Global Health
Dr. Neil Arya is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo and in Health Sciences at Wilfrid Laurier University. He was the founding Director of the Global Health Office at Western University where he conducted research regarding the impact of international experiences on host communities and students. He taught Global Health at Western as well as to McMaster University residents and medical students and in the University of Waterloo Master’s in Public Health Programme. He edited Global Health Experiential Education: From Theory to Practice with Jessica Evert and Preparing for International Health Experiences: A Practical Guide for students going overseas.
In 2011 Dr. Arya received a D. Litt. (Honorary) from Wilfrid Laurier University and the mid-Career Award in International Health from the American Public Health Association.
Peace through Health
Dr. Arya is a past Vice-President of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), which won the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize and of President of Physicians for Global Survival (PGS) and has written and lectured around the world about Peace through Health. He was president of the Canadian Physicians for Research and Education in Peace (CPREP) and is founding President of PEGASUS Institute and was Chair of the PEGASUS Global Health Conferences. He co-edited the book Peace through Health in 2008 authored numerous articles and chapters on this topic. He has been a contributing editor of Medicine Conflict and Survival. He is an Advisor/Reviewer/Author for Medical Peace Work European Consortium, is a member of Interpeace Peace Responsiveness Roster, the Lancet-SIGHT Commission on Peace, Gender and Health and the Global Alliance on War, Conflict & Health. He has taught Peace through Health Courses at the undergrad level at McMaster University and Conrad Grebel College of the University of Waterloo and now McGill University. He has also been a keynote speaker on Peace through Health in countries such as Germany, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, China, India, Israel/Palestine, Australia, Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, US, Canada, and Dubai.
Environment
Dr. Arya was Adjunct Professor in Environment and Resource Studies at the University of Waterloo for almost 20 years. He was twice Chair of the Ontario College of Family Physicians’ Environmental Health Committee. He taught Ecosystem Health courses at Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University and in the Graduate Programme of Environment and Resource Studies at the University of Waterloo and now Environment and Global Health through McGill University. He has written about environmental health issues in the Canadian Journal of Public Health and Global Public Health and co-edited an issue of Alternatives on Ecosystem Health. Dr. Arya was a member of Health Canada’s Pest Management Advisory Council, and published multiple pieces on pesticides and ecofriendly family medicine offices including a Green Office Toolkit.
Medical Care to Underserved Populations
He remains Assistant Clinical Professor in Family Medicine at McMaster University (part-time) and continues as founder Director Centre for Family Medicine Refugee Health Clinic in collaboration with the Kitchener Waterloo Reception Centre providing case-specific specialized care since 2008. Dr. Arya was lead physician developing the Psychiatric Outreach Project, providing mental health services for those with precarious housing in St. John’s Kitchen in Kitchener a. tasks which led to him receiving the 2009 College of Family Physicians of Canada Geeta Gupta Award for Equity and Diversity and in 2013 he received an Ontario College of Family Physicians Award of Excellence. He later participated in development of national Homeless Health Guidelines. Dr. Arya was a Fellow at the International Migration Research Centre (IMRC), Wilfrid Laurier University and is on the conference committee North American Refugee Health Conference (NARHC). He co-edited the book, Underserved: Health Determinants of Indigenous, Inner-City and Migrant Populations in Canada in 2018.