Canadian Public Health Week 2024

April 8^th to 12^th is Canadian Public Health Week. The O'Brien Institute celebrates this annual event that highlights the significance of public health and its role in enhancing our health and well-being. To mark the occasion, we are highlighting some of our members who are carrying out innovative research and making commendable contributions towards our shared commitment to advance public health through research excellence. 

This week, and always, we recognize the efforts of individuals, researchers, policy makers, community and public health organizations and all other public health heroes who continue to remind us that #PublicHealthMatters.

Learn more about some of O'Brien Institute's public health heroes below.

Dr. Michael Parkins, MD

Professor, Department of Medicine

Dr. Michael Parkins, MD, is an infectious disease specialist and a professor at the Cumming School of Medicine. He is a founding member of a wastewater surveillance team that monitored wastewater in Alberta for SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Parkins and his team have since shifted their focus from monitoring wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 to monitoring wastewater for “toxic agents that are added to illicit substances during their processing.” Dr. Parkins’ work with his team is incredibly important because it focuses on tackling a growing public health concern: substance use and drug poisoning. According to Dr. Parkins, this project has the “potential to provide warning information to healthcare workers, policymakers and ultimately substance users about the changing nature of the drug supply."

Today, we celebrate Dr. Parkins and his team for their remarkable contributions to advancing public health.

Dr. Miranda Fidler-Benaoudia, PhD

Adjunct Associate Professor, Departments of Oncology and Community Health Sciences

Dr. Miranda Fidler-Benaoudia, PhD, is a clinical and descriptive cancer epidemiologist in the Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Research at Alberta Health Services, and adjunct assistant professor at the University of Calgary. Her research focuses primarily on describing the burden of childhood, adolescent and young adult cancers and evaluating their related late effects. 

One of her current research projects, for which she is the principal investigator, is Adolescents and Young Adults becoming Physically Active after Cancer Trial (AYA-PACT). This study aims to investigate how a mobile health (mHealth) physical activity intervention helps to support a healthy lifestyle for adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors. The study will also examine the effects of physical activity on sedentary and sleep behaviours, physical fitness, frailty and psychosocial health along with exploring barriers and facilitators of physical activity in AYA cancer survivors.

Dr. Fidler-Benaoudia continues to do commendable work in cancer research, and we celebrate her this Canadian Public Health Week.

Dr. Stephen Freedman, MD

Professor, Departments of Paediatrics and Emergency Medicine

Dr. Stephen Freedman, MD, is a pediatric emergency medicine physician at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at the Cumming School of Medicine. Dr. Freedman has a study underway that is investigating a treatment protocol for shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) in children. Dr. Freedman has been working to understand and raise awareness about the long-term effects of STEC in children. During the E. coli outbreak in Calgary, he was on the front lines treating some of the children involved in the outbreak. Dr Freedman was also vocal during the outbreak, where he published a review to bring information to clinicians and the public to raise awareness and educate about the disease.

Today, we recognize Dr. Freedman’s efforts in advancing public health.

Dr. Carolyn Emery, PhD

Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology

Dr. Carolyn Emery, PhD, is a renowned physiotherapist and epidemiologist whose research focuses on injury prevention and concussion in youth sport and recreation and pediatric rehabilitation. Dr. Emery chairs the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre at the University of Calgary, where she leads a team of researchers dedicated to eliminating injuries and their consequences that prevent youth from participating in lifelong sport and recreational activities. Additionally, she serves as a co-lead for the university’s Integrated Concussion Research Program and co-chairs the Canadian Concussion Network, among other appointments. Injuries are the leading cause of disability in youth and one in three Canadian youth sustain a sport-related injury annually. Through novel, effective, and sustainable evidence-informed injury- and concussion-prevention solutions, Dr. Emery’s research continues to reduce the burden of injuries on Canadian youth.

In the summer of 2023, Dr. Emery took her expertise to the United Kingdom, where she helped to create and lead the launch of the United Kingdom Concussion Prevention Network, in collaboration with the Edinburgh-Bath International Olympic Committee Research Centre. Dr. Emery’s work on injury prevention and concussion among youth has not only been adopted to advance public health in Canada, but internationally as well. Today we celebrate her for continuing to advance public health.

Dr. John Conly, MD, Professor, Department of Medicine

Dr. Herman Barkema, DVM, PhD, Professor, Department of Community Health Sciences

Dr. John Conly and Dr. Herman Barkema are two of many researchers working on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in humans and animals. Dr. John Conly, MD, a professor and infectious disease specialist, led a team of researchers who facilitated the development of an app that provides quick access to expert guidance that simplifies the appropriate prescription of antimicrobial medicine. The Firstline app provides physicians and veterinarians with expert knowledge that they can use to make the best treatment decisions to prevent AMR. 

Dr. Herman Barkema, DVM, PhD, is the director of the AMR-One Health Consortium (AMR-OHC) at the University of Calgary. The AMR-OHC provided a grant to support the co-creation of the Firstline veterinary antimicrobial stewardship initiative. This initiative created an app called Firstline – Clinical Decisions veterinary app that optimizes the prescription of antibiotics by veterinarians for a wide range of species. 

The Firstline app is used in over 400 hospitals in 13 countries to provide expert guidance to physicians and veterinarians to curb AMR.

AMR is a leading global health challenge, and the work by Dr. Conly, Dr. Barkema and their collaborators has contributed to combating this public health issue. Today we commend their efforts and celebrate their achievements in advancing public health.