Health and Medical Geography

Hi HMGSG Community,

I am excited to share the 2022 HMGSG newsletter (please see attached link). 

Many thanks to our members for contributing material and making this a fascinating read! You will find many intriguing sections, including the HMGSG-sponsored sessions at AAG, awards & honors, recent publications, and more. 

Special thanks for Shamayeta Bhattacharya (student board member; UConn) for putting the newsletter together!

Enjoy,

Michael 
HMGSG Chair

On behalf of HMGSG, I am excited to announce our second set of talks part of our Speaker Series. Please join us on Tuesday, November 9th at 2pm EST.  We will hear from Dr. Michael Widener (University of Toronto) and Xiang “Peter” Chen (University of Connecticut).  You can register in the following link: unc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WqNpb5IrRGmlitt2pHT4gw

This seminar series examines the different applications of medical geography using Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods.

We have two presentations titled:
1) What can geography contribute to our understanding of health and wellbeing?
2) Spatial autologistic model to predict the presence of arsenic in private wells across Gaston County.

We will introduce and discuss the principles, methodologies, and applications of medical and health geography. This seminar will take place on Tuesday, October 5th at 12pm EST. Please register in the following link: https://unc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_J-wQhyj2QqugjEDHNKFBzA

Peter Gould Student Paper Competition
Yanzhe Yin, University of Georgia
DTEx: A dynamic urban thermal exposure index based on human mobility patterns

Jacques May Thesis Prize (Master’s)
Siewying Shee: National University of Singapore
Moving bodies, feeling health: Examining the embodied politics of health-promoting infrastructure in Singapore

Dear members:

The AAG Health and Medical Geography Specialty Group (HMGSG) is looking for nominations to fill upcoming vacancies for the 2021-2022 board. This year we are seeking nominations for the following positions:

– 1 Vice-Chair

– 2 At-Large Board Members

The Vice-Chair serves a one-year term and transitions to Chair in the second year. The At-Large board members serve a two-year term.

All HMGSG members are eligible and encouraged to nominate candidates (HMGSG members only) for these positions. Before your nomination, please contact the nominee to assure they are willing and available to serve if elected. Self-nominations are accepted. 

If you are interested in serving in any of these positions, please send an email to Kevin Matthews (kev.matthews@outlook.com) indicating the position of interest and a half-page bio for circulation to the membership at the HMGSG business meeting. The deadline for submissions is April 2, 2021. Please use “Nomination for HMGSG positions” as the subject of your email. 

Please submit a bio-sketch/candidate statement that includes your full name, title and degree, institution, and research and teaching interests. Nominees will introduce themselves to the membership with a 1 to 2-minute oral statement to be delivered at the HMGSG Business Meeting.  The election will be held during the HMGSG Business Meeting on April 9, 2021 during the 2021 AAG annual meeting.

Thank you for your support of the HMGSG Specialty Group.

Deadline: March 26, 2021

The Health and Medical Geography Specialty Group (HMGSG) of the American Association of Geographers is offering the Melinda S. Meade Graduate Student Travel Award for the virtual AAG Annual Meeting in April 2021. 

This award provides financial support to graduate student specialty group members who plan to present on a health/medical geography topic at the conference during a session sponsored by the Health and Medical Geography Specialty Group..

To be considered for the award, prepare a single PDF file with the following items:

1. A short letter describing: 
   1. how the award would be of assistance
   2. other travel funding available to you, and
   3. your goals in attending the AAG conference 
2. The abstract of the paper you will be presenting at the conference, which must be in a session sponsored by the Health and Medical Geography Specialty Group.
3. Your CV, which should include your name, affiliation, email address and (physical) mailing address
4. A copy of your conference registration (e.g., acceptance note from AAG and PIN number) 

Your submission should be emailed to Kevin Matthews (kev.matthews@outlook.com) by Friday, March 26, 2021 with the following subject line: “AAG-HMGSG Student Travel Award”   

The HMGSG board will review the applications and award five (5) prizes of $60 apiece to cover the cost of student meeting registration fees. Funding decisions will be based on the quality of the abstracts, financial need, and the record of past scholarship shown on applicants’ CVs.

The GEOMED Conference (in-person) has been postponed one year, but this year will include a series of remote talks and workshops (see link below).

Melinda S. Meade Distinguished Scholarship Award in Health and Medical Geography

Nominations Deadline: March 1, 2021

The Health and Medical Geography Specialty Group (HMGSG) of the AAG is accepting nominations for the Melinda S. Meade Distinguished Scholarship Award in Health and Medical Geography. The Award seeks to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the advancements of health and/or medical geography research. Contributions recognized by the Award are broadly conceived, including contributions to all specializations and perspectives in health and/or medical geography.

Recipients of the Award will be invited to present a Special Award Session of HMGSG at the AAG annual meeting the year after receiving the Award.

• Susan Elliott, University of Waterloo (2020)
• Michael Emch, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (2019)
• Robin Kearns, University of Auckland (2018)
• Mark Rosenberg, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario (2017)
• Mei-Po Kwan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2016)
• Sara McLafferty, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (2015)

If you are interested in nominating a person for this award, please submit a nomination letter documenting the nominee’s contributions to and impact on health and/or medical geography and a copy of the nominee’s CV, preferably in PDF format, to Kevin Matthews (kev.matthews@outlook.com). Nominations will be evaluated by the HMGSG board. Nominees do not have to be members of HMGSG.

Dear HMGSG Members,

As we are preparing the Fall 2020 Health and Medical Geography Specialty Group (HMGSG) Newsletter, we would like to support our members by allowing you to highlight any achievements during this past year. Given the productivity of our members, please limit yourself to two achievements per category, items published, or awards received between January 2020 to the present.
 
Please submit newsletter items through this Google form. The submission call will be closed on December 20, 2020, at 5:00PM.

If you have any questions regarding the Fall 2020 Newsletter submissions, please contact Fikriyah Winata (fwinata2@illinois.edu)
Thank you so much and we are looking forward to receiving your submission.

Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Rural Immigration and Health

Description of duties:

The Post-doctoral Fellow will work with a multi-disciplinary research team at the University of Toronto Mississauga, the University of Waterloo, and the Newcomer Centre of Peel to examine the health impacts of rural settlement among highly skilled immigrants. Research foci include factors affecting settlement, integration and retention, welcoming communities, and the social determinants of health. The PDF will be responsible for daily project management, recruitment of research participants, collection and analysis of data, supervision of research assistants, and dissemination of research findings.

Working Hours:

The normal hours of work are 40 hours per week for a full-time postdoctoral fellow (pro-rated for those holding a partial appointment) recognizing that the needs of the employee’s research and training and the needs of the supervisor’s research program may require flexibility in the performance of the employee’s duties and hours of work.

Annual Salary: $50,000
Supervisor and Academic Unit: Kathi Wilson, UTM Department of Geography, Geomatics, and

Environment

Required qualifications:

A recently awarded PhD (i.e., within 5 years) in Geography, Planning, Immigration Studies, or related discipline is required at the time of appointment. Lived experience or knowledge of immigrant experiences in Canada is considered an asset. Candidates are expected to have expertise in qualitative research methods, immigration research, and/or social determinants of health. A strong publication record is expected.

Application instructions

Applications should include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and sample publications to be submitted as a single PDF to kathi.wilson@utoronto.ca with subject line “PDF in Rural Immigration and Health”. Applicants should also ask three referees to send letters of reference directly via email kathi.wilson@utoronto.ca. All application materials, including letters of reference, must be received by December 9, 2020. If you have questions about this position, please contact Professor Kathi Wilson (kathi.wilson@utoronto.ca).

Term: 1 year (January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021) FTE: 100%

Employment as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto is covered by the terms of the CUPE 3902 Unit 5 Collective Agreement. This job is posted in accordance with the CUPE 3902 Unit 5 Collective Agreement.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Diversity Statement

The University of Toronto is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from racialized persons / persons of colour, women, Indigenous / Aboriginal People of North America, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ persons, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.

Accessibility Statement

The University strives to be an equitable and inclusive community, and proactively seeks to increase diversity among its community members. Our values regarding equity and diversity are linked with our unwavering commitment to excellence in the pursuit of our academic mission.

The University is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). As such, we strive to make our recruitment, assessment and selection processes as accessible as possible and provide accommodations as required for applicants with disabilities.

If you require any accommodations at any point during the application and hiring process, please contact kathi.wilson@utoronto.ca. 

PDF Rural Immigration and Health

Closing Date: December 9, 2020