Christine Yanagawa

Christine is a PhD Student in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University. Her research explores how people and rats interact in urban environments, focusing on how social, environmental, and infrastructural factors shape the distribution of human-rat interactions and rat-associated zoonotic disease risks. Using a mixed-methods approach, including geospatial analysis and epidemiological modelling, her work aims to inform public health interventions that address urban health inequities.As a COHTPEZ scholarship recipient and a member of the first training cohort, Christine is eager to collaborate across disciplines to strengthen Canada’s capacity to address emerging zoonoses. With a strong commitment to One Health, Christine aspires to contribute to urban health research, public health policy, and zoonotic disease surveillance and prevention, bridging social and ecological perspectives to improve health outcomes in urban communities.