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FORMER TEAM MEMBERS

Anita Blackstaffe

MA sociology, BA (Dist) sociology

Anita has been working as a statistical associate on various projects at the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine since 2006, and specifically with the Built Environment and Healthy Living Lab since 2015. Within the team, she uses her expertise in quantitative research methods and statistical modelling to provide data management and statistical support for multiple projects. Anita holds a Master's degree in Sociology, where she focused on quantitative methods, social statistics, children's academic outcomes, and the school environment. Her research interests include the built environment, schools, children's mental health, and public policy.

Anita Blackstaffe

Anna Consoli

MSc population/public health, MEd, BA (Hons) psychology, BA education

Anna has a Masters in population/public health from the University of Calgary through which she is examined the role of the built environment on the effectiveness of a physical activity intervention among inactive Canadian adults. In addition to her research interests, Anna is also interested in social marketing and social entrepreneurship. Through workshops, lectures and personal readings, Anna is learning about the use of marketing to design and implement programs that promote behavior change. Anna is also involved in programs related to communication and data visualization. She is currently learning about different strategies that can be used to deliver messages and information in an engaging and effective way.

Anna Consoli

Calli Naish

MA Student communications, BAS biology and anthropology

Calli has supported the Built Environment and Healthy Living Lab by disseminating information from completed research projects through the development of evidence-based infographics and managing digital content, as well as conducting qualitative research. She is currently completing her MA in communications at the University of Calgary with a focus on science communications. Calli is passionate about sharing science stories and her previous science communication roles include working with local science non-profits to engage online audiences with science content.

Calli Naish

Chelsea Christie

PhD epidemiology, MA psychology, BA (Hons) psychology 

Chelsea has a PhD in epidemiology through the University of Calgary, through which she explored the links between the built environment and physical activity. Chelsea’s research capitalizes on residential relocation studies to address the issue of residential self-selection. Her work also considers the relationship between the built environment and physical activity with regards to a person’s socioeconomic status and understanding how equitable the built-environment-physical activity relationship is. Chelsea previously studied social influences on dietary choices during her Master’s in health psychology from the University of British Columbia. In her free time, she also serves as the Research and Advocacy Chair of the Calgary Chapter of Obesity Canada and coaches recreational circus classes.

Chelsea Christie

Dalia Ghoneim

MPH social policy, BSc (Dist) kinesiology, CSEP-CEP


Dalia coordinated various Built Environment and Healthy Living Lab projects. Her roles included participant recruitment, data collection and analysis as well as infographics to promote completed research projects. She holds a Masters in Public Health majoring in Social Policy from the University of Victoria, as well as Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Calgary. Dalia is also a Certified Exercise Physiologist and is passionate about promoting healthy lifestyles at the population level to provide everyone with the opportunity to receive benefits from physical activity.

Dalia Ghoneim

Jennie Petersen

PhD health science, MSc public health, BKin

Jennie coordinated several projects within the Built Environment and Healthy Living Lab. Her research interests include physical activity, population health, community development, the built environment, program evaluation, and qualitative research methodologies. Jennie is passionate about supporting the integration of research into practice to help address complex health and social problems. She holds a Master’s degree and a Bachelor of Kinesiology from the University of Calgary, and a PhD from Brock University focused on investigating the pedagogical factors that influence youth physical activity participation in a recreation context.

Jennie Petersen

Liam Turley

BGIS, BA anthropology

Liam has provided Geographic Information Systems (GIS) research support for several Built Environment and Healthy Living Lab projects. He holds both a Bachelor of Applied Technology in GIS from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Mount Royal University. Liam joined the research team in 2017 as a Research Assistant fulfilling his practicum requirements for SAIT. During his spare time, Liam contributes to Google Maps and furthers his education through continuing education courses in the fields of Python programming and relational database design.

Liam Turley

Michelle Patterson

MSc kinesiology, MA psychology

Michelle worked on a systematic review with the Built Environment and Healthy Living Lab. She holds a Master's degree in Science in the Faculty of Kinesiology, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, both from the University of Calgary. In her spare time Michelle enjoys golfing, skiing, and coaching field hockey.

Michelle Patterson

Ryan Lukic

MSc epidemiology, BHSc (Hons) health and society

Ryan completed a Masters in epidemiology through the University of Calgary. His research concerns the relationships between the built environment and sleep in adults. Currently, he is investigating the impact of neighbourhood street pattern and socioeconomic status on sleep duration in adults residing in Calgary. Ryan also completed his Bachelors in health sciences from the University of Calgary where he analyzed public policies that addressed household food insecurity. He became interested in the relationships between the built environment and health after taking continuing education courses in urban design following his undergraduate degree.

Ryan Lukic

Vikram Nichani

PhD community health, MSc environmental health science, MBBS

Vikram is a former post-doctoral fellow at the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Community health Sciences. His work focused on the relationship between built environment characteristics, physical activity, and weight-related outcomes in Albertan adults. Prior to beginning his work at the University of Calgary, Vikram completed his PhD at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, where he concentrated on determining the associations between green space and outcomes of physical activity, birth weight/gestational age, and depression among pregnant women residing in New Zealand. Prior to commencing his PhD, Vikram worked as a general physician in India.

Vikram Nichani
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