Pillar 1: Mobility Equity & Access
Pillar 1 Lead: Dr. Merkebe Demissie, P.Eng.
Dr. Merkebe Demissie is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Calgary, specializing in transportation engineering with a focus on equity, accessibility, and emerging mobility services. His research examines barriers to safe, reliable, and affordable transportation faced by underserved populations, including rural, aging, and low-income communities. Dr. Demissie employs advanced data-driven and computational methods, including deep learning and travel demand modelling, to design inclusive transportation systems that enhance access to essential services such as health care, employment, and education, while reducing systemic inequities in mobility and health outcomes.
He leads projects that integrate mobility data, digital twins, and predictive analytics to understand first- and last-mile challenges, optimize shared micromobility services, and inform equitable transportation policy. Through his leadership, Pillar 1 advances research on equitable transportation solutions, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations that bridge engineering, public health, and urban planning. Dr. Demissie’s work contributes to evidence-based strategies that ensure all communities can participate fully in society by improving access, safety, and quality of transportation options.
Pillar 2: Social, Economic & Environmental Impacts of Transport on Health
Pillar 2 Lead: Dr. Anne Hicks
Dr. Anne Hicks is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta and Canada Research Chair in Children’s Lung Health. A pediatric respirologist and Zone Clinical Section Chief for Pediatric Respirology at the Stollery Children’s Hospital, she coordinates clinical service for northern Alberta, Northwest Territories and western Nunavut (to Gjoa Haven), one of the largest geographic footprints of clinical service in the world, encompassing many Indigenous, Métis and Inuit communities. She is also clinical lead of the Stollery Children’s Environmental Health Clinic, a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in Children’s Environmental Health.
Dr. Hicks’ research focus is to understand the impact of environmental exposures on health across the lifespan, particularly how they influence children. She studies how complex exposures, including air pollution, especially wildfire smoke, the natural and built environment, access to resources including healthcare, sociodemographic status and lived experience, impact lung health, with an emphasis on identifying factors that promote and improve health and quality of life. She employs interdisciplinary and mixed-methods approaches that integrate clinical and in vitro data, population health analysis, exposure science, and policy evaluation to quantify health risks and identify effective interventions.
She leads and collaborates on national and international research initiatives, including interdisciplinary teams funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, focused on mitigating the health impacts of air pollution and climate change. As Pillar 2 Lead, Dr. Hicks provides strategic vision and leadership to advance research on the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of transportation and health. Her work ensures that this pillar generates policy-relevant evidence to reduce environmental harms, improve health outcomes, and promote resilient, equitable transportation systems that protect vulnerable populations and support community well-being.
Pillar 3: Digital Innovation & Decision Support
Pillar 4: Transport, Land Use & Population Health Interactions
Pillar 4 Lead: Dr. Jason Hawkins
Dr. Jason Hawkins is an Assistant Professor in the Schulich School of Engineering (Department of Civil Engineering) at the University of Calgary, with transdisciplinary appointments in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape and the Institutes for Transdisciplinary Scholarship. His research lies at the intersection of transportation, land use, policy, and public health, with a strong focus on travel behaviour, spatial and consumer choice econometrics, and sustainability. Dr. Hawkins employs rigorous quantitative methods to understand how transportation systems, land use patterns, and housing interact to influence decision-making, infrastructure planning, equity, and health outcomes. He leads and collaborates on projects spanning behavioural travel demand modelling, infrastructure-land use integration, and health-informed policy analysis. Dr. Hawkins provides strategic guidance and vision, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations to advance research on the connections between land use, transportation, and community health. His leadership ensures that Pillar 4 addresses both equitable mobility and health outcomes, bridging engineering, planning, and public health to generate actionable insights for healthier, more accessible communities. Dr. Hawkins’ teaching and research contribute to evolving frameworks that link sustainable land use, transportation systems, and health, supporting evidence-based planning and policy decisions that promote well-being across urban and regional contexts.
