Tiff-Annie Kenny
Affiliation
PhD Candidate
Biology Specialization in Chemical and Environmental Toxicology
Department of Biology
Email: Tiff-annie.kenny@uOttawa.ca
Research interests
Nutritional modeling
Traditional food
Food security
Biodiversity and Nutrition
Traditional knowledge
Bio
My upbringing in Northern Ontario was framed by a landscape struggling to heal from the legacy of intensive natural resource development in the region. My intimate exposure to the stark environmental realities of unsustainable anthropogenic activity, coupled with the meaningful relationships I developed with nature in the north, has shaped my academic interests in eco-health as extensions of my personal concernments. I have pursed both a Bachelor of Engineering, and Master of Applied Science, in Biosystems Engineering at McGill University. Presently, I seek to apply my background in mathematics & computation towards the development of a modeling framework that will offer quantitative insight into the nutritional transition experienced by Aboriginal people in Canada, with emphasis on the relevance of ecological determinants of nutrition and food security.
Research project
Development of a Quantitative Modeling Strategy for Linking Natural Resource Management and Policy in Canada’s North, to Health & Nutritional Outcomes in Aboriginal Communities
The ecological integrity of Canada’s northern regions, and the Aboriginal food systems they support, compete with the exploitation of their market ecosystem goods and services. Despite a consensus among academics that acknowledges the integral role of ecosystem integrity for dietary sustenance, this assertion is often described in exclusively qualitative terms, and may therefore benefit from quantitative support. Through the course of my doctoral studies, I endeavor to develop a Systems Dynamics modeling framework to characterize the relationship between natural resource management and policy in Canada’s north, to population level nutritional outcomes in Aboriginal communities.
Presentations
ISR Food Security Research - Building on results from the Inuit Health Survey. Community Research Assistant Workshop, Inuvik. May 2015
Tiff-Annie, Kenny. Sonia, Wesche. Myriam, Fillion. Laurie H.M., Chan. Participatory food costing in a northern Indigenous context. Circumpolar Health Conference, Oulu Finland. June 2015
Sonia, Wesche. Tiff-Annie, Kenny. Myriam, Fillion. Jullian, MacLean. Shannon, O’Hara. Laurie H.M., Chan. Participatory approaches to improving food security: Inuvialuit Settlement Region. Canadian Conference on Global Health, Montreal. September 2015
Tiff-Annie, Kenny. Patrick, Gaulley Gale. Enhancing healthy foods in schools through multidimensional hands on learning. Changing the Menu Conference, Montreal. September 2015
Tiff-Annie, Kenny. Inuit diet and environmental health research. Indigenous Food System class, University of Ottawa. March 2016