Tara Chen

Tara Chen is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo. She identifies as a young public health professional working to strengthen health systems with the motto, “everything & everywhere is public health”.

Tara holds a dual Masters’ of Public Health from the Europubhealth+ programme, from the University of Sheffield, Jagiellonian University, and École Des Hautes Études En Santé Publique. She also holds a Bachelor of Health Sciences from Western University.

Tara brings a diverse professional background and global perspective, having lived and worked in Jamaica, England, Poland, Sweden, France, and Taiwan. Her work spans multi-stakeholder projects involving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), health system governance, public health, hospitals, and local communities across the globe. At the University of Waterloo, she is a strong advocate for amplifying young voices and currently serves as a Board Director for the Graduate Student Association, following previous roles with the Graduate Student Endowment Fund, Environment Graduate Student Association, and the Centre for Teaching Excellence. Additionally, she is an active young public health leader, holding roles as a Climate Health Fellow with the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region, a Health Literacy Explorer with the International Health Literacy Association, and a member of various working groups within the World Federation of Public Health Associations. She is currently working with the International Federation on Ageing to explore opportunities to integrate ageing and longevity perspectives within climate discourse and policy.

Throughout her doctoral program, Tara has received external funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Health System Impact Fellowship, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship, Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS), ENV Senate Graduate Scholarship, and the Bob Graham Memorial Scholarship Award.

In her spare time, Tara loves to rock climb, sail, and spend time in her community library. On campus, you can find Tara strolling on campus for a “nature” walk or mingling with other graduate students and faculty at the Graduate House.

Why GoHelP

"The GoHelP community has given me the confidence to explore my research interests through an interdisciplinary lens. Many of us come from different backgrounds, giving a unique perspective to our research. The demands of graduate school includes a roller coaster of emotions, but GoHelP has been my supportive community that I know I can always rely on to brainstorm ideas, receive support for mock-exam practices, and a friend to walk down to the coffee shop."

Research Interests 

• Health Geography
• Community & Wellbeing
• Social Prescribing
• Climate Change and Public Health
• Health Literacy 

Field of Study 

• Nature-based Social Prescribing
•  Nature Prescriptions 

Recent Publications/Knowledge Sharing

• Chen, T. T. (2025). Connecting nature, health and planetary resilience. Global health promotion, 32(4), 3-6. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/17579759251386278
• Chen, T. T., Pinho-Gomes, A. C., Hamacher, N., Nabbe, M., Duggan, K., Zjalic, D., ... & Sorensen, C. (2025). Climate and health capacity building for health professionals in Europe: a pilot course. International journal of public health, 70, 1608469. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12216089/
• Cravet, C., Chen, T. T., Conyard, K. F., Nabbe, M., Zjalic, D., & Codd, M. (2025). Active participation of youth in addressing climate change issues. In Health and Climate Change (pp. 389-402). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-29240-8.00001-8
• [Chapter 18] Nabbe, M., Duggan, K., Chen, TT., Chambaud, L., et al. (2024). Planetary, Environment and Climate Health. ASPHER Core Competencies. https://drive.google.com/file/d/16PuXVzzIXHdwUcCr9xV94uew7NhueWdp/view
• Brubacher, LJ., Peach, L., Chen, TTW., Longboat, S., Dodd, W., Elliott, SJ., Patterson, K., Neufeld, H. (2024). Climate change, biodiversity loss, and Indigenous People’s health and wellbeing: A systematic umbrella review. PLOS Global Public Health. 4(3), e0002995. 
  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0002995
• Brubacher, L.J., Chen, T.TW., Longboat, S. et al. Climate change, biodiversity loss, and Indigenous Peoples’ health and wellbeing: a systematic umbrella review protocol. Syst Rev 13, 8 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-023-02423-x
• Chen, TT., Thomson, D., Sharobim, J., Alade, OT., Pathirana, T. (2023). Integrating a Climate Lens into the Design of Education Programs for Health Professionals. BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine. https://ebm.bmj.com/content/ebmed/early/2023/11/30/bmjebm-2023-112397.full.pdf

Presentations 

• Chen, T., Elliott, S.J. (2025). Nature Prescriptions in Practice: Bridging Care, Community & the Outdoors. Oral Presentation at the Canadian Association of Geographers Conference: Edges. (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada), May 20-23, 2025.

• Chen, T. (2025). Rooted in Place: Connecting Nature, Health & Planetary Resilience. Plenary Presentation at the 25^th IUPHE World Conference on Health Promotion: Settings for Planetary Health & Wellbeing (Abu Dhabi), May 13-16, 2025.

• Chen, T.T., Lam, I., Nowlan, J., Simms, N., Zahid, S. (2024). Social prescribing as a component of high-quality, low-carbon sustainable health systems. Poster Presentation at the Canadian Social Prescribing Conference (Toronto, Canada), September 26-27, 2024. 

• Dietrich, U., Jochem, C., Chen, T., Su, T.T. (2024). Planetary Health Literacy- Learning, Advancing, Networking. Symposium at the Global Health Literacy Summit (Rotterdam, Netherlands), September 18-20th, 2024. 

• Chen, T., Elliott, S.J. (2024). Nature Prescriptions for the People and the Planet. Oral Presentation at the Canadian Association of Geographers Conference: Edges. (St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada), August 14 – 18, 2024.