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BULLETIN
To the annual meeting of the Collegium Ramazzini, Ramazzini Days 2021, Colin Soskolne chaired Scientific Session 4, Conflict-of-interest and Disclosure in Epidemiology by Zoom platform on October 29, 2021.
A presentation by Colin Soskolne to the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association entitled Conflict-of-interest: Problems and solutions: Part I by Zoom platform on October 26, 2021.
What we have learned and to what end is the final of a seven-part webinar series under the theme Could Human Misery in the World be Reduced by Breaking the Chains of Repression and Revenge? This is a 2-hour webinar video recording hosted by the Joline Young Heritage Consultancy through a Zoom platform on October 17, 2021, and moderated by Colin Soskolne.
The 1-hour and 26-minute video-recording of the Zoom webinar Science is misused in support of dominant interests: How and Why? delivered by Colin Soskolne to the Joline Young Heritage Consultancy (JYHC) on October 3, 2021 is now available here.
On the Zoom platform, the webinar entitled Science is misused in support of dominant interests: How and Why? was delivered by Colin Soskolne to the Joline Young Heritage Consultancy (JYHC), virtual webinar: October 3, 2021.
Annual conference (virtual) of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE). August 23-26, 2021. Panel Discussion Session: Conflict-of-Interest and Disclosure in Epidemiology. Chair: Colin L. Soskolne; Panelists: Juan Pablo Ramos-Bonilla; Daniele Mandrioli; Lisa A. Bero; Carl F. Cranor.
Retirement: Despite being retired since 2013, Colin Soskolne remained professionally active, in a volunteer capacity, for the succeeding eight years. The year 2021 has seen the completion of several long-term writing projects as his parting contribution to his profession. Click here to read more about this.
International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE). Colin Soskolne was selected by the Executive Council and Awards Committee to receive the 2021 ISEE Research Integrity Award in August 2021. This Award honors environmental epidemiologists who have demonstrated exceptional integrity in the face of pressure from outside interests. It is made periodically at the discretion of the ISEE Executive Council.
Soskolne CL, Kramer S, Ramos-Bonilla JP, Mandrioli D, Sass J, Gochfeld M, Cranor CF, Advani S, Bero LA. (2021) Toolkit for Detecting Misused Epidemiological Methods. COMMENTARY. Environ Health. Published August 19;20,90 (16 pages).
NOTE: An endorsing and accompanying Editorial draws special attention to the importance of this Commentary here
This work is an extension of the INEP Position Statement Conflict-of-Interest and Disclosure in Epidemiology, completed in September 2020, released and then launched on January 5, 2021.
Kramer, S., Soskolne, C.L. (2021). Response to the Opinion paper "Why do we disagree." Letter. International Journal of Epidemiology. June 21 online ahead of print. PMID: 34151960 DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyab118.
Baur X, Frank AL, Soskolne CL, Oliver LC, Magnani C. (2021) Malignant mesothelioma: Ongoing controversies about its etiology in females. Commentary. American Journal of Industrial Medicine (AJIM);64(7):543-550.
Soskolne CL, Kramer S, Ramos-Bonilla JP, Mandrioli D, Sass J, Gochfeld M, Cranor CF, Advani S, Bero LA. (2021) Toolkit for Detecting Misused Epidemiological Methods. COMMENTARY. Environ Health. Published August 19;20,90 (16 pages).
The webinar entitled Toolkit for Detecting Misused Epidemiological Methods that Undermine Health Policy and Derail the Advancement of Science was delivered by Zoom platform to the Global Ecological Integrity Group (GEIG), virtual conference: June 28 – July 1, 2021.
The Zoom webinar entitled INEP's Position Statement: Conflict-of-Interest and Disclosure in Epidemiology was delivered by Zoom platform to the Science Response Network, University of California, San Francisco, Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment on February 25, 2021. It was recorded and can be accessed here.
The Zoom webinar entitled INEP Position Statement: Conflict-of-Interest and Disclosure in Epidemiology was delivered by Zoom platform to the Joline Young Heritage Consultancy, Cape Town, South Africa on January 31, 2021, to a general audience. It was recorded and can be accessed here. The 50 PPT slides are accessible at a link in the next bullet.
A Zoom webinar entitled INEP Position Statement: Conflict-of-Interest and Disclosure in Epidemiology was delivered by Colin Soskolne and Jane Caldwell as a charitable initiative on the web platform of the Joline Young Heritage Consultancy, Cape Town, South Africa on January 31, 2021.
A Zoom webinar entitled INEP Position Statement: Conflict-of-Interest and Disclosure in Epidemiology was delivered by Colin Soskolne and Jane Caldwell to the Ethics & Philosophy Committee of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology on January 26, 2021.
The Zoom webinar entitled ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH: Understanding Dynamics Between Global Environmental Changes and Human Health was delivered by Zoom platform to the Joline Young Heritage Consultancy, Cape Town, South Africa on September 30, 2020. It was recorded and can be accessed here.
A lecture entitled ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH: Understanding Dynamics Between Global Environmental Changes and Human Health was delivered by Zoom platform to the Joline Young Heritage Consultancy, Cape Town, South Africa on September 30, 2020
A lecture entitled Insights to the INEP Position Statement on CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST AND DISCLOSURE IN EPIDEMIOLOGY was delivered by Zoom to the Ethics & Philosophy Committee of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology on September 22, 2020.
A lecture entitled Public Health in the Anthropocene was delivered at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, on February 7, 2020.
In 2019, as Colin Soskolne further moves toward retirement from formal professional roles, he has chosen not to renew his Adjunct Professor appointment with the University of Canberra, Australia. His only formal ongoing professional appointment remains that of “Professor emeritus, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada”, an appointment he was awarded on his retirement from that University on June 30, 2013. He remains a Fellow in the American College of Epidemiology and an Emeritus Fellow in the Collegium Ramazzini.
Colin Soskolne had assumed his formal relationship with the University of Canberra as a Visiting Fellow in the Faculty of Health in November 2012. In 2013, he became Adjunct Professor through 2016, and, for the period 2016 – 2019, his appointment was renewed as Adjunct Professor in its Health Research Institute. Colin's formal appointment with the University of Canberra was one that he welcomed and found most productive thanks to his enduring collegial relationship for over two decades with Dr. Colin D. Butler, now with the Australian National University.
In January 2019, the Executive Committee of the International Network for Epidemiology in Policy (INEP, formerly IJPC-SE) dissolved its Development Committee, initiated and chaired by Colin since his year as Past-Chair of INEP had expired in May, 2017. Thus relieved of all fund-raising and related decision-making roles in INEP, Colin saw to his replacement as the Primary Representative for the Collegium Ramazzini on the INEP Board, a role that he had held since the Collegium joined INEP in July, 2013. This took effect at the end of October, 2019. Colin remains an Expert Adviser on the INEP Board until such time that he completes the INEP “Position Statement on Conflict-of-Interest and Disclosure.” He then will be retiring fully from INEP, expected to take place early in 2020. He will have served actively on the INEP Board since its first year of operation in 2007.
The “World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency” was co-signed by Colin Soskolne on July 26, 2017. The open access paper now appears in BioScience. More than 11,000 scientist signatories to date from around the world state clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency.
The paper is being widely reported on by the mass media at this time with the COP 25 United Nations (UN) climate meetings taking place in Madrid, Spain, December 2019.
More scientist signatures on the paper are welcomed. If you have not already done so, please consider signing the paper.
A state-of-the art commentary appeared in Environmental Health in November 2019 entitled How can the integrity of occupational and environmental health research be maintained in the presence of conflicting interests? This emerged from the Ramazzini Days 2018 symposium on the topic. The authors are: Baur X, Soskolne CL and Bero LA.
Soskolne CL was invited to contribute a BOX in a book entitled "What can I do to help heal the environmental crisis?" by Haydn Washington, 2019 (Routledge). The title of the box is: "Think globally, act locally: the mantra for a sustainable path".
On the topic of cell phone radiation health effects, a peer-reviewed review article entitled Risks to Health and Well-Being From Radio-Frequency Radiation Emitted by Cell Phones and Other Wireless Devices was published in Frontiers in Public Health in August, 2019. The authors are Miller AB, Sears ME, Morgan LL, Davis DL, Hardell L, Oremus M and Soskolne CL. On October 21, 2019, it was widely disseminated in German.
A letter by Soskolne CL, Advani S, Sass J, Bero LA and Ruff K. as published in 2019 as a Response to Acquavella J. on "Conflict of Interest: A Hazard for Epidemiology. Annals of Epidemiology; Vol. 36, August, 2019: 62-63.
A commentary emerging from the Ramazzini Days symposium held in Capri, Italy, November 2018, appeared by Soskolne C and Baur X entitled How Corporate Influence Continues to Undermine the Public’s Health in Press in the European Journal of Oncology.
Meanwhile, it has been published online as a commentary in The Journal of Scientific Practice and Integrity; Volume 1, Issue 1 July 16, 2019.
Soskolne CL contributed a 2019 chapter to a book on the topic: "The role of vested interests and dominant narratives in science, risk management and risk communication." It appears as Chapter 8 in Environmental Health Risks: Ethical Aspects (Eds. Friedo Zölzer and Gaston Meskens). Routledge Studies in Environment and Health. Routledge, Taylor & Francis. London and New York, NY, USA. pp. 123-134.
Relating to the topic of aircraft cabin air quality, Heutelbeck ARR, Baur X, Belpoggi F, Budnik LT, Burdon J, Gee D, Howard CV, Michaelis S, Pagels J, Soskolne CL and Watterson A, published an abstract entitled On the need for a standardized human biomonitoring protocol for in-flight incidents (called “fume events”) in the Journal of Health and Pollution February, 2019 from the 2nd International DiMoPEx Conference on “Pollution in living and working environments and health”, DiMoPEx Working Groups Meeting.
A letter by Soskolne, C.L. appeared in The Epidemiology Monitor in February, 2019 entitled About the state of epidemiology — past and future.
The Earth Charter Initiative, Costa Rica, University for Peace reports three lectures delivered between August and October 2018 on The Earth Charter and Planetary Health. Published in Earth Charter News, December, 2018.
Seeking a Sustainable Path Amid Climate and Other Global Changes: The Earth Charter and Obligations to People’s Health. Memorial University of Newfoundland, Faculty of Medicine, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. People’s Health Matters, Community Health and Humanities Seminar Speaker Series. October 19, 2018.
Health Disparities and Ethics: Narrowing the Gap Through Attention to Values and Ethics in Public Health Risk Assessment was presented by Colin Soskolne in the Fall 2018 course on Disparities in Health in America: Working Towards Social Justice in Houston, Texas, on October 9, 2018.
An INEP Policy Brief entitled The role of epidemiology in firearm violence prevention appeared as an editorial in the International Journal of Epidemiology by Davis, A.B., Gaudino, J.A., Soskolne, C.L., and Al-Delaimy, W.K. . It appears in Volume 47, Issue 4, 1 August 2018, pages 1015–1019.
Two promotional videos were produced under Colin Soskolne's chairing of the International Network for Epidemiology in Policy (INEP, formerly IJPC-SE). A video of 5 minutes and 47 seconds was produced with Colin Soskolne as the host. The purpose of the video was to provide an entry point to INEP's website that would not only explain the nature of INEP, but also encourage donations in support of INEP's mission.
A second complementary video was developed at the same time. Colin Soskolne was instrumental in its production. Its purpose was to serve as a 1 minute and 57 second hook that might go viral to attract the public to the INEP website.
Soskolne, C.L., Bunch, M.J., Butler, C.D., and Parkes, M.W. contributed Chapter 8 to a book entitled Ecological Integrity, Law and Governance. The book is edited by Laura Westra, Klaus Bosselmann, Janice Gray and Kathryn Gwiazdon. The Chapter is entitled Navigating Complexity, Promoting Health: Insights from the emergence of ‘Ecohealth’ and ‘One Health’. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, London and New York (2018) pp. 79-90.
A letter by Baur X, Belpoggi F, Budnik LT, Casteleyn L, Frank AL, Oliver LC, Paek D, Rosenman K, Soskolne CL and Woitowitz H-J. appeared on February 14, 2018 concerning the paper Histological findings and lung dust analysis as the basis for occupational disease compensation in asbestos-related lung cancer in Germany in the Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2018;31(6): 837-839.
An essay was published in 2019 as a supplement to the Journal of Health and Pollution; 24:S104 – S108 by Soskolne C.L. entitled A Win-Win-Win Path for Flight Safety, Health, and Corporate Profits. This emerged from a key note presentation delivererd at the September 19 – 20, 2017 International Aircraft Cabin Air Conference, Imperial College, London, England.
At the 4th International Symposium on Ethics of Environmental Health held in České Budějovice, Czech Republic, 9 – 12 September 2018, Colin Soskolne presented, via remote link, Local adaptation of universal values and principles from The Earth Charter to sustain human health and well-being for both present and future generations.
Three presentations were given by Colin Soskolne at the Joint Annual Meeting of the International Society of Exposure Science and the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISES-ISEE2018) held in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, August 26–30, 2018. The conference theme was Addressing Complex Local and Global Issues in Environmental Exposure and Health.
The first paper that he presented was entitled Revisiting The Earth Charter and Our Ethical Obligations to Planetary Health in the session Health Earth: Planetary Heath Affects Everyone’s Health.
The second paper, a joint presentation with Dr. Adetoun Mustapha, was presented under the auspices of the ISEE Ethics and Philosophy Committee entitled Environmental Injustice: Local (Environmental Contamination) and Global (Climate Change) Effects from the Use of Fossil Fuels on Those Who Benefit Least From Their Use in the session entitled Fossil Fuels, Environmental Epidemiology, and the 2008 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
The third paper was also presented under the auspices of the ISEE Ethics and Philosophy Committee entitled Ethical Dimensions of Advancing Exposure Methodology through Suspect Screening and Non-target Analysis in the session entitled Advancing Exposure Methodology through Suspect Screening and Non-target Analysis.
An invited keynote plenary speech by Colin Soskolne, entitled A win-win-win path for flight safety, health, and corporate profits, was given at the 2017 Aircraft Cabin Air Quality Conference. The Conference, organized by the Global Cabin Air Quality Executive (GCAQE), took place at Imperial College London, England, September 19–20, 2017. The event was one endorsed by the IJPC-SE.
An article on the census, senior authored by Robin Taylor Wilson, entitled: Challenges to the census: international trends and a need to consider public health benefits, was published in Public Health; 151: 87–97 (October 2017). Published on-line first, July 28, 2017. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2017.05.015. The authorship of this seminal article is: Wilson R.T., Hasanali S.H., Sheikh M., Cramer S., Weinberg G., Firth A., Weiss S.H., Soskolne C.L.
An OpEd piece was published on July 20 2017 in the Edmonton Journal calling on the Alberta government to hold an inquiry into oilsands subsidies. The OpEd is accessible here. The full list of signatories, of which Colin Soskolne was one, can be found here.
Two presentations were given by Colin Soskolne at the Global Ecological Integrity Group (GEIG): International Conference held in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, June 26 – July 1, 2017. The conference theme was Ecological Integrity 25 Years On and Environmental Disasters as Crimes Against Humanity.
The first paper presented was titled: EcoHealth–OneHealth–The Manhattan Principles: Navigating Complexity, Promoting Health.
On a Special Topic Day Ecological Integrity and Democracy at a Tipping Point, the second paper was presented under the title Are We on the Side of Good or Evil? Deconstructing the Global Anti-democratic Trajectory.
A book chapter by Colin Soskolne, Addressing the Problem of Conflict-of-Interest and Moneyed Influence in Public Health: Some Case Studies appears in Part V "Human Responsibility for Ethical Governance" of the book entitled The Role of Integrity in the Governance of the Commons: Governance, Ecology, Law, Ethics (Editors: Westra, L., Gray, J., and Gottwald, F-T.) by Springer International Publishing AG 2017; pp.205–213. [ISBN: 978–3–319–54391–8; ISBN: 978–3–319–54392–5 eBook].
News Archive
A book, Ethics of Environmental Health, with the lead chapter by Colin Soskolne, has just been published as a contribution to the environmental ethics literature. The citation to the chapter by Colin Soskolne is: Soskolne, C.L. Global, regional and local ecological change: Ethical aspects of public health research and practice. In: Ethics of Environmental Health. Eds, Zölzer, F and Meskens, G. 2017 Earthscan from Routledge, Oxon and New York. [ISBN 978-1-138-18662-0 (hbk); 978-1-315-64372-4 (ebk)]; pp. 3-16.
Between January and April 2017, the following contributions to the literature have been published:
Journal Article Kramer, S. and Soskolne CL. Ethics Guidelines in Environmental Epidemiology: Their Development and Challenges We Face. Current Environmental Health Reports, (), 1–14. April 22, 2017. DOI Online First. Click here to access.
Commentary Baur, X., Woitowitz, H–J., Budnik, L.T., Egilman, D., Oliver, L.C., Frank, A.L., Soskolne, C.L., Landrigan, P.J., Lemen, R.A. Asbestos, Asbestosis, and Cancer: The Helsinki Criteria for Diagnosis and Attribution. Critical Need for Revision of the 2014 Update. Am J Ind Med. 2017;60:411–421.
Letters Soskolne, C.L. "Cancer Studies in World Trade Center Responders: Some Comments". American Journal of Industrial Medicine. First published: 13 April 2017. DOI: 10.1002/ajim.22697.
Soskolne, CL. "A grounding in social justice". WitsReview, December 2016, Volume 36. Page 4.
Soskolne CL. "Response to Environmental Pollution: More Research May Not Be Needed". Epidemiology. Published ahead of print on March 30, 2017. Click here to access.
At the University of Cape Town, South Africa, a seminar on the theme: Ethics, Climate Change and Public Health in an Age of Denialism was held under the auspices of the African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI)/EGS/School of Public Health on March 15, 2017. Colin Soskolne's contribution was entitled Global Environmental and Climate Changes: Some Implications of Climate Change for Public Health.
A reduced length and updated version of his popular Houston lecture entitled Narrowing the Gap Through Attention to Values and Ethics in Public Health Risk Assessment was presented by Colin Soskolne on March 2, 2017 at the weekly Departmental Seminar series of the School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town.
Health Disparities and Ethics: Narrowing the Gap Through Attention to Values and Ethics in Public Health Risk Assessment was presented by Colin Soskolne in the Fall 2016 course on Disparities in Health in America: Working Towards Social Justice in Houston, Texas on November 22, 2016.
The Ongoing Corruption of the Scientific Basis for Attribution in Asbestos-Related Disease: How Did We Get Here and What Can We Do? was presented by Dr. Colin Soskolne in the Symposium on Asbestos Lung Fiber Burden: The New Gold Standard for Determining Asbestos Exposure and Attendant Health Risks? at the Annual Ramazzini Days 2016 Conference, Carpi, Italy October 27–30, 2016.
Ethical Dimensions of Producing and Using Evidence to Inform Policy in a World of Ever-Expanding Environmental Health Inequalities was presented by Colin Soskolne in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. October 20, 2016.
The Role of Vested Interests, Cultural Norms and Dominant Paradigms in Science, Risk Management and Risk Communication was presented by Colin Soskolne at the 3rd International Symposium on Ethics of Environmental Health, in conjunction with the OPERRA Workshop on Ethics of Radiation Protection, held in Ceské Budejovice (Budweis), Czech Republic, 28–31 August 2016.
Scoping the Extent of the Problem of Conflict-of-Interest and Moneyed Influence in Public Health was presented by Colin Soskolne at the 24th annual international conference of the Global Ecological Integrity Group (GEIG) in Munich, Germany, July 4–8, 2016.
Publication in June 2016 of an article on the enduring influence of mentorship in science in the South African Medical Journal in honour of the career contributions of Peter H. Beighton.
Two presentations were given at the 4th Epidemiology Congress of the Americas, Miami, Florida, June 21–24, 2016 in the Symposium on the International Joint Policy Committee of the Societies of Epidemiology (IJPC-SE) on the topic "Working at the nexus of Research and Policy." One was the Introduction and the other was on the work of the IJPC-SE on Developing the 2016 Position Statement on Conflict-of-Interest and Disclosure.
Health Disparities and Ethics: Narrowing the Gap Through Attention to Values and Ethics in Public Health Risk Assessment was presented by Colin Soskolne in the 14th Summer Workshop / Course on "Disparities in Health in America: Working Towards Social Justice" in Houston, Texas on June 20, 2016.
[June 2016] A book, with Chapter 10 entitled David versus Goliath: Voluntary professional societies of epidemiology and the industrial juggernaut, has just been released by Routledge Earthscan of the Taylor & Francis Group, London and New York. The topic addresses the mission of the International Joint Policy Committee of the Societies of Epidemiology (IJPC-SE) under the book's title of The Common Good and Ecological Integrity: Human rights and the support of life edited by Westra L, Gray J and D'Aloia A. The book's flyer can be accessed here.
A news report entitled Searching for Solutions to Taiwan's Industrial Pollution resulted from a media interview that took place at the end of Dr. Colin L. Soskolne’s recent Taiwan visit, March 25–31 2016. The English translation was published on April 18, 2016. This report is accessible here.
In Hanoi, Vietnam, April 7–8 2016, under the auspices of the Research and Training Centre for Community Development (RTCCD), the first two of four lectures were delivered under the theme Ethics in Research, Policy Advocacy and Public Health-Related Policy Development in a two-day Training Workshop. The third and fourth lectures served as background material. All four lectures are accessible here.
In Taiwan, March 25–31 2016, under the auspices of the Taiwan Ecological Stewardship Association (TESA), a series of eight lectures was delivered between Miaoli County, Taipei and Yunlin County under the theme “Human Health and Ecological Integrity”. All eight lectures can be accessed here. A visit to the region around a contaminated industrial site took place March 29-30, 2016. The official part of the visit to Taiwan concluded with the production of a REPORT containing recommendations to the incoming government of Taiwan to stimulate dialogue for addressing concerns relating to past and ongoing industrial pollution. The REPORT can be accessed here.
Health Disparities and Ethics: Narrowing the Gap Through Attention to Values and Ethics in Public Health Risk Assessment was presented by Colin Soskolne in the Fall course on "Disparities in Health in America: Working Towards Social Justice" in Houston, Texas on November 17, 2015.
In São Paulo, Brazil, August 30 – September 3 2015, at the 27th Annual Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) on the theme of Addressing Environmental Health Inequalities, a 45-minute plenary lecture was delivered entitled Ethical Dimensions of Producing and Using Evidence to Inform Policy in a World of Ever-Expanding Environmental Health Inequalities. Also, one 15-minute paper was presented in the parallel oral session Health Earth and the Anthropocene entitled Epidemiological Methods in Global Health Risk Assessment: Which Paradigm And In Whose Best Interests?. Also, one 15-minute ethics discussion, with Robert Wålinder, was led on the theme Stress, Heat and Other Occupational Exposures in an oral parallel session by the same title. Finally, one more 15-minute ethics discussion was led on the theme Ethical and Philosophical Dimensions of Applying Biomarkers in an oral parallel session Chemicals and Biomarkers/Metabolomics.
Published in June 2015: Soskolne CL. Public Health and Environmental Health Risk Assessment: Which Paradigm and in Whose Best Interests? Chapter 16. In: Ecological Systems Integrity: Governance, Law and Human Rights. Edited by Westra L, Gray J, Karageorgou V. Earthscan, 2015 Routledge, Taylor and Francis, London; pp. 191-200.
Published on May 24, 2015: CANADIAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION Discussion paper Global Change and Public Health: Addressing the Ecological Determinants of Health. It is accessible here. This report was co-edited and sections co-authored by Colin L. Soskolne under the leadership of Trevor Hancock.
Just published: Archived Newspaper Reports As A Complementary Source Of Epidemiological Data For Research Into Climate Change Adaptation: Alberta, Canada, 1960 – 2000. Chapter 21 In: Health of People, Places and Planet (July, 2015). The book can be downloaded here for free.
In Parma, Italy, June 29 – July 3 2015, at the 23rd Global Ecological Integrity Group (GEIG) international conference on the theme of The Common Good: The Role of Integrity in the Support of Life and Human Security, a plenary presentation entitled David vs. Goliath: voluntary professional societies and the industrial juggernaut was delivered.
June 2 – 4 2015, at the Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics Biennial Conference, Dr. Soskolne co-chaired with Mark Oremus a 1-hour lunch workshop entitled Epidemiology and public policy: the role of the International Joint Policy Committee of the Societies of Epidemiology (IJPC-SE). In addition, Dr. Soskolne presented The CSEB Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Munir A. Sheikh.
On April 27, 2015, a lecture entitled How Health of the Environment Affects Health was presented to the Edmonton Lifelong Learners Association (ELLA 2015) in the
Global Health Course, coordinated by Dr. Anne Fanning, April 27 – May 15, 2015, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
On January 5, 2015, several archival items were added to this website: The personal section, under construction for the past four years, has now been populated; a 2008 TV interview on the topic of limits to growth has been added to the SPEAKER & CONSULTANT section. The ARCHIVES & LINKS section has been updated with samples of Dr. Soskolne’s earliest radio interviews on AIDS, at a time when the disease was much feared and misunderstood. Finally, the Curriculum Vitae section has been updated.
Health Disparities and Ethics: Narrowing the Gap Through Attention to Values and Ethics in Public Health Risk Assessment was presented by Colin Soskolne in the Fall course on "Disparities in Health in America: Working Towards Social Justice" in Houston, Texas on November 18, 2014.
Colin Soskolne moderated the panel discussion on International Threats to the Mission of Public Health as Governments Dismantle/Erode the Census at the American Public Health Association (APHA) 142nd Annual Meeting and Expo, New Orleans, LA, USA, on November 17, 2014.
The Place of Environmental Ethics in Research and Practice: by what mechanisms and in whose best interests? is the title of a lecture that Dr. Colin L. Soskolne led at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK•CEN, Mol, Belgium, on October 27, 2014.
At the Istituto Superiore di Sanita in Rome, Italy, Dr. Colin L. Soskolne presented his invited paper Ethical Aspects of Studies on Populations Resident in Contaminated Sites on October 22, 2014. The symposium, Contaminated Sites and Health: Recent Findings and the Way Forward, was co-sponsored by the Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Collegium Ramazzini, and the WHO Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Contaminated Sites.
At the 2014 Conference Under Western Skies 3 Intersections of Environments, Technologies, and Communities at Mount Royal University, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, September 9 – 12, Colin Soskolne moderated the session Interface Between Public And Environmental Health Regimes: Which Paradigm And In Whose Best Interests? and presented the first paper in the session by the same title.
At the 2014 International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) annual conference held in Seattle, Washington, USA, August 24 – 28, Colin Soskolne delivered the 2014 ISEE Research Integrity Award speech to Dr. Steven Coughlin.
Also at the 2014 International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) annual conference held in Seattle, Washington, USA, August 24 – 28, Colin Soskolne delivered the designated ethics discussion on Ethical and Philosophical Dimensions of Applying Biomarkers to Pregnant Women.
At the 2014 International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) annual conference held in Seattle, Washington, USA, August 24 – 28, Colin Soskolne delivered the Wael Al-Delaimy co-authored designated ethics discussion on Ethical Considerations for Climate Change and Population Health.
Colin Soskolne has been invited to lecture, twice yearly, on health disparities in Houston, Texas. His most recent lecture on June 27, 2014, is entitled Narrowing the Gap through Attention to Values and Ethics in Public Health Risk Assessment at the 12th Annual Disparities in Health in America: Working Towards Social Justice Summer Workshop / Course. Colin Soskolne presented a plenary paper on the Interface Between Public And Environmental Health Regimes: Which Paradigm And In Whose Best Interests? to the Global Ecological Integrity Group (GEIG) annual conference on the theme "Global Integrity at the Tipping Point: Imminent and Ongoing Threats to the Ecological, Social and Cultural Evolution of the Planet" at the Aegean Institute of the Law of the Sea and Maritime Law, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Rhodes, Island of Rhodes, Greece, June 21 – 26, 2014.
Colin Soskolne was a member of the Organising Committee for the 2nd International Symposium on Ethics of Environmental Health in conjunction with the OPERRA Workshop on Ethics of Radiation Protection. The Symposium took place in Ceské Budejovice (Budweis), Czech Republic, June 15 – 19, 2014. Dr. Soskolne presented a paper there on the topic Global, Regional and Local Ecological Change: Ethical Aspects for Public Health.
To the Health Issues Council, Alberta Medical Association, Calgary, May 5 2014, Dr. Soskolne contributed a Critique of the August 2006 Final Report — Wabamun and Area Community Exposure and Health Effects Assessment, a report from Alberta Health & Wellness.
On April 16, 2014, Dr. Soskolne took over from Dr. Stanley H. Weiss the position of Chair of the International Joint Policy Committee of the Societies of Epidemiology (IJPC-SE).
At the 141st annual conference of American Public Health Association (APHA), in Boston, November 2 – 6, 2013, a symposium was organized by the Joint Policy Committee of the Societies of Epidemiology (JPC-SE) and the APHA Epidemiology Section, as part of the joint "Future of Epidemiology" series, which has been convened annually at the APHA Annual Meeting since 2007. The symposium theme was "The Nexus Between Public Health Evidence and Policy: The International Battle to List Chrysotile Asbestos as Hazardous". An oral presentation entitled Need for an Equivalent of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to Contain the Relentless Influence of Asbestos Interests in Promoting the Safe Use of Chrysotile Asbestos, and co-authored by Dr. Stanley H. Weiss, was presented. [18 minutes; 29 slides].
At the Istituto Superiore di Sanità's symposium on "Environment and Children’s Health", October 25, 2013, at the University of Rome, Italy, Colin Soskolne was invited to provide the concluding intervention summary and comments.
Colin Soskolne provided his reflections on 25 years of his engagement with the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) for the ISEE website dated August 31, 2013, entitled The professional society as a forum for networking to advance agendas with like-minded colleagues. [3 pages]
An ethics discussion paper was presented by Colin Soskolne at the 2013 International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) annual conference in Basel, Switzerland, August 19 – 23, entitled Ethical dimensions of linking science and policy through impact assessment. [15 minutes; 7 slides]
An ethics discussion paper was presented by Colin Soskolne, with Wael Al-Delaimy, Adetoun Mustapha, Mathilde Pascal and Jouni Jaakkola at the 2013 International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) annual conference in Basel, Switzerland, 19 – 23 in the session entitled Climate Change, Limits to Growth and Public Health — Concerns for Global Ethics. [15 minutes; 7 slides]
At the 2013 International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) annual conference in Basel, Switzerland, August 19 – 23, Colin Soskolne presented a paper in the symposium on Limits to Growth and Public Health entitled Scientific Factors that Obscure and Obstruct our Understanding of the Limits to Growth. [10 minutes, 21 slides]
At the 2013 International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) annual conference in Basel, Switzerland, August 19 – 23, Colin Soskolne presented a paper in the special symposium on IARC and Asbestos Research entitled Symposium Discussant: Asbestos and Cancer — Science and Policy Implications. [10 minutes, 14 slides]
At the 2013 International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) annual conference in Basel, Switzerland, August 19 – 23, Colin Soskolne presented a poster entitled Responsibilities of epidemiologists in the conduct and dissemination of research in the public interest. The same poster was presented at the annual Ramazzini Days meeting of the Collegium Ramazzini in Carpi, Italy, October 25 – 27, 2013.
With the June, 2013 Biennial Conference of the Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CSEB) in St. John's, Newfoundland, Colin Soskolne ended six years of service (2007 – 2013) on the Executive of the CSEB Board as Immediate Past-President. Colin talks about CSEB and its mandate here.
Dr. Colin Soskolne retired from the University of Alberta as professor emeritus to become more active both in consulting and in his recent (since November 2012) formal relationship with the University of Canberra, Australia.
At the 2013 Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CSEB) Biennial Conference in St. John's, Newfoundland, June 25 – 27, Colin Soskolne will present a paper, co-authored with his colleagues, Stanley H. Weiss of New Jersey and Kathleen Ruff of Canada, entitled Balancing the Justification for 'Further Research' and 'Policy Action': A Case Study of Chrysotile Asbestos in Canada [20 minutes; 32 slides].
Since 2006, Dr. Soskolne has been invited to lecture, twice yearly, on health disparities in Houston, Texas. While the same topic is what is sought each time, the lecture is always modified and updated somewhat. His most recent lecture on June 17, 2013, can be accessed here and is entitled Narrowing the Gap through Attention to Values and Ethics in Public Health Risk Assessment This lecture was delivered to the 11th Annual Disparities in Health in America: Working Towards Social Justice Summer Workshop / Course, hosted by the Prairie View A&M University College of Nursing, Texas Medical Center. Department of Health Disparities Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, June 17 – 22, 2013 [1 hour; 66 slides in a four-hour session that he moderates].
At the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) annual conference, Ottawa, Canada, June 9 – 12, 2013, a special symposium was held as part of the process for developing an updated position statement on global change and public health based on that developed by the CPHA in 1992. The symposium comprised a panelist discussion, under the theme Global Change and Public Health: Addressing the Ecological Determinants of Health. Preparation for this presentation was supported by the CPHA policy arm in which planning intern, Daniel Schwirtz, is acknowledged for coordinating much of the creative work for the presentation [90 minutes; 59 slides: Soskolne responsible for slides numbered 34 – 41].
The Society for the Advancement of Science in Africa (SASA) held its inaugural conference in Polokwane, South Africa, April 25 – 28, 2013. Hosted by the University of Limpopo's Turfloop Campus, the meeting was seen as a great success in bringing together interdisciplinary expertise from across Africa and the world, and in launching this new organization. SASA is dedicated to building an African scientific knowledge base and advancing the frontiers of science in Africa; it seeks to engage the international scientific community in finding paths toward strengthening the scientific and technological capacities of communities, schools, and institutions throughout Africa. Colin Soskolne was elected to SASA's Interim Executive Committee as Vice-President (North America). For more information, please visit www.sasascience.org.
In Polokwane, South Africa, Colin Soskolne participated in the inaugural conference of the Society for the Advancement of Science in Africa (SASA), hosted by the University of Limpopo, April 25 – 28, 2013. His lecture was entitled Integrity in Epidemiology as the Science Basic to Rational Public Health Policy: Conflicting Interests at Work (15 minutes + 5 minutes DISCUSSION; 25 slides).
In South Africa, at the University of Cape Town's School of Public Health and Family Medicine, Occupational Medicine Journal Club. Dr. Colin L. Soskolne, April 11, 2013, entitled: Asbestos of all fibre-types: decades of science, influence, deceit and harm (45 minutes + 45 minutes DISCUSSION; 47 slides; n=14).
In South Africa, at the University of Cape Town's School of Public Health and Family Medicine Dr. Colin L. Soskolne, April 11, 2013, a Departmental Seminar entitled: Ethical Reflections of an Epidemiologist: Whither Humanity? (50 minutes + 15 minutes Q&A; 42 slides; n=35).
At the University of Canberra, The Centre for Research and Action in Public Health (CeRAPH) hosted Dr. Colin L. Soskolne in its Centenary Lecture Series, March 19, 2013, entitled: Ethical Reflections of an Epidemiologist: Whither Humanity? while based as a Visiting Fellow at the University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia (40 minutes + 15 minutes Q&A; 42 slides).
Ethics casebook, released on February 22, 2013 by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Population and Public Health, entitled: Population and Public Health Ethics: Cases from Research, Policy, and Practice. The casebook is accessible on the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics website at www.utoronto.ca/jcb. Colin Soskolne contributed two case discussions as follows:
- Case #15: Alberta Oil sands: A Toxic Mixture of Bitumen and Economic Prosperity, pp. 164-167. The Case Discussion in response to this case by Colin Soskolne appears on pages 168-175.
- Case #16: Whose Role is it to Deal with Societal Determinants of Health? The case of the Nigerian lead poisoning epidemic, pp. 176-179. The Case Discussion in response to this case by Colin Soskolne appears on pages 180-185.
A conference paper was presented at the XIX International Conference of the Society for Human Ecology (SHE) held in Canberra, Australia, February 5 – 8, 2013, entitled: "A Toolkit for Eco-epidemiological Enquiry Under Global Ecological Change" while based as a Visiting Fellow at the University of Canberra, Australia (20 minutes; 21 slides).
Eco-Epidemiology: Connecting Ecosystem Health to Human Health. A WEBINAR, presented by Colin Soskolne through the Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CSEB). This 1.5 hour WEBINAR was recorded from the University of Canberra, Australia, on December 4, 2012, for inclusion in CSEB's growing WEBINAR bank. The recorded WEBINAR can be accessed here.
A poster on the "Development, Dissemination, and Influence of a Position Statement on Asbestos, 2011 – 2012" was presented to the Fellows of the Collegium Ramazzini at the Annual Ramazzini Days 2012 Meeting in Carpi, Italy, October 26 – 28, 2012 under the theme Precaution in science and the science-policy interface.
A new website www.jpc-se.org was launched for the Joint Policy Committee of the Societies of Epidemiology (JPC-SE) on Monday, July 16, 2012. The Position Statement on Asbestos from the JPC-SE was released on this platform on Tuesday July 24, 2012 and can be accessed here. Dr. Soskolne was involved in the development of both of these initiatives. Much policy influence and publicity have been achieved through this Statement, some of which can be accessed through the links provided on the continually updated JPC-SE website here.
"Hopeful signs to prevent collapse", a presentation delivered on June 12, 2012 at the Edmonton (Shaw) Convention Centre to the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) annual conference in the session "Ecosystem and Human Health: From CPHA's 1992 Report to Rio+20 and Beyond" (20 minutes; 36 slides).
The International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) approved its new edition Ethics Guidelines on April 25, 2012. This 2010 – 2012 revision and update of the Guidelines was carried out under the primary authorship of Shira Kramer, Colin L. Soskolne, Wael Al-Delaimy and Adetoun Mustapha and can be located here.
The Edmonton Lifelong Learners Association (ELLA) three-week course "Values, Ethics, and Sustainability" (EL 21) was completed on May 18, 2012. The course outline and the complete set of PPT slides appears in the "EL 21, 2012" section of the Archive.
Colin Soskolne delivered a lecture on Declining trends in health and survivability: hope through the Earth Charter movement as part of a plenary panel on EcoHealth, with discussion at the international conference "Transcending Borders Towards Global Health: Discovering Pathways from Local to Global" organized by the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Office of Global Health, London, Ontario, Canada — April 27 – 29, 2012.
The Occupational Health & Safety Certificate Program at the University of Alberta Faculty of Extension, heard Dr. Soskolne present on April 24, 2012 on the topic of "Canada's 'Rogue Nation' Position on Asbestos: industry-government influence on policy". The PPT presentation with live links to video footage is located in the Archive section of this website.
WeCanada, on its youthful cross-Canada tour of "Dialogue & Action for Earth Summit 2012", stopped in Edmonton on March 14, 2012 to talk to Canadians about the Earth Summit 2012, also known under its formal name "United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development" or "Rio+20". The Earth Summit will take place in Rio de Janeiro in June, 2012. Dr. Soskolne's lecture is accessible in the ARCHIVE section of this website. The appended introduction to the Edmonton event was prepared with Dr. Soskolne's responses to 10 relevant questions linking sustainability to the Earth Charter. More information announcing the event is available here, and at the WeCanada site.
Published in hard copy "Strategic thinking on sustainability: challenges and sectoral roles" by Ahmad W, Soskolne CL and Ahmed T, in Environment, Development and Sustainability (2012) 14:67–83. The article can be accessed here by subscribers only on the Springer website.
On November 22, 2011, Dr. Soskolne, together with Kathleen Ruff, delivered a public lecture through the Environmental Research and Studies Centre of the University of Alberta at the TELUS World of Science on "Canada's 'Rogue Nation' Position on Asbestos". The deck of Power Point slides used in this lecture, along with all live links, is accessible here.
Dr. Soskolne gives an interview to CTV's Alberta Prime Time on October 11 2011 on the topic of Canada's continuing lifetime ban on blood donations from men who have sex with men; accessible here.
Close News Archive
Two webinars have been delivered and remain online:
December 4, 2012. Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CSEB). Ecosystem Health to Human Health. A WEBINAR, presented by Colin Soskolne. This 1.5 hour WEBINAR was recorded from the University of Canberra, Australia for inclusion in CSEB's growing WEBINAR bank.
November 9, 2010. The American Medical Student Association (AMSA). Health Equity Scholars Program on Health Equity and Health Disparities. Global Perspectives on Health Disparities/Health Equity. (1.5 hours).
Dr. Soskolne formally served the School of Public Health (SPH) in the role of Accreditation Coordinator from 2008 – 2011. He led the initial work in establishing the University of Alberta's School of Public Health as Canada's first accredited such School.
The following book was published in 2012: "Human Health and Ecological Integrity: Ethics, Law and Human Rights", edited by Laura Westra, Colin L. Soskolne and Donald W. Spady. 2012, Earthscan (Routledge, Taylor and Francis), London. 364 pages. Chapter 8 by Soskolne and Ruff is on "Canada's 'rogue nation' position on asbestos"; pp. 93-106.
Book released in June, 2011: Globalisation and Ecological Integrity in Science and International Law.
In June 2011, Dr. Soskolne received the Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CSEB) Distinguished Service Award. It was presented at the Third North American Congress of Epidemiology, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. See the following link at the Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
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Dr. Colin L. Soskolne, Ph.D. (Epidemiology) welcomes you to his website. It contains information about him, his work, and his professional interests.
Please note that, from January 2020, Dr. Soskolne will have disengaged from all but a few professional ties.
Colin Soskolne is an accomplished epidemiologist having devoted much of his academic career to broad questions relating to occupational and environmental health. His career research contributions have been in occupational and environmental cancer epidemiology, HIV/AIDS, applied ethics, and the dynamics between global changes and human health. His career focus has been at the nexus of research and policy.
Community relevance and engagement have been integral to his application of research methods for addressing questions of relevance to public health and ultimately to inform rational health policy.
Dr. Soskolne has been a Fellow in the American College of Epidemiology (1988), as well as the Collegium Ramazzini (2002). From 1985 to 2013, he was with the University of Alberta as associate and then full professor in what evolved to become the University's School of Public Health. On June 30, 2013, after 28 years with the University, he retired as Professor emeritus to become more active in consulting and in volunteering to formally establish the International Network for Epidemiology in Policy (formerly IJPC-SE). He formalized his association with the University of Canberra, Australia, in 2013, and from which he retired in 2019. Dr. Soskolne's membership status in the American College of Epidemiology was changed from active to Emeritus Fellow, in 2017, and in the the Collegium Ramazzini in December, 2019.
As a teacher/administrator, Dr. Soskolne built the initial MSc and PhD training programs in epidemiology at the University of Alberta. Among his graduate students, several are active researchers and public health practitioners throughout the world. Dr. Soskolne led the initial work to establish the University of Alberta's School of Public Health as Canada's first accredited such School in 2012. His most proud University-wide contribution was the establishment at the University of Alberta of the position of Academic Coordinator for the then newly launched Office of Sustainability in the Office of the Provost (2009–2010).
Colin Soskolne's pioneering contributions to research include:
- Development in the mid-1970s in South Africa of a cardio-respiratory post-mortem pathology information system which continues operating to the present day under the name PATHAUT;
- Research in the USA and Canada that led to the designation of occupational exposures to strong-inorganic-acid mists containing sulfuric acid as a definitive (Group 1) human carcinogen;
- Leadership between 1982 and 1985 of a multidisciplinary AIDS research team in Toronto;
- Global integration of ethics discourse in both the research and practice of epidemiology as the core science for bridging toxicology to health policy;
- Advancement of epidemiological understanding about the dynamics between global changes in relation to human health and well-being;
- A publication record that extends to several hundred peer reviewed articles, book chapters, books, letters, editorials, commentaries, and reports.
Dr. Soskolne has been recognized not only for his epidemiological contributions to the science and practice of public health, but also for his service to the profession. Among other voluntary professional leadership positions, he served as President of the Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics for two successive 2-year terms (2007–2011). From April 2014 through April 2016, he served as Chair of the International Joint Policy Committee of the Societies of Epidemiology (IJPC-SE). He was the primary driver in formally establishing the IJPC-SE, renamed the International Network for Epidemiology in Policy (INEP) in 2017 as a public charity.
Colin Soskolne is consulted from around the world; he served as a riveting speaker on contentious public health issues. He assumed the role of expert witness for a few years, but withdrew from this in 2012 when he took on more senior voluntary roles in the IJPC-SE (now INEP).
Formerly, Dr. Soskolne served on the editorial boards of several scientific journals, including the American Journal of Epidemiology, the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, Environmental Health, EcoHealth, Global Bioethics, and the Canadian Journal of Public Health.
Current Affiliations and Contact Information:
Dr. Colin L. Soskolne, Epidemiologist
Professor emeritus [from July 1, 2013]
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA
Mailing Address:
809– 1325, rue Saint-André
Montréal, Québec
CANADA H2L 0G6
Cell phone: +1 514 281-0314
Email: colin.soskolne@ualberta.ca
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