Ben Brisbois: Working together for social and environmental justice

“There’s always some way you can help improve other people’s quality of life," says Ben Brisbois – and that pretty much sums up his commitment to research on matters of public health.

Newly appointed to Université de Montréal's Department of Social and Preventive Medicine as an assistant professor, Brisbois is interested in health disparities as they interface with social and environmental structures.

Specifically, his research focuses on the impact of the agri-food and mining industries on health and the environment.

Trained in public health and environmental sciences, Brisbois wore many hats before joining UdeM’s School of Public Health. He has taught at three Canadian universities and worked for NGOs and federal agencies, including Health Canada and Environment Canada.

He describes his career as a mix of activism, research and working with policymakers.

'In line with my values'

“It’s very important for me to do work that’s in line with my values and to collaborate with the policy apparatus in order to bring scientific evidence to bear on issues of social and environmental justice,” he said.

Brisbois has dedicated himself to public health because he sees it as a key field that cuts across disciplines and can bring people together to address today’s global challenges.

While he is generally concerned about climate change, economic inequality and war, Brisbois has a particular interest in issues affecting Latin America.

He has researched the local health impacts on Canadian mining operations in Ecuador and of workers' exposure to pesticides in that country's banana plantations, involving the affected communities in his research and making sure their voices are heard.

“Université de Montréal has many scientists doing research related to food systems and the resulting inequalities,” said Brisbois. “I hope to build bridges between these researchers, who work in different fields but all want to promote social and environmental justice.”