amy’s work has centered on public health and clinical nutrition with Inuit communities, where she has been involved with a range of initiatives related to food security, Inuit traditional food, diabetes education, pediatric nutrition, and zoonotic disease & food safety in the Arctic.  She has worked with – and learned from - community health representatives (CHRs), Elders, hunters, families, communities, researchers, health workers, governments and Inuit organizations across Nunavut. Amy completed undergraduate studies the University of Guelph, and holds a Master of Science in Human Nutrition and Metabolism from the University of Aberdeen (Scotland).  Amy lives in Iqaluit with her family.

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Hannah Bayne

Msc, epidemiology
2023-Present

Hannah is an MSc Epidemiology student with the Climate Change and Global Health Research Group at the University of Alberta. She completed her Bachelor of Science in 2023 with a Psychology major, a Music minor, and a Research Certificate in Psychology. The daughter of an ecologist and a psychologist, Hannah has always been passionate about climate change and mental health. She is now combining these passions with her interests in public health and music for her MSc research under the supervision of Drs. Sherilee Harper and Ashlee Cunsolo. Her research focuses on using music as a climate adaptation strategy, specifically focusing on the link between collective music-making and psychosocial well-being. Hannah is a passionate advocate for knowledge mobilization and has worked in science and climate change communication throughout her undergraduate and graduate studies. She is currently working with the lab’s outreach team on delivering climate change and health lessons to elementary and high school students. Outside of her studies, Hannah enjoys volunteering with Girl Guides of Canada, WISEST, and Climate Justice Edmonton, spending time outdoors, playing the flute, and reading.

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Stephanie Gerend

MSc Epidemiology 2022 - Present

Steph is an MSc Epidemiology student in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. She completed her Bachelor of Science Honours in 2022 at the University of Guelph with a major in Biomedical Science. During her undergraduate degree, Steph developed a special interest in One Health, and the relationship between environmental and human health, specifically in the context of climate change. Under the supervision of Drs. Sherilee Harper and Amy Caughey, Steph’s research focuses on the intersection of human health, food sovereignty, climate change, and Inuit health and well-being in Nunavut. Outside of her studies, Steph enjoys volunteering with Canadian Ski Patrol, anything winter sport-related, and exploring sights with her film camera.

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Stephanie Olsen

Master of arts in community engagement 2022 - Present

Stephanie Olsen (she/her) is a Masters student in the Master of Arts in Community Engagement program at the University of Alberta. Under the supervision of Dr. Sherilee Harper and Dr. Ashlee Cunsolso, Stephanie’s research investigates the mental health impacts of climate change in Alberta, and the power of collective spaces for honouring ecological grief and other difficult climate emotions. Stephanie is also a facilitator with Refugia, an Alberta organization that provides workshops and retreats on ecological grief, eco-anxiety, and the emotional impacts of living during times of planetary crisis.

Stephanie is grateful to live, love, work and play in amiskwaciwâskahikan, Treaty 6 territory (Edmonton, AB). 

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