Dr. Susan Elliott is a University Research Chair in Medical Geography and a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo. Over the course of her career, she has also held a number of senior leadership roles, including Dean of Social Sciences at McMaster University, Dean of Health Sciences at Waterloo, and Senior Research Fellow at the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Health, where she continues to serve as an adjunct professor.
Her research is deeply transdisciplinary, bringing science and policy together through international partnerships. Within the Geographies of Health in Place (GoHelP) lab, Dr. Elliott has mentored more than 50 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, helping to train the next generation of scholars in global health and environmental research. In recognition of this commitment, she received the University of Waterloo Award for Excellence in Graduate Supervision.
With more than 250 peer-reviewed articles, books, and chapters to her name—and over 16,000 citations on Google Scholar—Dr. Elliott’s scholarship has had a lasting global impact. Her h-index of 68 highlights her influence in the fields of environment and health. She is also the founder and co-editor-in-chief of Wellbeing, Space and Society and serves as editor-in-chief of Social Science and Medicine, two leading journals shaping discourse at the intersection of health and society.
Currently, her research explores critical issues such as water security, gender-based violence, and neglected health conditions affecting vulnerable populations in Sub-Saharan Africa, work that directly contributes to advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In 2022, she was elected a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, where she continues to shape strategic priorities and promote collaborative global health research.