Candace Nykiforuk was raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. After being bit by the geography bug in an introductory human geography course as part of her undergraduate anthropology degree, she switched her major and went on to complete a BA in geography (University of Alberta, 1997). She then earned an MA in Recreation and Leisure Studies (University of Waterloo, 1999) and a PhD in Health Studies and Gerontology (University of Waterloo, 2004), where she used quantitative modeling and GIS to explore relationships between municipal tobacco bylaws and community characteristics. Following her interests in health geography, policy, and chronic disease prevention, she then undertook a post-doctoral fellowship in the School of Geography & Earth Sciences, McMaster University. 

Candace has been in her position at CHPS since 2006. Her research program, entitled “Policy, Location and Access in Community Environments (PLACE)”, consists of three primary areas of investigation: (1) policy interventions for chronic disease prevention, as policy shapes how people behave in particular settings (e.g., neighbourhoods, schools, workplaces, communities); (2) community-based studies of opportunities for and barriers to healthy choices in the environment; and (3) healthy aging-in-place in Canadian communities. These are all applied research areas that emphasize capacity-building and knowledge exchange with project partners.

Candace was recently awarded the Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations Distinguished Academic Early Career Award (2009) for her community-based work examining relationships between community environment and access to physical activity and healthy food opportunities. 

Candace may be contacted at candace.nykiforuk@ualberta.ca and her research profile can be viewed at: http://www.chps.ualberta.ca/nykiforuk_profile.cfm.

Candace I. J. Nykiforuk