Resources

Event Reports

Case Study: Pediatric Asthma Exacerbation Case Study for Medical School Students and Instructors

For Students   |    For Instructors

Authors: Y. Sarah Chae, Tim Takaro, Kate Tairyan

This case study is designed to help medical school students explore the intersection of clinical care and planetary health, using pediatric asthma exacerbations as a lens. Through a Case-Based Learning (CBL) approach, students will examine how environmental factors such as extreme heat, wildfires, and air pollution can directly impact patient health, while also considering the broader implications of climate change on healthcare. The framework is intended for instructors to guide discussions and facilitate critical thinking around these complex, real-world scenarios, ensuring students gain clinical insight, future climate awareness and community-based advocacy skills. By engaging with this material, future physicians can develop the knowledge and skills needed to recognize, address, and educate patients about health impacts related to the climate crises.

Contact: For questions about the case study, please reach out to ychae@sfu.ca

Wildfire Student Hackathon, May 2025

On May 30, 2025, SFU’s Planetary Health Research Group, RESET Lab and Sustainability and Climate Office hosted the university’s inaugural Wildfire Hackathon. Inspired by traditional hackathon design, this full-day event brought graduate students from across degree programs and faculties together with professionals, practitioners and academic researchers to imagine and design innovative, interdisciplinary and community-engaged solutions to address wildfire-related challenges on Burnaby Mountain.

The Wildfire Hackathon built on outcomes from the previous “Wildfire Resilience and Climate Action on Burnaby Mountain” event. For more information, please see our SFU Wildfire Hackathon Report.

Wildfire Resilience and Climate Action on Burnaby Mountain, Sept. 2024

This community-engaged event hosted by SFU’s Planetary Health Research Group on September 18, 2024 showcased SFU research that informs the diverse ways that climate change and wildfire interact to impact our lives, and learned from the insights of firefighters, First Nations, UniverCity community members and SFU Risk and Safety on wildfire and climate resilience on Burnaby Mountain.

Please see the Wildfire Resilience and Climate Action on Burnaby Mountain What We Heart Report, for more information.