Faculty Member
Michael Widener PhD, MS
- Email Address(es)
- michael.widener(at)utoronto.ca
- Division(s)/Institute(s)
- Epidemiology Division
- Position
- Associate Professor
- SGS Status
- Full Member
- Appointment Status
- Non budgtry Crss
Michael Widener is Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Transportation and Health and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning with a cross-appointment in Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. He is also an affiliate of the University of Toronto Transportation Research Institute, co-chair of TRB’s Health and Transportation subcommittee, co-lead of the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium’s Neighbourhood Factors team, and co-chair of the Network for European Communication and Transport Activity Research (NECTAR) Social and Health Committee.
Dr. Widener’s research explores how transportation networks and infrastructure affect people’s ability to acquire and maintain access to health services and healthy opportunities. Recent work has primarily focused on the role transit and mobility constraints play in enabling or restricting access to healthy food retailers. Additional research projects include examining EMS mode choice in critical care transfers, documenting the role of transport infrastructure in food distribution networks in the Canadian north, and how the local urban environment affects the health of older adults.