PEOPLE

Anaïs is passionate about climate justice and how to foster better communication between citizens and their governments to build more inclusive climate futures. Her research interests lie at the intersection of arts education, environmental humanities, sustainability, and Indigenous-settler relationships in Canada.

She recently graduated from Cambridge University with an MPhil degree in Arts, Creativities, and Education, where she investigated how arts education can help adolescents manage eco-anxiety and climate-related emotions. She is currently pursuing a MA degree at UBC in Resources, Environment, and Sustainability under the supervision of Dr. Gunilla Öberg. Her research explores what emotions are tied to the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in Canada and how educators can harness these emotions to promote decolonial learning in government employees.

Salma is pursuing an M.Sc. in Resources, Environment, and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia. She holds a B.Sc. in Environmental Health and Safety from Abu Dhabi University, UAE.

Passionate about sustainable practices, policies and environmental health, Salma’s undergraduate journey was marked by numerous academic accolades and impactful research contributions in waste management and its societal implications. Building on this strong foundation, she aspires to drive meaningful change through the implication of transparent and effective environmental policies to minimize the harmful impacts of chemicals on environmental health.

Currently, Salma is studying the ongoing debates surrounding the management and regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals.” She is particularly interested in leveraging regulatory frameworks to minimize PFAS chemicals’ adverse impacts on both human and environmental health.

Josh is an MA student at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES) and is supervised by Professor Gunilla Öberg. His research focuses on the impact of a circular economy on risks related to plastics. His thesis involves understanding if the use of formal risk assessment to control exposure to toxicants in plastics is seen as an efficient tool to make recycling and reuse of plastics sufficiently safe.

Josh holds a Bachelor of Arts from Queen’s University with a major in Global Development and a minor in Environmental Studies. During his undergrad, Josh focused on the intersection of development and environmental issues, with a specific interest in how these issues are co-creating. Beyond research, Josh is an avid rock climber and spends most of his free time active outdoors.

Jerry, a sessional lecturer at the department of EOAS at UBC,  holds a BSc. in Environmental Science from Kenyatta University, a MSc. in Environmental Engineering from Korea University and a PhD from IRES at UBC. During his master’s study, he was broadly involved in research related to emerging organic micropollutants in freshwater systems: occurrence, toxicity, toxicokinetic effect estimation, and degradation. Jerry has always been passionate about research entwining toxic chemicals, human health, alternative to animal testing approaches (e.g., computation in silico toxicology methods), and chemical regulation, so it was an easy decision to progress to pursue his Ph.D. about uncertainty in chemical toxicity-assessments. 

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With an undergraduate degree in Biotechnology from Polytechnic University of Madrid, Sofía is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Science, Business, and Innovation at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Passionate about Science and Environmental Policy, Sofía is enthusiastic about undertaking her master’s thesis project at the Egesta Lab under the supervision of Gunilla Öberg. This project focuses on developing a Conflicts of Interest Policy for the prospective United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on the management of chemicals and waste and the prevention of pollution. She is an advocate for the belief that politics, dialogue, and knowledge are the drivers towards a healthier Planet and society.