Tim K. Takaro

Dr. Takaro is a physician-scientist, Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Planetary Health Lead in the School of Medicine at Simon Fraser University. He was trained in occupational and environmental medicine, public health and toxicology, at Yale, the University of North Carolina and University of Washington. Dr. Takaro’s research is primarily about the links between human exposures and disease, and determining effective public health based preventive solutions to such risks.

Planetary change poses complex problems for public health that demand an interdisciplinary approach both in research and action. In this vein, Takaro founded the Planetary Health Research group at SFU and was a lead author of the Health Canada 2022 report, Health of Canadians in a Changing Climate: Advancing Knowledge for Action. He is the Regional Co-Vice-President for North America for the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. His current research program explores the impacts of resource extraction on human and planetary health. With immense gratitude to the First Peoples, he is beginning to use Indigenous knowledge to relearn environmental health as he tests different interventions in climate action and planet protection.