Dr Isabelle Couloigner

The TCC-3W (Tick-borne and Climate Change - 3 West) project is a One Health initiative that is funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada. The project aims to improve the evidence base and response capacity to address the impacts of climate change on tick-borne diseases in Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan. As climate change begins to influence ecosystems around the world there are increased risks that certain types of ticks may become more abundant or migrate into new regions and carry pathogens along with them that negatively impact humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. The primary goals of the project are to: 1) improve surveillance of ticks and tick borne diseases; 2) develop data models to explore the potential impact of climate on tick distribution and abundance and the occurrence of tick borne diseases; and 3) to enhance communication and collaboration across disciplines, agencies, and stakeholders in Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan. This is a 3 year project and is led by the BC Centre for Disease Control in partnership with ten other organizations across Canada, like University of Calgary Veterinary Medicine (UCVM).

http://www.bccdc.ca/our-services/programs/tick-borne-diseases-and-climate-change

The UCVM research group led by Dr. Susan Cork is a member of the modelling group.

The GAP project (Geospatial Assessment of Variability Project) group at the University of Calgary is led by Dr. Stefania Bertazzon, dept. of geography, in collaboration with Alberta Environment and Parks.

The objective of the project is to characterize and assess natural variability and changes of physical landscape as well as industrial and anthropogenic indicators of potential environmental stress in the Oil Sands Area of Alberta.