UBC experts on wildfires, heat and associated issues

UBC experts are available to comment on wildfires, heat and associated issues.

Climate change, forests and wildfires

Dr. Lori Daniels
Professor, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences
Email: lori.daniels@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Wildfires and wildfire management
• Forest fires, past and present
• Impacts of climate change on forests

*unavailable July 13-23

Dr. Greg Garrard (he/him)
Professor, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies
Tel: 250-863-2822
Email: greg.garrard@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Environmental literature
• Culture and climate change (including skepticism)
• Cultural ecology of wildfire
• Political polarization

Dr. John Innes
Professor, Faculty of Forestry
Tel: 604-603-5916
Interview language(s): English

• Climate change and wildfires, boreal forests, forest management

Climate change and heat

Dr. Rachel H. White (she/her)
Assistant Professor, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Email: rwhite@eoas.ubc.ca
Tel: 604-230-3504
Interview language(s): English

• Climate change, atmospheric circulation and heat waves, B.C.’s forecast for the summer

*unavailable July 14-20

Disaster planning and response

Dr. Werner Antweiler
Associate Professor, Sauder School of Business
Email: werner.antweiler@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, German

• Economic costs of wildfires including higher insurance costs

Dr. Michael Hooper (he/him)
Associate Professor, School of Community and Regional Planning
Email: michael.hooper@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Disaster response, rebuilding, cities and risk, disaster planning and governance

*away for much of July

Dr. Sara Shneiderman (she/her)
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
Email: sara.shneiderman@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Social elements of disaster preparedness and response
• Disaster governance

Dr. Babak Mohamadpour Tosarkani
Assistant Professor, UBCO School of Engineering
Tel: 647-551-7732
Email: babak.tosarkani@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Emergency supply chain preparedness

Fire behaviour and fire management

Jen Baron (she/her)
PhD Candidate, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences
Email: jenbaron@mail.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Wildfire ecology and management, past and present
• Forest fire behaviour, fire risk and fuel treatments
• Climate change impacts on wildfires

Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais
Assistant Professor, Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences
Email: Mathieu.Bourbonnais@ubc.ca
Tel: 778-583-0272
Interview language(s): English, written French

• Wildfire risk and fire suppression and mitigation
• Firefighting and use of satellites for wildfire detection and monitoring

Dr. Kelsey Copes-Gerbitz (she/her)
Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences
Tel: 604-363-9863
Email: kelsey.copes-gerbitz@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Proactive wildfire management, coexisting with wildfires, sharing responsibility for wildfire management
• Community wildfire resilience
• Historical fires and wildfire management

Dr. Kevin Hanna
Associate Professor, Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences
Tel: 250-807-9265
Email: kevin.hanna@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Vulnerable infrastructure
• Risk and disaster assessment wildfire management and policy
• Climate change and risk events

Dr. Kira Hoffman
Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Forestry
Tel: 250-876-8440
Email: kira.hoffman@bvcentre.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Fire behaviour, pyrodiversity and prescribed burning

Dr. Dwayne Tannant
Professor, School of Engineering
Tel: 604-801-4301
Email: dwayne.tannant@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Landslides, rockfalls
• Below debris field flood mitigation
• Post-wildfire debris flow mitigation

Health impacts of wildfires, heat and extreme conditions

Dr. Philip Ainslie
Professor, School of Health and Exercise Sciences
Tel: 250-878-6171
Email: philip.ainslie@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Heat, pollution and their isolated and combined influence on physiology and health
• Effect of temperature and oxygen availability on physiology, pathology and performance
• Acclimatization, adaptation and maladaptation to environmental stress

Dr. Jennifer Baumbusch (she/her)
Professor, School of Nursing
Email: jennifer.baumbusch@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Protecting seniors and other vulnerable people from extreme heat

Dr. Michael Brauer
Professor, School of Population and Public Health
Email: michael.brauer@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Health effects of extreme heat, approaches to minimize impacts
• Air quality and health impacts from smoke
• How to minimize exposure to smoke

Dr. Emily Brigham
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
Email: emily.brigham@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Lung health, asthma and COPD, pollutant exposures from wildfires, co-exposure with heat

Dr. Christopher Carlsten
Physician; Professor and Head of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine
Tel: 604-839-1561
Email: christopher.carlsten@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Adverse health effects related to heat, smoke, ozone and allergens
• How heat, smoke, ozone and allergens are climate-change related

Dr. Wendy Hall (she/her)
Professor Emeritus, School of Nursing
Email: wendy.hall@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Effects of heat on sleep
• Promoting good sleep, particularly for children

Dr. Sarah Henderson
Associate Professor, School of Population and Public Health
Tel: 604-910-9144
Email: sarah.henderson@bccdc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Health impacts of wildfire smoke and extreme heat and ways to protect health

Dr. Mary-Ann Murphy
Associate Professor, School of Social Work and the Department of Sociology
Tel: 250-807-8705
Email: mary-ann.murphy@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Dealing with the emotional trauma of wildfires
• Lessons from evacuees
• What to pack when evacuating
• Caring for seniors in extreme heat

Dr. Michael Schwandt
Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Population and Public Health; Medical Health Officer, Vancouver Coastal Health
Email: michael.schwandt@vch.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Health impacts of wildfire smoke
• Community and personal actions for health protection

Dr. Angela Yao
Adjunct Professor, School of Population and Public Health
Email: angela.yao@bccdc.ca
Interview language(s): English, Mandarin, Cantonese

• Health impacts of wildfire smoke

Urban impacts of fire and heat

Dr. Melissa McHale (she/her)
Associate Professor, Department of Forest Resources Management
Email: melissa.mchale@ubc.ca
Tel: 604–827–3150
Interview language(s): English

• Urban heating and urban heat mitigation, urban ecology, sustainability and carbon cycle

Wildlife and ecosystem impacts of fire and heat

Dr. William Cheung
Professor and Director, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Email: w.cheung@oceans.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, Cantonese

• Warming seas
• Effects of extreme heat on marine life
• Impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems and dependent human communities
• Climate solutions for the ocean and fisheries
• Biodiversity

Dr. Sarah Dickson-Hoyle (she/her)
Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences
Email: sarah.dickson-hoyle@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Wildfire recovery
• Ecological impacts of wildfires
• Community wildfire resilience and proactive approaches

Dr. Karen Hodges (she/her)
Professor, UBC Okanagan Department of Biology
Tel: 250-807-8763
Email: karen.hodges@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Post-fire habitats
• Wildlife impacts from heat, drought and fire
• Salvage logging and impacts on wildlife

Dr. Alison McAfee
Postdoctoral Fellow, Michael Smith Laboratories and North Carolina State University
Tel: 778-995-2151
Email: alison.n.mcafee@gmail.com
Interview language(s): English

• Honey bee biology and fertility
• Impact of high temperatures on bee fertility and survival

Dr. Matthew Mitchell (he/him)
Research Associate, Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Tel: 778-580-8222
Email: matthew.mitchell@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Biodiversity, smoke/pollutant impacts on animal activity, ecosystem services

*unavailable until Sept. 5

Dr. David Scott
Associate Professor, Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences
Email: david.scott@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

• Effects of wildfire on hydrology and erosion
• Evaluation of fire site rehabilitation methods in terms of controlling erosion and sedimentation

Note: Dr. Scott is only available for interviews via email